ABSTRACT
Some readers of this book will doubtless remain circumspect about the effects of religion at Angola in part because of the history of its longtime warden, the perennially controversial Burl Cain. On literally the last night of our three years of frequent excursions to the prison, we were surprised with news that Burl Cain had abruptly resigned after nearly 21 years. Accused of what a Baton Rouge newspaper called inappropriate “side deals” involving real estate transactions with family members of Angola inmates, the 73 year old Cain had stepped down. The next morning, the paper published a lengthy front page account of several failed prison-related business undertakings spanning Cain’s entire career, including a failed effort to build a recycling plant at Dixon Correctional Institution, a failed canning operation in which inmates could generate revenue for Angola by relabeling canned goods, and another where inmates would operate an assembly line “deboning chicken thighs” generating 37 cents per man hour for the prison. 1 While there have been many allegations and multiple investigations of Burl Cain over the years, none of them have resulted in a criminal charge. In the aftermath of his failed bid to establish the canning plant, Cain stated, “This is probably my last hurrah with private industry because you end up accused of being a crook.” 2 Perhaps the most notorious claim against Burl Cain was leveled by New York Times journalist Daniel Bergner, who cited Cain as a father figure only to accuse him of “extortion” after Bergner alleges Cain demanded $50,000 for access to Angola for Bergner’s book project. Bergner took Cain to federal court to gain access to the prison but never proved his allegation of extortion. 3
