The Red Hat Cell Block is a former prison housing unit of the

Louisiana State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

West Feliciana Parish West Feliciana Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Feliciana Ouest''; Spanish: ''Parroquia de West Feliciana'') is a civil parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 15,625, and 15,310 at the 2020 census. ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

which, for a time, also contained the state's execution chamber and electric chair. After a 1933 escape attempt, prison authorities constructed a new prisoner cell block,Harper, Stephen J. ''Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster's Story''. Minnesota Historical Society, 2007
36
Retrieved from

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

on March 14, 2011. , . a one-story, 30-cell building at Camp E. That cell block, which became the most restrictive inmate housing unit in Angola, was colloquially referred to as "Red Hat",20030228.htm
"

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

. February 28, 2003. Retrieved on March 13, 2011. after the red paint-coated straw hats that its occupants wore when they worked in the fields.Biggs, Brooke Shelby.
Camp J, Red Hats, and the Hole
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Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

''. March 5, 2009. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. After a federal court ordered Louisiana prison authorities to enact reforms at Angola, Warden C. Murray Henderson phased out "Red Hat", and in 1972 Elayn Hunt had "Red Hat" officially closed.Sinclair, Billy and Jodie Sinclair. ''A Life in the Balance: the Billy Wayne Sinclair Story''.

Arcade Publishing Arcade Publishing is an independent trade publishing company that started in 1988 in New York, USA. It publishes American and world fiction and nonfiction. The company was started and run by Richard Seaver and his wife Jeannette.Weber, Bruce (J ...

, 2000
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on October 28, 2010. , Red Hat became a

dog kennel A kennel is a structure or shelter for dogs. Used in the plural, ''the kennels'', the term means any building, collection of buildings or a property in which dogs are housed, maintained, and (though not in all cases) bred. A kennel can be made ...

. In 1977 Camp J took "Red Hat"'s role as the most restrictive housing unit in Angola. On February 20, 2003, the

listed the Red Hat Cell Block on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

as #03000041.

Composition

Red Hat had thirty prison cells. Each cell measured by ; a solid steel door was the point of entry and egress. Each cell had a window near the cell's roof for ventilation; prison guards controlled a steel flap located at each cell window. Each cell housed an iron bunk without a mattress. To urinate and defecate, prisoners used a steel bucket that was emptied every morning. Four

guard tower A guard tower is any military tower used for guarding an area. These towers are usually operated by military personnel, and are structures built in areas of established control. These include military bases and cities occupied by military forces. ...

s were in proximity to Red Hat; guards in those towers had orders to "shoot to kill."

Inmate life

Brooke Shelby Biggs of ''

'' said that men who had lived in "Red Hat" "told of a dungeon crawling with rats, where dinner was served in stinking buckets splashed onto the floors." The food consumed by Red Hat prisoners was leftovers from the cafeteria serving the rest of Camp E. The leftovers were placed in wheelbarrows and given to the Red Hat prisoners. Some prisoners were not wearing clothes while confined to their cells.Ashton, Linda. "Louisiana Inmates Blame Unrest on Governor : Roemer's Stinginess With Clemency Has Created 'Time Bomb,' Lifers Claim" ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

'' at the ''

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''. July 23, 1989
2
Retrieved on March 22, 2011.

References

{{reflist Louisiana State Penitentiary Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Prisons on the National Register of Historic Places Government buildings completed in 1935 National Register of Historic Places in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana 1935 establishments in Louisiana

Composition

Inmate life

See also

References