Burl Cain

Louisiana State Penitentiary, also called Angola after the name of the slave plantation that formerly occupied its land, is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. Many of the inmates are imprisoned for life or for equivalently long terms [7] and are unlikely to ever be released. Under Cain's tenure, violent incidents decreased significantly among the inmate population as the prison transitioned to a model based on a Christian religious atmosphere and manual labor, enforced in part with threats of solitary confinement, among other punishments.[8]

As warden, Cain created an exclusively Christian religious environment in which inmates who displayed adherence to the faith were rewarded and those who did not were punished.[9] A branch of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary was established at Angola during Cain's tenure, one of the prison's eight churches.[10] In August 2006, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit accusing Warden Cain and the Louisiana state prison system of hindering a Mormon inmate's access to religious texts.[11] At least one Catholic inmate was also allegedly harassed for requesting to receive Mass while imprisoned on Death Row.[12]

Cain increased media access to the prison, and several documentaries were filmed at the prison during his tenure.[13] He also established a television station at the prison and supported the newsmagazine and radio. Filmed events at the prison include the Angola Prison Rodeo, football, and boxing matches. Cain established a prison-run hospice program in 1997. In 2008, Cain became the longest-serving warden in the history of Angola.[14]

While at Angola, in September/October 2005, Cain also became the warden of Camp Greyhound, a temporary jail in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.[15]

In 2016, when he resigned, the prison had 3,600 inmates on 18,000 acres.[10] Gordon Russell and Maya Lau of The Advocate reported that Cain's salary, $167,211 per year was $30,000 higher than that of James LeBlanc, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Corrections and a previous subordinate and personal friend of Cain. According to Russell and Lau, many observers said that Cain was de facto the head of the department.[16]

In 2008 Cain said he supported continuing solitary confinement for the men known as the Angola 3, stating:

Let's just for the sake of argument assume, if you can, that he is not guilty of the murder of Brent Miller. … Okay, I would still keep him in CCR…I still know that he is still trying to practice Black Pantherism, and I still would not want him walking around my prison because he would organize the young new inmates. I would have me all kind of problems, more than I could stand, and I would have the blacks chasing after them.[17]

Cain has been compared by both supporters and detractors to the Dukes of Hazzard character Boss Hogg.[16]

In 2010, Cain was among the speakers in a series at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[18]

In December 2013, a federal judge ruled that death row at Angola is so hot during part of the year that the temperatures undermine the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which forbids "cruel and unusual punishment". The judge demanded a plan to cool death row. Prison officials appealed the order.[10]

Cain's resignation as warden came amid allegations about his private real estate dealings raised by The Baton Rouge Advocate. The capital city newspaper claimed that Cain sold interest in land that he owned in West Feliciana Parish to two developers who were reportedly either family or friends of two Angola inmates incarcerated for conviction of murder. The state legislative auditor and the state Department of Public Safety & Corrections began investigations into the issue.[10] In May 2016, Cain was exonerated of any wrongdoing, with respect to using his employees to perform home renovations.[19]

In January 2017, a separate report from the office of Daryl G. Purpera, the state legislative auditor, said that some ten correctional department employees performed work on Cain's private residence near Central in East Baton Rouge Parish. One worked for Cain for three weeks while on official duty at his regular state job. In addition to the labor which Cain received, the audit alleges that the former warden obtained appliances and furnishings, such as iron gates, and food and lodging at the penitentiary for a number of his relatives, mostly his children.

Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc, Cain's long-term friend and business partner, said that Cain was "personally liable" for $20,000 for the costs of the food, lodging and gates; and that the department will file a civil suit or seek restitution if Cain faces prosecution in the matter.[20] Cain discounted the findings of the Purpera report, saying it had misinterpreted his "creative" approach to handling his duties as warden. Cain claims to have transformed the long-running Angola Prison Rodeo into a self-sustaining facility, resulting in a financial windfall for the state. He also authorized the construction of five new chapels built with privately raised funds.[21]

Cain said that it was his

being creative and thinking outside the box that got me in trouble. These kinds of things discourage state employees from being entrepreneurial. … I stole nothing. I gave. … I should be tossed off rather than condemned.[21]

Ultimately Cain was cleared by the Daryl Purpera investigation and by another probe into his activities by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Cain said that he never doubted that he would be cleared because he had stolen nothing, had merely "thought outside the box" to bring needed changes to the penitentiary. He said that prayers from his fellow Southern Baptists assured that he would receive justice in the investigations.[22]

The district attorney for the Louisiana 20th Judicial District, Sam D'Aquilla, indicated that he would refer the case to a grand jury.[21]

As of 2020 he became the head of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves chose Cain as the agency head. In June 2020 a Mississippi legislative committee approved Cain's nomination.[2] The Mississippi Senate confirmed Cain that month.[23]