From Prism Reports: Court missed chance to end forced labor at Angola prison in Louisiana, advocates say

By Alexandra Martinez

Conditions that incarcerated workers face at Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola, violated constitutional protections against excessive heat exposure, a federal judge ruled on May 26. But U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson declined to order permanent changes to the prison’s agricultural labor program, drawing criticism from advocates and former prisoners who brought the lawsuit.

The ruling, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, stems from a class-action lawsuit challenging Angola’s long-standing agricultural work program, known as the “Farm Line.” Plaintiffs argued that the system forces incarcerated men to perform agricultural labor under dangerous conditions on the grounds of a former plantation, perpetuating practices rooted in Louisiana’s history of slavery.

While the court found that Angola subjected workers to unconstitutional heat conditions, including requiring labor in temperatures where the heat index reached as high as 113 degrees, it declined to grant permanent injunctive relief. The judge pointed to reforms implemented by prison officials during the course of the litigation, including the installation of shaded rest areas, more frequent water breaks, and expanded accommodations for individuals with medical conditions that increase vulnerability to extreme heat. 

The lawsuit was filed in September 2023 by the Promise of Justice Initiative and Rights Behind Bars on behalf of members of the advocacy organization Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) and currently incarcerated men at Angola. The plaintiffs allege that workers were compelled to perform physically demanding agricultural labor in extreme heat and humidity while under armed supervision and without adequate medical accommodations or workplace protections. 

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that the Farm Line violated the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act. They also contended that the labor program represented a continuation of historical systems of racial subjugation, citing Angola’s origins as a plantation and its location on land once worked by enslaved people.

In a statement following the ruling, Promise of Justice Initiative Executive Director Samantha Kennedy said the decision acknowledged harmful conditions but failed to address broader concerns raised in the lawsuit.

“While the court agrees that Louisiana has indeed violated the rights of people at Angola, it stops short of ordering those violations to end,” Kennedy said. “The court’s failure to issue relief means that today in Louisiana, the state can continue to subject incarcerated people, Black men in particular, to egregious physical and psychological harm.”

The decision came after a five-day trial held in February, during which plaintiffs presented testimony and evidence about working conditions on the Farm Line. According to court filings and trial testimony, workers were required to perform manual labor in agricultural fields under intense heat while correctional officers supervised. Plaintiffs alleged that workers were sometimes required to dig by hand and faced verbal humiliation. Some changes were made after the plaintiffs filed their lawsuit.

“Because of their courage, there are men alive today who might not be,” Samantha Bosalavage Pourciau, a senior attorney with the Promise of Justice Initiative, said of the plaintiffs at a press conference. “These changes are real incremental changes. … But permanent protection has not been won.”

Terrance Winn, who spent three decades incarcerated at Angola, said in a statement that many prisoners viewed work on the Farm Line as so difficult that some preferred disciplinary segregation over field labor.

“People would rather lose their minds than endure the Farm Line,” Winn said. “To the men still being punished inside Angola: We can’t give up. Our voice is our hope. We have to continue to believe and push. We can end this form of slavery.”

According to attorneys involved in the case, the ruling focused primarily on heat-related conditions and did not directly evaluate arguments concerning whether the Farm Line constitutes a modern continuation of systems of forced labor rooted in slavery and the post-Civil War convict leasing system.

Samuel Weiss, executive director of Rights Behind Bars, called the Farm Line “dangerous, pointless, and cruel,” and argued that Louisiana should have ended the practice years ago.

Angola is the largest maximum-security prison in the U.S. and has been the subject of scrutiny over prison conditions and labor practices. The name “Angola” comes from the former plantation that occupied the site, where many enslaved people were brought from Angola in Africa.

The ruling leaves the future of the Farm Line uncertain. While existing reforms remain in place for now, advocates argue that the absence of a permanent court order means that prison officials could alter or eliminate those protections in the future.

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs said they are reviewing their legal options following the decision. They have not yet announced whether they will appeal. 

“Disheartened does not begin to capture the emotions I’m feeling about this ruling,” Winn said. “But we as Black people have long been conditioned to expect the courts to rule against us.”

Editorial Team:
Sahar Fatima, Lead Editor
Lara Witt, Top Editor
Stephanie Harris, Copy Editor