- A federal judge has ordered dozens of incarcerated children, mostly Black, to be moved out of a former death row wing of the Louisiana State Prison.
- Testimony has revealed that the children faced prolonged confinement in their cells and limited access to education.
- The Louisiana State Prison, also known as Angola, is the largest adult maximum security prison in the country.
A group of incarcerated children, most of them Black, spent nearly a year in a former death row wing of the Louisiana State Prison.
Court testimony later revealed concerning conditions: They were confined to their cells for extended periods of time. One child was pepper-sprayed by a guard. And their access to education was inadequate.
The Louisiana State Prison, commonly known as Angola, is the largest adult maximum security prison in the United States. It is located on the site of a former slave plantation.
Last summer, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards ordered the relocation of the children to Angola. However, legal battles ensued for several months.
After one year, a federal judge has now ruled that the children must be relocated from the prison by September 15.
“For almost 10 months, children — mostly Black boys — have been subjected to abusive conditions in the former death row at Angola, the largest adult maximum security prison in the nation,” said David Utter, the lead attorney on the case.
The rate of youth incarceration in the US has decreased by 77% from 2000 to 2020, but racial disparities persist. Black children are 4.4 times more likely to be incarcerated compared to white children, according to the Sentencing Project, an organization focused on decarceration efforts.
In the judge’s ruling, it was stated that the prison officials had violated the Fourteenth Amendment and that the children had been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, as reported by the ACLU of Louisiana.
The court hearing revealed that officials had kept the children confined in their cells for extended periods of time, and in some cases, used pepper spray. Moreover, their access to education had been limited.
The governor’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
