On August 8, 1989, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) initiated an investigation into the conditions of confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997. On May 13, 1991, the DOJ issued a findings letter to the Governor of Louisiana, detailing the following allegedly unconstitutional conditions at the prison: failure to provide adequate medical and mental health care, failure to provide a safe environment, segregation of inmates by race in cell assignments, and arbitrary and excessive use of extended lockdown.

On January 2, 1992, inmates at the prison filed a class action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Louisiana Department of Corrections in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. The plaintiffs alleged that their constitutional rights had been violated by the conditions of their confinement. On July 22, 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice asked the court to allow them to intervene under CRIPA. On September 8, 1994, the district court (Judge Frank J. Polozola) granted the DOJ's request to intervene as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

On September 24, 1998, the district court (Judge Polozola) approved a settlement agreement between the parties. We do not have a copy of the settlement agreement so do not have details on its precise terms. On March 26, 1999, pursuant to a joint motion by all parties, the district court closed the case.

Kristen Sagar - 09/10/2006


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