The Red Hat Cell Block is a former prison housing unit of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana 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 on March 14, 2011. , . a one-story, 30-cell building at Camp E.Sinclair, Billy Wayne and Jodie Sinclair. A Life in the Balance: The Billy Wayne Sinclair Story. Arcade Publishing, 2000. 51. Retrieved from Google Books on October 1, 2010. , . 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. 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." Mother Jones. 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",Sinclair, Billy and Jodie Sinclair. A Life in the Balance: the Billy Wayne Sinclair Story. Arcade Publishing, 2000. 132. Retrieved from Google Books on October 28, 2010. , 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, 2000. 131. Retrieved from Google Books on October 28, 2010. , Red Hat became a dog kennel. In 1977 Camp J took "Red Hat"'s role as the most restrictive housing unit in Angola. On February 20, 2003, the National Park Service listed the Red Hat Cell Block on the National Register of Historic Places as #03000041.
Composition Red Hat had 30 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 towers were in proximity to Red Hat; guards in those towers had orders to "shoot to kill."
Inmate life Brooke Shelby Biggs of Mother Jones 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 at the Los Angeles Times. July 23, 1989. 2. Retrieved on March 22, 2011.
See also
Gruesome Gertie
References