What happens behind the gates? Investigative reporter examines claims of health care abuse at Louisiana’s Angola prison

Susan Roesgen
·1 min read
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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — It started with a phone call from Janice Parker, a New Orleans woman whose son was locked up at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Parker told Richard Webster, an investigative reporter for Pro Publica and Verite News, that she was worried about the health and safety of her son, Kentrell.

Kentrell had been convicted of murder in 1999 and sentenced to life in prison. But in 2010, he was seriously injured in a prison-sponsored football game and became a quadriplegic, needing around-the-clock care.

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In November of 2023, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick ruled that Angola’s inmate health care system amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment,” in violation of the inmates’ Constitutional rights. The state has appealed that decision to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and is awaiting a decision.

An edited version of Webster’s interview with WGNO’s Susan Roesgen is above.

Watch Richard Webster’s full interview:

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