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Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola)

StateMaximummaleDeath rowUnder capacity (71%)LowHigh
Verified 29 May 2026 · Data dated 1 Apr 2024
Fresh · 0d ago

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola)

Step-by-step guidance using the United States system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

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Photograph of Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola)

Gallery

From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).

  • 90-1634- Miguel A Rosales v. John Whitley, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary - DPLA - c1fff5c770d28af5d6bb82e3e100aefe (page 10).jpg

    Photo by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. New Orleans Term. 1888 via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 90-1634- Miguel A Rosales v. John Whitley, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary - DPLA - c1fff5c770d28af5d6bb82e3e100aefe (page 100).jpg

    Photo by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. New Orleans Term. 1888 via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 90-1634- Miguel A Rosales v. John Whitley, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary - DPLA - c1fff5c770d28af5d6bb82e3e100aefe (page 101).jpg

    Photo by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. New Orleans Term. 1888 via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 90-1634- Miguel A Rosales v. John Whitley, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary - DPLA - c1fff5c770d28af5d6bb82e3e100aefe (page 102).jpg

    Photo by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. New Orleans Term. 1888 via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 90-1634- Miguel A Rosales v. John Whitley, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary - DPLA - c1fff5c770d28af5d6bb82e3e100aefe (page 103).jpg

    Photo by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. New Orleans Term. 1888 via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 90-1634- Miguel A Rosales v. John Whitley, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary - DPLA - c1fff5c770d28af5d6bb82e3e100aefe (page 104).jpg

    Photo by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. New Orleans Term. 1888 via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 90-1634- Miguel A Rosales v. John Whitley, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary - DPLA - c1fff5c770d28af5d6bb82e3e100aefe (page 105).jpg

    Photo by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. New Orleans Term. 1888 via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 90-1634- Miguel A Rosales v. John Whitley, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary - DPLA - c1fff5c770d28af5d6bb82e3e100aefe (page 106).jpg

    Photo by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. New Orleans Term. 1888 via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Largest maximum-security prison in the US by area (18,000 acres). Operates working farms; holds Louisiana's death row.

Background

The Louisiana State Penitentiary is a maximum-security prison farm in Louisiana operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is the largest maximum-security correctional facility in the United States, with 5,000 prisoners and 1,800 staff, including corrections officers, janitors, maintenance workers, social workers, nurses, educators, deputy wardens, and the warden himself. The current warden is Darrel Vannoy, who was appointed to the role in 2024, after having previously served as warden between 2016 and 2021, following long-time warden Burl Cain's resignation. Located in West Feliciana Parish, the correctional facility is set between oxbow lakes on the east side of a bend of the Mississippi River and thus flanked on three sides by water. It lies less than two miles (three kilometers) south of Louisiana's straight east–west border with Mississippi.

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

6,300

Current population

4,500

Occupancy

71%

Year opened

1901

Operational

Facility profile

Operator

Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections

Population held

male

Opened

1901

Region

Louisiana

Security level

Maximum

Death-row facility

Yes

Conditions

Prison farms have drawn criticism for low-wage labour and conditions analogous to the post-Reconstruction plantation system.

Visiting

Saturdays, Sundays, and selected weekdays. Approved visitors list. No phones, electronics, or excessive cash.

Mailing

Inmate Name & DOC#, Louisiana State Penitentiary, 17544 Tunica Trace, Angola, LA 70712.

Practical info

Inmate Welfare Fund accepts deposits via JPay. The Angolite — one of the longest-running inmate publications.

Known issues

Multiple long-running federal lawsuits over death row conditions and 'closed-cell restriction' use.

Notable inmates

Albert Woodfox (Angola Three, released 2016).

Contact & address

17544 Tunica Trace, Angola 70712
+1 225-655-4411
Official site

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

10/100
Low concern10/100
Overcrowding
0/30
Oversight reports
0/30
Structural flags
5/15
Death signals
5/15
Conditions text
0/10

What the score is responding to:

  • · Death-row facility
  • · In-custody-death signal in sources

Compared to other facilities in United States

3134 peers
Conditions risk scorethis: 10/100 · peers avg: 3/100 (+235%)

Higher risk than 87% of peer facilities in United States.

Occupancythis: 71% · peers avg: 74% (3%)
Capacity (beds)this: 6300 · peers avg: 1557 (+305%)

Data completeness

100%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources