Word: wardens
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Whitley thinks otherwise. "They need to feel an advocate within the system," he says, "and that's the warden." To burnish Angola's image, Whitley started up a touring rock band and theater group. To help prisoners make better use of their free time, he added basic reading and college-level computer and paralegal courses. To encourage good conduct, he offered concrete rewards: increased visitation, telephone and TV privileges...
...ally on the issue of greatest concern to lifers: parole eligibility. Inmates are lobbying Baton Rouge for laws that would grant lifers the opportunity for a supervised release, a practice common in most states. "Others saw us as subversive," says Norris Henderson, who heads the inmate effort. "This warden agrees with the things we're doing." Whitley maintains that his interest is practical. Currently two-thirds of Angola's inmates are serving life terms; in another 15 years, the prison will be filled with people who can never leave. "Put someone in prison for life with no hope - of getting...
Still, the security staff doesn't feel Whitley favors or coddles prisoners. "With him you'll get the closest thing to a fair shake," says Michael Gunnells, the assistant warden in charge of security. A year ago, for instance, at Camp J -- home to Angola's incorrigibles -- staff morale had bottomed out in a storm of hurled food, spit and excrement. Whitley responded with a strict set of disincentives. Curse a guard, forfeit canteen privileges. Throw a meal tray, lose your radio. "The burden is on prisoners," says Captain Davy Kelone. "It drives them crazy." That it does. Camp...
...says, "is provide the opportunity." Does he believe a person can really change? "Sure, I've seen it. They've aged. They've matured. They've shown they can handle their emotions." Would he give some of them a second chance? "Sure." Coaxed, the warden allows that there are "a couple hundred" he could set free tomorrow without reservation...
...University, he tried and failed to secure an appointment to the state police. Disappointed, he settled for a corrections job. After nine years at Angola, he moved to Louisiana's Hunt Correctional Center, where in 1983 he became The Man. "I never really had a desire to be a warden," he says. "I just kept being promoted up." (Sybil, his wife of 17 years, counters, "He says he's not ambitious. I say he is.") After retiring from the civil service in 1989, he became warden of a privately run prison in Texas. When the call came from Louisiana asking...