Louisiana to Hold Children In the Former Death Row Unit In ‘Bloodiest Prison In the South’

Children will be held in one of the most infamous prisons in the country in the coming days, according to reports.

Louisiana plans to move two dozen children from their current dormitory-style juvenile centers to a former death row unit in single metal-bar cells with no windows in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, which was once considered the bloodiest prison in the South.

Experts and activists argue that the move would traumatize the children, who are not considered criminals but delinquents under civil arrest. However, the state argues that they have no other place to house the children while they finish construction on another facility, and some of them are a danger to others.

A Louisiana judge denied a motion filed by the ACLU and other legal agencies to block Gov. John Bel Edwards’ plan announced in July to utilize the prison. However, Chief District Judge Shelly Dick reluctantly signed off on the plan Friday.

“The prospect of putting a teenager to bed at night in a locked cell behind razor wire surrounded by swamps at Angola is disturbing,” the judge wrote. But “the threat of harm these youngsters present to themselves, and others, is intolerable.”

More commonly known as Angola after the former cotton plantation it once was, some activists argue the maximum-security adult prison is a symbol of white supremacy and racial oppression. Incarcerated men work the cotton fields for pennies a day. It also had the reputation of being one of the most dangerous in the country and is the largest prison of its kind. It currently houses men serving life and extended sentences.

The juvenile transfers will be held a mile and a half from the nearest housing unit, and the windows will be covered with “blackout” fabric to stop the children from interacting with the male prisoners.

Edwards called for the move after several escapes and a riot at the Bridge City Center for Youth in Jefferson Parish. About 20 children escaped their dorms and took over the facility in June. Then, in July, six detainees escaped the center. One of them allegedly shot a man during a carjacking. Officials now say Angola is the safest option for the children.

“These youth have…become increasingly aggressive,” wrote the judge, resulting in “severely broken bones, crushed skulls, [and] broken fingers.”

Still, Dick acknowledged it comes with “deleterious psychological ramifications” for the children.

Juvenile justice expert for the plaintiffs Vincent Schiraldi, a former New York City Department of Correction commissioner, told the court that the conditions in the unit “screams prison.” During a tour, he observed visitation rooms with mesh barriers previously used to prevent touching during visitations. Dick also said photos of the facility were “shocking and depressing.”

“The fact that the planned OJJ facility at Angola is in the former death row is especially problematic from a psychological perspective,” the attorneys wrote, “and conveys messages of punishment and hopelessness rather than rehabilitation and opportunities for the future.”

However, the state has promised to renovate the unit that housed death row inmates until 2006. Reports show that it has also temporarily held incarcerated women who were displaced from their facility during a flood.

State officials have vowed to provide a “constitutional level of care” to the juveniles transferred to Angola. They would be allowed to hug their families during visitations and continue to receive education and mental health services.

Another lawsuit against the move was filed on behalf of a 17-year-old boy who fears his post-traumatic stress disorder would be exacerbated by the relocation. The teenager may be considered for transfer because he allegedly assaulted other juveniles and staff. When he saw news that detainees may be moved from his center, he reportedly developed sleep problems and started pulling out his hair.

“I do not believe Angola is a place for any child,” his mother told the court, “and as a parent, I strenuously disapprove of the decision to move my son and any other youth to a facility located there.”

Link to original Atlanta Black Star