NCJ Number
102596
Journal
Angolite Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: (May-June 1984) Pages: 35-61
Editor(s)
W Rideau,
B Sinclair
Date Published
1984
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This article traces the history of inmate treatment in Louisiana, particularly the circumstances of inmates' deaths, and examines current corrections policies pertaining to terminally ill inmates and inmates' burial arrangements.
Abstract
During the days when inmates worked long and arduous hours on plantations and in other work projects, treated brutally and deprived of health care, many died and were buried in paupers' cemeteries in the localities where they were working at the time. Inmates' families were not routinely notified of their deaths. Current policies of the Louisiana Corrections Department reflect more sensitivity to dying and elderly inmates' desire to be surrounded by family and friends at their deaths and burials. Terminally ill inmates are granted medical furloughs to be with their families so long as appropriate health care arrangements are made. Inmates' families are routinely notified of serious inmate illnesses, and the relatives of deceased inmates are encouraged to claim the body and make funeral arrangements. An increasing number of inmates, however, are being buried at the Angola prison cemetary, unattended by relatives. This is occurring because Angola houses many elderly inmates whose relatives and friends outside the prison are all deceased and because many inmates have been in and out of prisons most of their lives, have not married, are divorced, and have been long out of touch with family members. Many families of deceased inmates are also too poor to afford funerals, leaving the responsibility to prison authorities.