MANAGING ANGOLA'S LONG-TERM INMATES.

It is crucial that a correctional administrator knows the makeup of his or her inmate population. There currently are 5,108 male inmates from all areas of Louisiana, from all walks of life, housed on 18,000 acres of the state's most historic prison -- Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) at Angola.

The Challenge

Statistics gathered in early 2001 indicate that the maximum-security adults who comprise LSP's population either are serving life sentences (63.1 percent) or sentences of more than 20 years (27.6 percent). The average sentence length is 53.9 years. The majority of inmates at the state's only maximum-security prison are comprised of first offenders (40.07 percent) and second offenders (26.9 percent). Due to Louisiana's mandatory sentence of life without parole for the crimes of first-degree murder, aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping, and the virtual certainty of a 99-year sentence for armed robbery, plus the fact that parole and pardon boards are less likely to recommend these inmates for early release, even when terminally ill, most inmates who enter the front gates of the massive prison will die from natural causes while in custody. And most of those who die will be buried on the grounds.

Meeting the Challenge

As an administrator of such a seemingly hopeless place, ensuring the stability and productivity of the prison can be a challenge. The use of common sense and knowing if one has just four basic elements -- good food, good medicine, good playing and good praying -- create the basis for a safe and secure prison. In addition, realizing the importance of providing meaningful work and educational opportunities to inmates and allowing them to positively and creatively express themselves, have allowed LSP staff to better assist them in building and contributing to a successful prison community in which the incarcerated men actually can find their rightful place in the prison society, even though they were never able to do so outside prison walls.

LSP staff teach each inmate that he is his "brother's keeper" and that his bed is his house. His neighbor's bed is his neighbor's house, Inmates are asked to ensure that their sidewalks are kept clean and that they report deviants who threaten the availability of their privileges. They are told that staff are as nice as they let them be and as mean as they make them. For example, hobby shop privileges are highly valued at the prison, which hosts annual events featuring the selling of inmate arts and crafts. These events have been hugely successful and inmate hobby crafters can make significant amounts of revenue from their participation. However, if a weapon is found in the hobby shop or is proved to have been made in that area, the hobby shop is closed. Inmates are less prone to violate rules when they know it would cause many other inmates to suffer. They are less likely to do this at all when they are aware that other inmates are watching to ensure that their hobby shops are safe.

The Results

LSP staff have seen inmates benefit from a number of unique and creative religious programs as well. Staff no longer can teach only education; inmates need to be morally rehabilitated. By encouraging inmates not only to learn but to grow spiritually, staff have seen men change from within. They not only open their minds, but they also change their hearts in many circumstances. They learn to be compassionate and most of all, they learn the importance of every single life.

Inmates have maintained family relationships and have built positive relationships with their fellow inmates and with visitors to the prison. By allowing religious volunteers access to the prison, instituting educational, vocational and a one-of-a-kind Bible college, other programs such as the award-winning hospice programs and the building of LSP's own caskets and hearse have proved to spread a religious philosophy that has caused the prison to experience less violence than ever. Moreover, due to the fact that inmates and staff have improved their ability to communicate with each other, they have worked together to accomplish many seemingly impossible goals, such as bracing (moving sandbags and dirt to secure the levee around Angola) and saving the prison from the potentially catastrophic flood of 1997 and building a new state-of-the-art 8,000-seat, all-purpose arena in just 60 days.

It takes an open-minded and flexible administration and cooperative and dedicated staff to accomplish this. In light of the fact that generation-X inmates are arriving at LSP at an alarming rate, the presence of older, wiser and in many cases, rehabilitated inmates provides the prison with a great stabilizing force. Older inmates exposed to positive programming can, in many ways, become positive role models for younger, unguided and disrespectful inmates. Staff have been able to use older inmates in orientation programs and as tier walkers (inmates with light-duty statuses who talk to and observe segregated inmates and are trained to recognize signs of suicidal behavior), inmate counselor substitutes, tutors and vocational instructors, and inmate ministers. They are the presidents of many influential and successful inmate organizations, which provide inmates with positive groups to join and to discover and explore their creative abilities. They hold jobs in nearly every area of the prison and compose a significant percentage of those inmates who have earned "trustwothy" status.

These inmates demonstrate that they have significant amounts of hope. This hope provides light at the end of the tunnel for many who the public feels have no reason to live or grow. LSP's message to them is that there is a greater eternal life awaiting them and there still is much time to save their souls. So strong is LSP's belief that staff have placed a large stone Bible sculpture opened to the Bible verse Phillippians 3:13 about looking forward to the future at the entry way to the prison. In fact, only a small portion of inmates reside in cell blocks, having failed to achieve success by not following prison rules.

The Growing Problem

The following LSP statistics have been gathered to place this current criminal justice phenomenon in perspective:

There are 885 inmates 50 and older (the age NIC uses to determine elderly status); 17.3 percent of the population ranges from 50 to 91, There are 449 who range from 50 to 54, 349 from 55 to 64 and 87 from 65 to 91. Informal studies show that the majority of inmates dying at LSP are in their early- to-mid-50s, with the average age of death due to natural causes with the last five years being only 51.07. The average age of the total population is 37, with the largest percentage of inmates in the 35 to 39 age group (16.6 percent).

These statistics, along with the fact that LSP is a huge productive farm and industrial compound, demand that administrators develop plans to deal with the fact that in the next 10 years, LSP will become a "lifers' prison. The importance of positive, productive programs that keep inmates hopeful, cooperative and, most of all, nonviolent cannot be overstated.

It is important for inmates to feel that the pubic has not forgotten them. LSP gives tours to more than 1,000 visitors per month. Staff also have established a prison museum, which indicates LSP's success during the last 30 years in Louisiana, no lifer is eligible for a parole hearing. While LSP staff believe that no inmate should be released if a victim will have to live in fear, every inmate who applies himself to the programs and who abides by the rules over long prison sentences should at least be heard. The public should know of their accomplishments.

Creative Solutions

One important creation was the establishment of the inmate Bible college. To LSP's Knowledge, it is the only prison in the country that offers its inmates a four-year college degree program from an accredited college.

Inmates are able to graduate in theology, sociology and general studies. They graduate in black caps and gowns, and their families often attend the ceremony. The inmates then are assigned to jobs supervised by the chaplain's department. They assist this department in spreading religious messages and ideas and providing spiritual services to the more than 5,100 inmates in the facility. They serve as inmate ministers, inmate counselor substitutes and speak to new inmates at orientation.

Another positive change was that dignity and compassion were brought back to inmate treatment prior to death and burials. The award-winning hospice program at LSP is considered a model prison hospice because it exactly replicates those hospices in the community without substituting any portion because it exists on the grounds of a maximum-security state penitentiary. Inmates are allowed to visit their ailing peers, to attend vigils and to attend the funerals. Inmate volunteers maintain the cemetery and hand-dig the graves. They march behind the body that is laid to rest in an inmate-made coffin, which is carried in an inmate-made antique hearse, which is pulled by Percheron horses. Although their families may not be able to claim their bodies (whether for financial reasons or other), they are invited to attend the services, which are conducted by a prison chaplain and/or an inmate minister.

Accomplishments

Finally, anyone can appreciate the productivity that these men are capable of when they accomplish a task by working together with the skills they have learned during their incarceration. In 1997, the prison was in peril. The Mississippi River threatened to flood the 18,000-acre prison. Inmates built tent cities in higher, safer areas of the prison. They worked nonstop filling sandbags and placing them along the 100-year-old levee. They communicated to other inmates about the warden's evacuation and clean-up plans. When the levee seemed to be on the verge of certain collapse, more than 3,000 inmates were successfully evacuated to the tent cities and remained there, without incident, for eight hours prior to being returned to their housing areas when the river ceased to threaten the prison. It is apparent that had the inmates not cooperated, this success story easily could have become a $3 billion loss to the state and a public safety nightmare due to the inevitable loss of total effectiveness of Louisiana's correctional system.

Another major accomplishment was construction of the new state-of-the-art all-purpose arena, which seats 8,000 people. The new arena hosts major events, such as the annual Angola Prison Rodeo, the annual Arts and Crafts Festival, religious events and musical concerts. These major events benefit the inmate welfare fund, which supports inmate services and activities that tax dollars do not. The arena was built in an astonishing 60-day period by inmate labor, many of whom became certified welders during the project.

Conclusion

LSP staff believe that the human spirit can overcome all obstacles. It is their job to make a difference in the lives of those under their supervision. In order to have a successful prison, the inmates need to feel that success is possible. Staff must be trained that it is essential for public safety that they not only enforce rules but that they also teach inmates and become good role models to them. A vast array of programs should be made available so that individual talents may be discovered.

It is crucial to deal with the problems -- medical, mental or social -- inmates have when they enter the system. Staff must care about the type of supervision given to these men and that the inmates not think their lives are wasted or over. A successful administrator knows these things and can inspire and positively affect those he or she supervises. Older inmates and those who have served many years play an essential role in perpetuating the community idea at LSP. Their presence sends a powerful message to the public that hearings should be possible. It also deters young people who tour the prison by showing that life means life. Finally, and perhaps most important, long-term inmates can be positive role models for younger inmates who arrive at the prison facing lengthy prison sentences.

Clearly, administrators need to use available resources, common sense, communication and firsthand knowledge to meet the challenges arising from our aging inmate populations, not only to keep our prisons safe, secure and productive, but also to educate the public, lawmakers and judges about the increasing dilemmas we all face in the near future.

Burl Cain is warden of Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and Cathy Fontenot is director of classification.

Facility Custody Breakdown


minimum  29%
medium   15%
maximum  56%



(*)Although LSP is a maximum-security facility custody and, therefore,
living assignments within the facility, are based heavily on behavior
patterns as positive reinforcement. Only 29 percent of the 5,108
inmates are housed cells. Seventy-one percent are housed
dormitory-style and benefit from community programs.

Note: Table made from pie chart
Active "Older Inmates" at LSP


Working  88%
Idle     12%



(*)Eighty-eight percent of the inmates at LSP over 50 are considered
active, with work assignments commensurate with physical and
emotional capabilities.

Note: Table made from pie chart
Percentage of inmate population designated as "older"


[greater than]50 yrs old  17%
[less than]50 yrs old     83%



(*)Seventeen percent of LSP's populatin is 50 and older. This is
greater than the state average, which is 9 percent, and the national
average, which is 3 percent.

Note: Table made from pie chart
Trends


      deaths  natural  other

1960  26      9        11
1970  25      12       11
1980  5        5       0
1990  16      11       4
2000  36      34       2



(*)From the 1960s to the present, prison deaths have followed a
recorded progression of overall deaths increasing and the number
of deaths from natural causes have increased.

Note: Table made from bar graph
Projection of Aging Population


[greater than]20  11%
Other             89%



(*)As of January 2001, 89 percent of men currently housed at LSP have
more than 20 years remaining on their sentences. The average inmate
age is 37. Projecting 15 years into the future, this 89 prcent will be
classified as "older inmates."

Note: Table made from pie chart

Positive Impact of Older Inmates on Prison Facility

* Can provide positive peer education

* Facilitates personal accountability for the long-term stability of prison programs

* Fosters "community" responsibility for a group of people who have previously been unable to function positively in society

* An active, occupied population promotes facility stability