Angola to transfer 602 inmates to another facility

ANGOLA, La. (WAFB) - Staffing shortages at one of the country’s most notorious prisons will mean moving inmates there to another facility in Louisiana.

602 inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola are set to be transferred over the coming months to the Allen Correctional Center in Kinder, near Lake Charles.

The 602 inmates account for about 12 percent of Angola’s current prison population of 5,100 inmates.

The move, to happen in three different stages, was first reported by Louisiana Illuminator.

Next Monday, state lawmakers will be asked to approve moving $2.6 million in funding and 130 vacant positions from Angola to the Allen facility, Louisiana Department of Corrections spokesman Ken Pastorek said.

Corrections leaders believe it will be easier to find staffers at the prison in Kinder than it currently is at Angola.

Louisiana Department of Corrections Undersecretary Thomas Bickham said Angola’s rural location in West Feliciana Parish makes it very difficult to recruit staff there, particularly with a starting pay of just $15.37 per hour.

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