• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Here's something to do with jaded tourists who think they've seen it all - put them behind bars.

Wherever you live in the US, it’s likely you won’t be too far away from the chance to voluntarily see “stir” or a “Big House” somewhere. For parents who think locking the kids up may be a good idea, this is a chance to see what it would be like, and for children, seeing what it’s like behind locked doors might lead to behavior modification... not to mention a dose of "Scared Straight."

Angola's Evolution

Famous prisoners such as Al Capone have long ago been sprung from some of these institutions such as Alcatraz, but in at least one prison, you can see more than a museum, and, you can play golf there as well. That’s the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola (225/655-2028) an hour’s drive from Baton Rouge. About 1,000 people a month visit the museum outside the gates and become part of a group tour, which includes not only a look at the cells, but also a prison inmate guide who will answer questions.

Cathy Fontenot, Angola’s Assistant Warden at my visit, does not think it’s strange in the slightest that prisons have become popular tourist attractions, or that they may represent a growing segment of the visitor market. “People are fascinated by prisons. This is the most historic prison in the world. It dates back to right after the Civil War. It was the bloodiest in the world,” said Fontenot.

For a long time, Angola was the state's only maximum-security prison. And that’s saying something when you consider that “Louisiana has more people locked up per capita than anywhere else in the world,” Fontenot readily admits. Angola’s past brutality has often been the subject of films and books. “We used to get 30 violent deaths a year,” Fontenot said. Considering the make-up of Angola’s prison, that was not a huge surprise. Over half of its inmates are up on murder raps, and 52% are serving life a sentence and will never be released.

Angola’s brutal reputation began to change in 1994 when Burl Cain became Warden. Similar to the Robert Redford movie, ”Brubaker,” Cain reformed the prison and opened the clanging doors in 1998 to outside visitors. “Warden Cain likes to say it takes four things to run a good prison – ‘good food, good medicine, good playing and good praying,’ ” said Fontenot.

Visitors on a two to four hour tour can see the old electric chair that used to dispense the final verdict, and its successor, a lethal injection chamber. Riding through the prison’s sprawling 18,000-acre grounds, visitors can’t help but be impressed by its cleanliness, due in large part to Warden Cain’s attempts to keep the prisoners gainfully occupied. Visitors also can’t help but be impressed by training programs available to inmates. “We’re the only prison in the country that offers four year college degrees from what happens to be a Bible College,” Fontenot said.

It could also be the only prison in the country with a new golf course. The nine-hole Prison View Golf course is somewhat unusual, however, in that no tee times will be scheduled without background checks and players must consent to searches. But the club has attractions such as the Number 1 tee box, elevated about 75 yards, and offering a “spectacular” view of the state’s only maximum security prison.

Non-golfing visitors will also almost certainly note during their tour that only about 1,000 inmates actually live in traditional cells, while the rest live in dormitories. If you are visiting Angola in October, be sure to check out the annual Angola Rodeo. The Rodeo takes place every Sunday that month.