As part of our effort to raise awareness of life issues for the poor and marginalized, forty Brother Martin students and four faculty members took a tour of Angola State Penitentiary over the Christmas break. After arriving at the prison at 10:00 AM, a retired prison guard boarded Brother Martin’s #4 bus and collected all cell phones and cameras as these items are not allowed in the prison.
The tour included a talk by an inmate serving a life term for murder; a visit to the country’s only prisoner run radio station, KLSP; a drive past the rodeo grounds; a tour of the room where the state carries out executions by lethal injection; a walk through one of the barracks where 80 prisoners live in 40 bunk beds; lunch consisting of the same food that the prisoners ate that day (fried fish, mac & cheese, spinach, and a mysterious orange drink); a visit to the kennel where the wolf-dog hybrid guard dogs are bred and housed, and a stop at the prison museum.
After the students complete a reflection based on the experience, they will be credited 10 service hours for following Jesus’ counsel to visit the imprisoned (Matthew 25:39).
Some facts learned on the field trip:
