Angola Prison Re-Opens Area Once Called “The Dungeon” to Hold Immigrants
The Louisiana State Penitentiary, the notorious maximum-security prison known as Angola, is now also holding immigrants who have been detained as part of Pres. Donald Trump’s crackdown. The detention center was established in a previously-closed area of the prison called Camp J, where prisoners were locked in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. Camp J—once referred to as “The Dungeon”—was shuttered in 2018, over concerns surrounding its deteriorating condition. But in July of this year, state Gov. Jeff Landry (R) issued an emergency declaration to repair and re-open the camp to account for the influx of migrants.
Angola was built in 1901 on the grounds of several former plantations and, for decades, prisoners held there were forced to work in fields formerly tilled by enslaved people. This practice continues today as Angola assigns prisoners, a disproportionate number of whom are Black, to a “Farm Line” on which they work in often dangerously high temperatures for little or no pay. Angola also has a long history of high prison death rates, with most of the state prison system’s deaths occurring on its grounds in recent years.
With the brutal conditions of Camp J remaining intact, advocates say the immigrants being detained within its walls have been denied life-saving medication and other essential supplies. In late September, these conditions led 19 of the detainees to hold a hunger strike, which demanded medical treatment and clean water, among other basics, and lasted at least five days.
Sources: The New York Times, The Guardian, Louisiana Illuminator
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