Angola Louisiana State Penitentiary

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Angola Louisiana State Penitentiary

• Modern Day Proof That Prison Programming Works

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A Rich History

• LSP first built in Baton Rouge (circa 1835)
• Angola Named after the Africa country where the
  slaves that once occupied the land came
  from
• Leased inmates
• Plantation purchased in 1880

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History cont.

• Period of inmate brutality lead to public outcry
• End of the inmate lease system
• State of Louisiana claimed inmates in 1901
• 1916 Creation of inmate trustees
• Penitentiary expanded to current size of 18,000
  acres in 1922

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History cont.

• Brutality boiled over in 1952 Achilles
  Incident
• Media attention drew reform
• Inmate Trustee system eliminated in 1972
• Programming evolution

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Prison Structure and Architecture

• Dormitories
• Single Sided Corridors
• V-Houses
• Small Home
• Death Row and Segregation Units

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Treatment of Inmates

• Levels of earned freedom and trust
• General Population
• Big Stripes
• Trustees
• Civil treatment lead to reciprocation

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Civil Treatment of Inmates

• Correctional officers seemed less likely to have
  preconceived ideas
• Open as long as the respect was mutual
• Illinois Treatment as substandard humans
• Leads to
• Inmate distrust
• Lack of cooperation
• Lack of motivation

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Civil Treatment of Inmates

• Soft on Crime Argument
• Trustee leeway
• Segregation
• procedures
• Status
• earned

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Programs

• S.T.E.P literacy training
• License Plate Production
• Religious Programming
• Baptist
• The Rodeo

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Programs Unique to Angola

• Farming
• FOLKES Vocation College
• Toy Shop
• The Angolite
• New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
• Associate and Baccalaureate Degrees
• Volunteer Basis

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Programming as Security

• Idle hands are the devils work
• Standardized work weeks
• Structure
• Privileges that come with hard labor
• Living Conditions
• Job Opportunities

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Programming as Security

• Participation
• Low Wages
• Extremely low compared to Illinois
• Effects of not working
• Working side by side

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Programming Focus

• Self Betterment
• Possible Retribution
• Supplement prison funding
• The Angolite
• Farm
• Rodeo

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The Rodeo
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The Rodeo

• Work for inmates
• Ethical dilemmas faced
• Bribery of inmates
• Inmate abuse
• Inmate exploitation
• Improper usage of funds

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Exploitation???
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Difference in Systems

• How Angola differs from Illinois
• Proactive
• Programs that are self-sufficient
• Politically active employees
• Union less of a force
• Volunteerism
• Faith based initiatives

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Thoughts for Illinois

• Change in policy on volunteerism
• Political Activism
• If change in programming occurs
• What is needed?
• Recidivism studies on those involved in programs
• Increased volunteerism
• Adequate separation of faith and government