Louisiana judge orders youth inmates be removed from adult death row facility
Within the coming days, youth inmates who have been subjected to inhumane conditions at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola, will be removed from the maximum-security facility. Federal Judge Shelly Dick ruled in favor of a civil lawsuit brought against the state by advocates and family members of the incarcerated minors. On Friday (Sept. 8), she ordered state officials to transfer the adolescents.
The judge ruled that the juveniles faced cruel and unusual punishment amid claims that they were subjected to days of solitary confinement, maced and denied family visits, denied appropriate educational and disability resources, and not provided adequate mental and social services.
She further stated that the conditions of the prison violated the inmates’ 14th Amendment rights and federal laws that protect children. A deputy with the Office of Juvenile Justice said that Angola was used as temporary lodging for high-risk juveniles who were involved in “high-profile” and “violent” incidents at other age-appropriate facilities.
Parents and advocates have long argued it was inappropriate for minors to be housed in the South’s sweltering heat at a prison that formerly operated as a slave plantation. It was converted into a prison during the Civil War before it became a death row facility for adults. The prison is recognized as the largest maximum-security facility in the country, with a capacity to house 5,108 offenders.
“For almost 10 months, children — nearly all Black boys — have been held in abusive conditions of confinement at the former death row of Angola, the nation’s largest adult maximum security prison,” said lead counsel on the case, attorney David Utter, in a statement issued to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Louisiana.
“Now, it is time for Louisiana’s leaders to provide the appropriate care and support so all children can thrive and reach their full potential. We demand investment in our children, not punishment. State officials must address the long-standing, systemic failures in Louisiana’s juvenile justice system. A state where all our children — Black, Brown, and white — have equal access to opportunity is possible,” continued Utter. The state has until next Friday (Sept. 15) to rehouse the youth.
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