×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
God’s Own Warden: If you ever find yourself inside Louisiana’s Angola prison, Burl Cain will make sure you find Jesus – or regret ever crossing his path
God’s Own Warden: If you ever find yourself inside Louisiana’s Angola prison,
Burl Cain will make sure you find Jesus – or regret ever crossing his path
by James Ridgeway
It was a chilly December morning when I got to the gates of Angola prison,1 and I was nervous as ...
Burl Cain will make sure you find Jesus – or regret ever crossing his path
by James Ridgeway
It was a chilly December morning when I got to the gates of Angola prison,1 and I was nervous as ...
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- God’s Own Warden: If you ever find yourself inside Louisiana’s Angola prison, Burl Cain will make sure you find Jesus – or regret ever crossing his path, by James Ridgeway
- Angola: A Prison Passion Play, by John Dannenberg
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- No Budget Cuts for Federal Prisons, by James Ridgeway
- Death Sentences, Executions Remain at Low Levels, by Justin Miller
- Dallas County Passes Jail Inspections ... Finally
- Michigan Sex Offender’s Suicide Results in Changes to Sex Offender Registry Law, by Matthew Clarke
- California Lifers: Deaths Exceed Parole Releases, by John Dannenberg
- Background Checks that Bar Employment of Ex-offenders May Violate Civil Rights
- Class-Action Settlement Cures Constitutional Violations at Pennsylvania Prison
- Hawaii ACLU Files Suit on Behalf of Women Who Want to Marry Prisoners, by Alex Friedmann
- Wrongful Convictions Prove Costly, Especially for the Wrongly Convicted, by Matthew Clarke
- Guard Who Identified Over 100 Prison Rioters Pleads Guilty to Contraband Charge
- Oregon Increases Sex Offender Registration Requirements
- Washington Prison Video Surveillance Recordings Exempt from Disclosure Under Public Records Act, by Michael Brodheim
- Florida Closes Oldest Boy’s School, Best Known for Abusive Past
- Federal Investigation, Prosecution Targets Indiana Sheriff’s Officers, by Derek Gilna
- Failure to Advise Defendant of Ineligibility for Early Release Credits Renders Guilty Plea Invalid
- CCA Anti-Prison Rape Shareholder Resolution Fails to Pass
- Ninth Circuit Rules that Washington DOC Religious Contractor Not a “State Actor”
- Ohio Wrongful Conviction Results in $2.59 Million Settlement
- Ninth Circuit Holds No Due Process Right Created by California’s Parole Scheme
- Arizona Jails Refuse to Incarcerate Some Offenders
- The Last Gasp: The Rise and Fall of the American Gas Chamber, by Scott Christianson (University of California Press, 2011)., by Julie Etter
- California Study Finds State Prison Overcrowding Driven by County Policy Decisions, Not Violent Crime Rates
- Pennsylvania County Prisons Not Reporting Critical Incidents
- Former BOP Guard Convicted, Sentenced in Murder-for-Hire Case
- Iowa Supreme Court Holds Billing for Fraudulent Prisoner Phone Calls Not a State Law Violation
- No “Strike” Under PLRA When Some Claims are Heard on the Merits, by Brandon Sample
- Tenth Circuit Voids Albuquerque’s Attempt to Ban Sex Offenders from Libraries, by Derek Gilna
- $47,500 Awarded to Massachusetts Prisoner Held in Segregation Without Hearing
- Second BOP Guard Convicted in Connection with Prisoner’s Murder, by Brandon Sample
- Seven Florida Prison Guards Arrested
- Washington Prisoners Have No Right to Inspect Records Under Public Records Act, by Brandon Sample
- Pennsylvania Prison Guard Convicted in Drug Probe, Testifies Against Coworkers
- Judge, Not Jury, Must Resolve Questions about Administrative Exhaustion
- $500,000 Settlement in Pennsylvania Jail Prisoner’s Medical-Related Death
- ACLU Report Proves Smart Criminal Justice Policy Reform is Possible, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from James Ridgeway:
- Audit of Solitary Confinement in Federal Prisons: An Inside Job Reaches Foregone Conclusions, Oct. 26, 2015
- Under Fire, the Federal Bureau of Prisons Audits its Use of Solitary Confinement - and Buys a New Supermax Prison, Dec. 15, 2013
- Solidarity and Solitary: When Unions Clash with Prison Reform, June 15, 2013
- Fortresses of Solitude, April 15, 2013
- The Other Death Sentence: More than 100,000 Americans are destined to spend their final years in prison. Can we afford it?, Nov. 15, 2012
- God’s Own Warden: If you ever find yourself inside Louisiana’s Angola prison, Burl Cain will make sure you find Jesus – or regret ever crossing his path, June 15, 2012
- No Budget Cuts for Federal Prisons, June 15, 2012
- The Graying of America’s Prisons, Dec. 15, 2010
- Sotomayor for the Prosecution, July 15, 2009
More from these topics:
- From the Editor, Aug. 1, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Publications/Books, Censorship.
- Now Under Federal Receivership, New York City’s Rikers Island Jails Still Have No Plan to Improve, No Firm Date to Close, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, Eighth Amendment.
- Suit Filed Over Fatal Beating of New York Prisoner That Sparked Massive Guard Strike, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Male Reproductive, Malpractice, Escapes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Former Maine Prison Guard Arrested and Detained by ICE Agents, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Guards/Staff, Immigration Law/Offenses.
- $95,000 Paid to Nevada Prisoner Denied Muslim Prayer; Pending Cases Allege Continued Discrimination Against Non-Protestants, Aug. 1, 2025. Religious Discrimination, Denial of Religious Services, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), Free Exercise Clause.
- Former California Prison Guard Pleads Guilty to Planting Contraband He Pretended to Discover, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct.
- HRDC Wins Consent Decree, $350,000 in Jail Censorship Suit against California’s Sonoma County, Aug. 1, 2025. Jail Specific, Censorship, Prison Conditions.
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Assault by Police, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Police Misconduct, Stun Guns/Tasers, Immigration, False Arrest, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
- News in Brief, July 15, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, halfway houses, New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Fraud and Deceit.