Oct. 24, 2024

The Neville Brothers, The Injured Pelican and Butlers Park

The Neville Brothers, The Injured Pelican and Butlers Park

In this episode of Bloody Angola, we begin with a story on "Butler's Park," highlighting the Outdoor Visiting Program that enhances inmate well-being and fosters family connections in a serene park setting.

We then delve into the heartwarming story...

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Season 6

In this episode of Bloody Angola, we begin with a story on "Butler's Park," highlighting the Outdoor Visiting Program that enhances inmate well-being and fosters family connections in a serene park setting.

We then delve into the heartwarming story of the "Pelican Protector," showcasing the establishment of the John B. Rabalais Waterfowl Refuge and a collaborative rescue of an injured pelican, cared for by the inmates and conclude with the exhilarating account of a concert featuring the Neville Brothers, capturing the uplifting power of music to unite and inspire hope within the prison walls. These stories are the direct accounts of the writings of Wilbert Rideau in the book “Life sentences”.

Timestamps
05:20 Outdoor Visiting Program at Angola: Butler’s Park
20:26 John B. Rabelais Waterfowl Refuge at LSP at Angola
29:00 Concerts at Angola with the Neville Brothers
43:40 Reflection on today’s episode

For Louisiana Local Advertising inquiries or to book appearances please email BloodyAngola@gmail.com

WEBVTT

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I walk straight line shackle change, Oh, someome gird. It's

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calling my name. There is no mercy and it's been

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a tentery juice as the hill Stream game Rango three.

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Come in by me or die.

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Inside these walls, inside the wild.

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And when the girls I Hey everyone, and welcome back

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to Bloody and GOA a podcast one and forty two

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years in the making, the complete story of America's Bloodiest Present.

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I'm Jim Chapman. What he is at polygraph school some

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sort of conference or something out of state. So it's

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me today and I'm going to bring you some more

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writings of Wilbert Rido. I have had at least twenty

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people email or message me on the Facebook page, and

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they are loving these little short stories by Wilbert Ridou

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that I found in the end golight in some other publications.

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And they're saying any that I come across that I

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could share, they'd love it. And so hopefully y'all are

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loving the content there. And I've got a couple more

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that I was able to dig up. And the first

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one I'm in a reference is called Butler's Park by

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Wilbert Rido, and it says this looks like it's going

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to be the best thing to happen here since they

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put inmates in blue jeans. Ernest Warren said of his

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new duties an Angola security officer. Warren assists on varying

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duties with a new and innovative feature of the prison's

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inmate visiting system called outdoor Visiting, announced earlier this year

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by Correction Secretary C. Paul Phelps, who described it as

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the first step in the administration's long term plan to

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institute incentive to induce and reward good behavior among the

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prisoner population. The program furthers to improve the conditions of

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inmate visiting at Angola. Traditionally, inmates at Louisiana State Penitentiary

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have been permitted only two methods of visiting, the manner

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being determined by custody status. Maximum security inmates must visit

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with a screen or glass partition separating them from visitors.

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Medium and minimum security inmates are permitted contact visits. The

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inmate and his visitors simply walk into a visiting room,

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select whatever table they desire, and are free to touch

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or embrace. The new program adds another dimension to visiting,

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and the first stage of it is already a reality.

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A spacious, tree shaded park, nestled against sloping hills on

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the outskirts of an employee residential area has been created

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at the prison for eligible trustee inmates to have picnics

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with their approved visitors. Barbecue grills have been installed to

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allow inmates and visitors to cook their own meals. Administrative

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emphasis is upon the relaxed atmosphere and allowing inmates and

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visitors the freedom to do things together as a family.

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People tend to forget that regardless of the reason the

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inmate is in prison, he's somebody's father, son, husband, or brother.

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That pointed out by Buddy Dell Weber. Weber, a security officer,

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is on site coordinator of the program at the park.

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If the inmate is to eventually leave here and be

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reintegrated into free society, we have to prepare him for

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it by helping him maintain and preserve his family ties.

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Having an inmate visit his family across the table in

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a crowded and noisy visiting room leaves a lot to

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be desired out here in the park. A father can

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play tag with his kids, They can move around. The

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family can cook and do something together as a family.

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This type of visiting is a much more meaningf way

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to let the inmate remain a husband to his wife,

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a son to his parents, a father to his children.

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In addition, this kind of visiting is less stressful for

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the visitors who we must remember our tax paying citizens

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who haven't committed crimes. I think this is definitely a

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step in the right direction for Louisiana State Penitentiary. The

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visitors are grateful. This is the first time in seven

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years that we've been able to all be together as

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a family with Leyton Merl Krill states watching her son

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and his child chase a butterfly, it's such a great

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change from sitting in a visiting room. It feels good

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to be able to get out like this, and we're

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really enjoying it. Danny Welch had told his mother Mary

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about the new visiting program, but she admits I still

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didn't know what to expect. You can't really picture it

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into your mind until you come here and actually see it,

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And having seen it, it's still hard to believe. It's

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so much more than I anticipate. The visitors love it.

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Weber states, once they come out here, they'll go at

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any length to be able to come back and visit

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like this again. In fact, the inmates are now getting

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pressure from their wives and families as a result. They

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know that they can only come out here and visit

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like this as long as the inmate is behaving himself

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while he's in prison. And I hear the visitors talking

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to the inmate as they're leaving, telling him under no

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uncertain terms that he better stay out of trouble so

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that they can continue to visit like this. It's true.

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Lewis debon a trustee acknowledges. Right after the first visit

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in the park. My wife served notice on me that

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if I caused her to lose this privilege, I'm in trouble.

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Eligibility for a picnic visit in the park is more

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or less in the hands of the inmate. His custody

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status and prison conduct record determine whether or not he

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and his visitors are eligible for the new program. Currently,

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the inmate is required to be a Class A trustee.

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It must not have had a write up within the

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past year. I don't know if anything is better than

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this to give an inmate a reason to keep his

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business straight. Warren said, it works out good for the system,

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the inmates, and all US employees who will benefit from

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the inmates behaving themselves. That's the purpose of the program.

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Deputy Warden Hilton Butler emits he created the outdoor visiting program.

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It's to give the inmates and visitors something good to

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look forward to for a while, at the same time

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making the present more trouble free. The park was Hilton's idea.

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Warden Frank Blackburn states he felt that the trustees of

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Angola deserves something for their efforts and good behavior, and

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as you know, there's not very much we've been able

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to do for them. Ever since Hilton told me about it,

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I've liked the idea and I encouraged him to do it,

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and I'm proud to say that it's turning out very well.

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I think it'll do a man a lot of good

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to be able to visit and picnic with his family

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out there rather than being jammed up in the visiting room.

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Butler explains some of the inmates going out there haven't

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cooked or eaten with their family in ten fifteen years.

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Now they can have a picnic, run a run, and

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play with their kids. I think it'll contribute to keeping

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the families closer together. It'll also help the inmate by

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giving him a better attitude, while encouraging other inmates who

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don't qualify to straighten up their act, make better men

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of themselves, and work toward trying to get the same privilege.

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It's also a good disciplinary tool because once they've had

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a visit in the park, they're not gonna want that

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privilege canceled by getting a write up. The program has

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had his impact. While Danny Welch pointed out the new

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privilege won't cause any dramatic changes in his behavior since

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he makes it his business to stay out of trouble anyway,

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he admits that the knowledge that the write up will

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cancel the privilege does make you a little bit more

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careful to make sure you don't get write up. He

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believes the program will prove a definite incentive to other inmates.

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Once they see the park and visit like this, they'll

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realize it's definitely worth working and looking forward to. Outdoor

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visiting in the park begins with the onset of warm

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weather and runs until the weather gets too cold for

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people to be out there comfortably. Butler explains, pointing out

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that Louisiana's winters rarely lasts more than three months. Unlike

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regular visiting programs, which restrict visits to two hours or less,

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the new program allows inmates to be with their visitors

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in the park for six and a half hours, from

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eight in the morning until two thirty in the afternoon.

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Visitors eligible for picnic visits are required to arrive at

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the prison gate between eight and nine thirty. Those arriving

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late must take their visit in the visiting room under

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normal procedures, given that time factor, visitors have to put

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forth a little extra effort to get to the preson

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and within the appointed time, but many are willing to

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make it. A Texas couple drove twelve straight hours from

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Brownsville to get here in time to have a picnic

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visit with their son. A New Orleans woman whose car

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broke down in Baton Rouge hired a taxi to get

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her to the prison on time. While the early hour

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might be somewhat inconvenient, the visitors have no complaints, as

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Mary Welch, also from New Orleans, states it was worth

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having to get up at four in the morning to

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get here on time. The surroundings the atmosphere. It's all

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so different and nice. That is the most wonderful thing

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that could have happened to us. Visiting like this lets

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us really feel like a family to be scheduled for

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a picnic visit in the park. All eligible inmates must

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submit a written request to Butler proposing a specific date

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on which his visitors can come. Since a year without

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a disciplinaryan fraction is in the criteria, Administrative assistant Nettie

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Vorhes pulls the inmate's file for Butler's review. I do

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make exceptions, Butler admits, if the inmate had a minor

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disciplinaryan fraction, something like dropping a cigarette butt on the

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floor or not cleaning up his bed or something, I

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don't hold that against him. For example, one inmate requesting

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a part visit had two write ups for gambling, but

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hadn't had a write up for several years before then.

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I went on and I approved him for the program.

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I'm flexible. I'm willing to consider the nature of the infraction,

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but disciplinary infractions involving refusal to work or insubordination with

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my officers of the kind I'm not going to give

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any consideration to. While the regular visiting program operates five

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days a week, eight hours a day. The outdoor visiting program,

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in its infancy and restricted to Class A trustees, operates

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only a small number of days per month, those days

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being determined primarily by the number of requests for each visit.

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Eligible inmates are allowed only one picnic visit per month.

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A plan to extend the allowance to twice per month

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is currently being considered. The park contains twelve tables and

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visits that are not scheduled until there are enough approved

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requests to justify opening the park to accommodate them. The

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problem is that the Class A trustees constitute only a

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small segment of the prison's inmate population, and a substantial

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percentage of them are men who have been confined here

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for years, men who experience the natural corresponding decrease in

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the number and frequency of visitors that goes along with

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the passage of time, and with disciplinary reports barring some

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from eligibility. The number of inmates currently participating in the

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program is small. Eligible inmates requesting an outdoor visit are

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encouraged to give an alternate date. If he asks for

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a particular day, he might be the only person requesting

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that day Butler points out the stricter regulations governing behavior

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in the prison's visiting room do not apply to the

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outdoor visiting program, where the emphasis is on a relaxed

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atmosphere and freedom. Aside from requiring that everyone stay within

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the perimeter of the park, we only ask that each

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set of visitors respect the others. For He's explains, each

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inmate is responsible for his visitors and children. We rely

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upon those who have the privilege to want to keep

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it and not mess it up for themselves or others.

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A disciplinary infraction incurred at any time anywhere in the

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prison can result in removal of the inmate from the program.

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Given the importance of visiting, the loss of outdoor visiting privileges,

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in addition to the normal punishment meted out by the

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prison disciplinary court, makes a disciplinary fraction particularly costly. That's

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why I consider the nature of the write ups and

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make exceptions, says Butler. You have to understand that I'm

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giving the inmate something special, and all I'm asking for

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in return is that he stays out of trouble, something

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he should do anyway, I don't think that's asking for much,

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so I want him to understand that he's automatically losing

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all of this if he messes up. The only consideration

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he's going to get, and the only exception I'll make

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is if the infraction is something minor, something I can

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understand and may be ignore. Other than that, he's getting

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taken off the program. If he's not, I'll be defeating

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the whole purpose of the program. Butler's enthusiasm for the

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new program is common knowledge. He paid for the first

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round of charcoal for the barbecues out of his own pocket,

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asking that visitors donate whatever they wish to a fund

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so that the steady supply could be available for everyone

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utilizing the park. He often visits the park, going from

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table to table, greeting the visitors and asking for their

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input on ways to improve the park. He wanted to

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install swings and provide playthings for the children, something many

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of the visitors also suggested, but he's having to reconsider.

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I'd love to do that, he said, but I'm having

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to give it a lot of fun thought because I've

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got to consider the possible civil liability involved if one

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of the kids gets hurt. That's something I'm going to

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have to discuss with mister Phelps. And our lawyers before

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I install anything. Recently, he permitted one visitor to donate

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a small plastic plaything in the part for smaller kids.

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The new program has been greeted with enthusiastic support from

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00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:25.919
Phelps and Blackburn, visiting personnel, and a lot of prison

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personnel who you wouldn't think would normally like the idea,

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Butler said, Even staunch hardline security people tell me they

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think it's one of the best things that ever happened

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to the inmates here, and they've offered to do whatever

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they can do to help make it a success. Everyone

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00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:44.159
wants to see it work. For instance, when we had

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to come up with a way of letting visitors cook

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without allowing them to bring groceries into the prison, Randy Weinstein,

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00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:53.600
who works in the commissary, agreed to leave his home

249
00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:55.840
on his days off to go open the store and

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fill orders for the visitors. There have been times when

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I told him that he didn't have to do that.

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I would personally go get groceries, but he wanted to

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do it. And that's the kind of support we've been

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00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:09.720
getting from a lot of people, the mainenance department and

255
00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:14.879
the inmate workers. My staff officials, personnel, and even inmate organizations.

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00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:17.600
Who's offered to buy things that might be needed in

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00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:21.159
the park. Everybody seems supportive. If there's somebody who's not,

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or if they have a problem with the program, they're

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00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:26.919
not letting me know about it. The program began with

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00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:30.080
trustee prisoners, but it will not end with them. Picnic

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00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:33.440
rights for Class A trustees representing only the first stage

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of a much larger program. I definitely intend to extend

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it to a Class B trustee and medium security inmates.

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Butler states they'll both be integrated into the program at

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the same time in place, and it will operate more

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or less like it does for the Class A trustees

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in the park. The only difference will be the location.

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00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:58.679
He's considering, creating a park like area adjacent to the

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main prison visiting He had initially planned to start the

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00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:05.680
program for medium security inmates next spring, but the program

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00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:08.720
for the trustees is working so well that I'm actually

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00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:12.880
trying to get something started for medium security inmates this fall,

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he said. But if I can't pull it off, I'll

274
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definitely have it ready by the spring. Those who are

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interested in participating in the program can get ready for

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00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:23.880
it all they've got to do is give me a

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00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:28.400
year without a serious write up. Butler anticipates no problems

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in extending picnic visits to medium security inmates. We're still

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00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:35.359
going to have inmates strip search following their visits, just

280
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as we do now on regular visits and the visiting room,

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00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.720
he points out, we don't want any contraband flowing through there.

282
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Of course, there's always the possibility after a while someone

283
00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:49.119
might toy around with the idea of trying something. After all,

284
00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:51.400
there are some people who go through a lot of

285
00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:54.880
hassle to get some dope, but that's no real problem

286
00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:58.119
because that kind of prisoner is not likely to be

287
00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:01.720
eligible for the program. Stone art with, he's not the

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00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:05.079
kind who can stay clean of the disciplinary report for

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an entire year. After considering all angles, and based on

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00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:11.599
my thirty three years of experience with prisoners, I don't

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expect any increase in the flow of contraband or any

292
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other type of problems. Butler feels the full potential of

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the program won't be realized until medium security inmates are

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incorporated into it. That's when it is expected become a

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00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:30.000
full fledged affair, operating on a daily basis. Medium security

296
00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:33.640
inmates constitute the majority of the prison population and the

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largest percentage of inmates receiving regular visits from friends and relatives.

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00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:40.680
I think we're going to have a lot of people

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00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:44.359
in the program, Butler speculates, and the more the better.

300
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I hope we have so many people in the program

301
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that it gets so big we have to keep expanding

302
00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:53.119
the picnic area. Because if there are a thousand inmates

303
00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:56.960
participating in the program, that's a thousand prisoners who are

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staying out of trouble and not causing problems for anyone.

305
00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.240
That's good news. I think this program has the potential

306
00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:05.880
of being one of the best incentives for good behavior

307
00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:08.799
that you can come up with, given the circumstances and

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what we've had to work with. Butler says, it's something

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to help the inmates, something that once they get it,

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00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:17.319
I don't think they're going to want to lose it,

311
00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:20.759
and that will reduce disciplinary problems, make the prison more

312
00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:23.559
troubled free, and in the long run, be good for

313
00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:27.720
the security of the institution. The outdoor visiting program might

314
00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:30.799
be an idea whose time has arrived. Jack Donnelly, the

315
00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:35.519
warden of the troubled Washington Correctional Facility at Bugalusa, the

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00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:39.759
state's newest prison, recently visited the park site and has

317
00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:44.240
requested all available information about the program. He's considering creating

318
00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:47.359
a similar one at his prison, which has been plagued

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00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:51.880
by a lack of adequate incentive mechanisms. Butler and his idea,

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We're paid the ultimate compliment. At a dinner in his

321
00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:59.640
honor attended by officials and numerous inmate leaders, Warden Blackburn,

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at the request of the inmates, officially proclaimed the park

323
00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:06.799
site's new name to be Butler Park, and in the

324
00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:10.519
postcrip it says Layton Crill, Lewis Davon, and Danny Welch

325
00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:14.559
serve their sentences and were released. Sergeant Ernest Warren retired,

326
00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:17.279
Buddy dell Weber no longer works at the park, and

327
00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:20.799
Nettie Vorhees transferred to a prison closer to her home.

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Frank Blackburn retired in nineteen eighty seven, and Hilton Butler

329
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was named warden that same year. In nineteen eighty seven,

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picnic visits where extended to medium security inmates the now

331
00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:35.599
expanded Picnic Visiting program as a minister by the Prison

332
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Classification Department. Similar programs now exist at most Louisiana prisons.

333
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And that's a pretty good one. And we talk about

334
00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:47.799
it a lot on Bloody Angola, and that is hope right.

335
00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:53.160
You can't just lock prisoners up, give them no privileges

336
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whatsoever and expect everything to be cope aesthetic. And I'll

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continue on to the next one I chose, and that's

338
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called called the Pelican Protector years End in nineteen eighty

339
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six saw official dedication of the John B. Rabelais Waterfowl

340
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Refuge in Louisiana State Penitentiary. The refuge is believed to

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be the first wildlife sanctuary within the perimeters of a

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prison anywhere in the nation. The story of the refuge

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00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:26.640
began some four years ago when Lieutenant Bobby Olivo discovered

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a pelican trapped in a trout line on Lake Killerney.

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He freed the unfortunate bird, but the pelican had suffered

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00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:38.119
serious injuries to his wing. Olivo saw to it that

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the bird was treated and nursed back to health. Once healthy,

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the bird was still unable to fly because he had

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a damaged wings, so Captain John B. Rabelai took him

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to Camp f where he was adopted and cared for

351
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by the prisoners, and guess what they named him, y'all?

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They named him Pierre. Rabelais and Ron Wickburg, a lifer,

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decided that Pierre Sho should have a mate or be

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relocated to an area where a mate was available. With

355
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the blessing of Warden Frank Blackburn, wig Bird spearheaded the project,

356
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contacting the media and people throughout the region. Pierre, one

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of the most unusual of jailbirds, quickly became a focal

358
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point of the media. He was featured in Louisiana Conservationist

359
00:22:20.759 --> 00:22:25.519
magazine and was the subject of television reports. As a

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result of the media attention, a mate was found for Pierre.

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Doctor W. S. Bivins of the Louisiana State University Vet

362
00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:38.960
School and two students had treated a gunshot wounded pelican

363
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they named Samantha, and she needed a place to rest

364
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and hill. Through the combined efforts of Bivins and Fur

365
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and Refue Division Chief Johnny Tarver, Samantha was brought to Angola.

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She immediately hit it off with Pierre. A variety of

367
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other feathered creatures gradually joined the two pelicans at the pond,

368
00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:02.559
including two more were injured Pelicans complements of the Audubon

369
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Park Zoological Gardens. To ensure the peace of the camp

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F Pond for its increasing waterfowl population, Rabbelay persuaded Warden

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Blackburn to prohibit all hunting and fishing there. On December two,

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nineteen eighty six, on a sunny but Chile afternoon, a

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host of prison personnel, prisoners, local and state officials, and

374
00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:26.240
friends and relatives of rabel A gathered in front of

375
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Camp F to dedicate the John B. Rabel A Waterfowl

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Refuge as a testimonial to the man in his thirty

377
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years of service at Angola. Warden Blackburn served as MC

378
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for the event. Prior to acknowledging the dignitaries present, Deputy

379
00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:46.559
Warden Hilton Butler recounted his long standing friendship with Rabelais.

380
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John and I go back a long ways, he told

381
00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:51.839
the audience. It was kind of like it is now.

382
00:23:52.039 --> 00:23:54.960
We were real shorthanded. I was the captain then and

383
00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:58.079
John had just started working for me. He wanted to

384
00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:00.440
get married, and I told him to go ahead. I'm

385
00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:02.920
working his place, so I pulled a shift for him

386
00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:05.480
and he got married. To this day, I don't know

387
00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:08.559
whether I did Miss Dora a great favor or not.

388
00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:13.720
Referring to that guy's wife, wick Burg, who had worked

389
00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:16.839
for Rabelae to create the sanctuary, told the group today

390
00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:21.640
mankind is solemnizing two important events. It's reafferring concern for

391
00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:24.640
our wildlife and environment, and it's paying tribute to a

392
00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:28.160
special human being friend. In my opinion, there's no man

393
00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:31.440
more deserving. The high point of the event was provided

394
00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:35.799
by Attorney Jack Grimion, who, as an Attorney General, first

395
00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:39.039
met and became associated with rabbel Ai long ago and

396
00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:42.920
when Rabelais worked in the prison's record office. I've always

397
00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:45.920
cherished his friendship, and I will value it as long

398
00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:49.200
as I live, he declared, calling his old friend up

399
00:24:49.319 --> 00:24:52.400
to stand beside the podium. Grimion presented him with an

400
00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:56.799
official certificate on behalf of J. Burton Angels, Secretary of

401
00:24:56.920 --> 00:25:01.200
the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, and of the the Jeffersonians,

402
00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:06.039
which was a civic organization. A simple man of simple taste,

403
00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:09.759
Rabelay accepted the honor with both pride and humility. He

404
00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:12.359
was never a soft man, but his face bore the

405
00:25:12.440 --> 00:25:15.119
lines of age and wisdom, and merely a hint of

406
00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:18.920
compassion that lay beneath the gruff exterior. He was a

407
00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:21.480
man for his times and a man of few words.

408
00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:25.119
I've always said and still do, that anything can be

409
00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:29.559
accomplished by anybody willing to work together. This refuge is

410
00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:34.119
the perfect example of that belief. Visibly moved by the honor,

411
00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:38.839
he thanked everyone for participating. Bishop Stanley Ott of the

412
00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:42.599
Baton Ridge Catholic Diocese blessed the refuge, pointing out that

413
00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:45.839
the pelican is a symbol or a sign of the Eucharist.

414
00:25:46.599 --> 00:25:49.000
A pelican's mother will give her own blood to her

415
00:25:49.119 --> 00:25:51.519
young in order to feed it, and the pelican is

416
00:25:51.559 --> 00:25:56.039
a beautiful symbol of love and unselfishness and of total giving.

417
00:25:56.759 --> 00:26:01.000
Assistant Warden Roger Thomas closed the ceremony he's observing. We

418
00:26:01.160 --> 00:26:04.519
had quite a few of these grand openings in recent months,

419
00:26:04.599 --> 00:26:06.480
and I'm happy to see that this has been one

420
00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:09.480
of the nicer ones. It demonstrates that there is much

421
00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:12.799
more than Gola beyond the bars and guns. We are

422
00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:16.079
not only in the business of rehabilitating inmates. We are

423
00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:22.000
now going to be rehabilitating birds. Tarvar representing the Wildlife

424
00:26:22.039 --> 00:26:25.359
and Fisheries Department told me in golight, I've been looking

425
00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:28.880
forward to coming here to see for myself the results

426
00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:31.680
of everyone's efforts, and I'm pleased with what I see.

427
00:26:32.519 --> 00:26:34.839
It is most likely that this is the first such

428
00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:38.799
sanctuary ever created inside a prison, setting, an event for

429
00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:44.039
which Louisiana is proud. Sheriff Bill Daniels of West Feliciana Parrish,

430
00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:48.240
on hand to extend his congratulations, said, John has been

431
00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:51.559
a big asset to the correction system and is deserving

432
00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:55.680
of this honor. Rablay told me in golight, the dedication

433
00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:57.960
of the refuge in my name is an honor I

434
00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:01.880
will never forget. This event is very touching, emotional, and

435
00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:05.319
a proud time for me and my family. Although the

436
00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:08.640
honor was bestayed on me personally, it's an honor which

437
00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:12.039
is shared by many people who participated in this venture.

438
00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:16.000
The refuge signifies much more than a place for different

439
00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:20.119
birds and animals to live together in peaceful existence. It

440
00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:24.480
confirms that all employees and inmates of a maximum security institution,

441
00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:28.000
as well as all people, can work together under unusual

442
00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:33.640
circumstances to develop positive programs in any environment. I personally

443
00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:37.599
dedicate the refuge to all employees and inmates in Angola

444
00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:42.599
as a symbol of cooperation, dedication, honor, respect and accomplishment.

445
00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:46.319
Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for the efforts

446
00:27:46.359 --> 00:27:49.640
of all inmates and staff who were responsible for developing

447
00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:53.359
the refuge and for dedicating it in my name. Rabelai's

448
00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:56.880
family was touched by the event. His wife, Dora, who

449
00:27:57.000 --> 00:28:00.640
heads the prison's legal programs department, stayed, it is of

450
00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:03.880
great significance to all of us at this particular time

451
00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:07.680
in our lives. The dedication ceremony was very moving and

452
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:11.839
memorable for all of us. While John portrays a gruff,

453
00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:15.480
tough professional exterior, those of us who know him know

454
00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:18.319
that he's a kind, dedicated man of courage, honesty, and

455
00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:21.319
integrity who has a special place in his heart for

456
00:28:21.480 --> 00:28:25.400
anyone or anything suffering a disadvantage. I cannot think of

457
00:28:25.480 --> 00:28:28.759
a more fitting tribute for John's thirty years of dedicated

458
00:28:28.839 --> 00:28:32.920
professional service to Louisiana State Penitentiary. I hope that the

459
00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:35.799
honorabis state on John will serve as a reminder to

460
00:28:36.039 --> 00:28:39.480
all employees that corrections is not a thankless profession, and

461
00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:42.000
that the refuge will serve as a symbol to both

462
00:28:42.119 --> 00:28:45.400
staff and inmates that they can work together to accomplish

463
00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:50.559
positive goals. And in the postcript sadly it says Captain

464
00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:55.000
John B. Rabalay died in nineteen eighty seven. The Wildlife

465
00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:59.079
Refuge is still maintained, and the pelican still lives in

466
00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:02.920
a nearby waterway. And I got one more for you

467
00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:05.920
that you're going to find really interesting. And look, if

468
00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:09.839
you are from Louisiana, you've heard of the Neville Brothers.

469
00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:12.920
As a matter of fact, one of my favorite Christmas

470
00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:17.960
albums of all time is Aaron Neville's Christmas. If you

471
00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:22.319
ain't heard it, go listen to it. Love Aaron Neville's voice.

472
00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:25.680
And a lot of people don't know he used to

473
00:29:25.799 --> 00:29:29.240
perform any in Gola a lot, and they would actually

474
00:29:29.319 --> 00:29:33.640
set up concerts with Aaron Neville volunteering his time. And

475
00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:35.519
I'm going to tell you a story of one of

476
00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:40.000
those that was written by Tommy Mason, who was an

477
00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:43.720
editor on the Angolet, and it says prison is hard,

478
00:29:43.880 --> 00:29:48.440
a smothering place where men become stagnant. Prisoners are bombarded

479
00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:51.079
with public's nation that they are animals who are not

480
00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:54.480
to be trusted, who will prey on law abiding citizens

481
00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:59.480
and who are incapable of rising above their mistakes. In

482
00:29:59.559 --> 00:30:02.440
spite of it these stereotypes, many people are willing to

483
00:30:02.559 --> 00:30:05.160
extend a hand to men behind bars and help them

484
00:30:05.319 --> 00:30:09.119
rise above their worst failings. At Louisiana State Prison in

485
00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:12.559
April nineteen eighty seven, a group of musicians did just

486
00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:16.200
that by staging a concert for them. The entertainers were

487
00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:21.079
the Neville Brothers, Charmagne Neville and Real Feelings, and the

488
00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:26.000
Feister Sisters. Seven years earlier, Chuck Coulson of Watergate fame

489
00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:30.279
brought Johnny Cash to perform at Angola through the organization

490
00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:36.400
Prison Fellowship. That was the first concert since nineteen seventy four. Ironically,

491
00:30:36.599 --> 00:30:39.799
following the show in nineteen seventy four, spirits were high

492
00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:44.680
and there was much expectation for future concerts. However, state

493
00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:50.079
politics were gradually moving right. The result was no concerts,

494
00:30:50.119 --> 00:30:53.400
and on the occasion when interested entertainers tried to come,

495
00:30:53.640 --> 00:30:56.759
key administrators were not willing to allow them to put

496
00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:59.880
on shows. The seed for the nineteen eighty seven con

497
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:05.279
insert began coincidentally when in Goolight, editor Wilbert Rido spoke

498
00:31:05.359 --> 00:31:08.480
to a civics group from the New Orleans area. It

499
00:31:08.680 --> 00:31:11.960
happened that Lynn Batson and Aaron Neville of the Neville

500
00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:15.079
Brothers were in the audience. Neville is the head of

501
00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:19.880
the Uptown Youth Cultural and Developmental Center, a nonprofit volunteer

502
00:31:20.039 --> 00:31:23.720
organization he founded in nineteen eighty whose mission is to

503
00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:28.200
help young people become self reliant, contributing members of society

504
00:31:28.440 --> 00:31:32.119
rather than wasting their lives on crimes, drugs, and alcohol.

505
00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:36.279
His brother Charles, served time in Angola during the nineteen

506
00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:41.160
sixties the Bloody Yearshaw. Lynn Batson has her own legal

507
00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:43.839
practice and has worked with the Nevils for about nine

508
00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:47.880
years as their unofficial spokeswoman. When she discovered how long

509
00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:50.960
it had been since a concert had been organized for

510
00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:55.519
Ingola prisoners, she decided to take action. The novels were

511
00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:59.039
one hundred percent in favor of doing the concert, Batten said.

512
00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:03.000
The Feisters, a local harmony group, were interested in coming,

513
00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:06.400
and so was Charmaine Neville in her group Real Feelings

514
00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:10.599
and in Gola. Hilton Butler, the newly appointed warden of

515
00:32:10.680 --> 00:32:15.160
the prison, liked the idea. In designated assistant Warden Roger Thomas,

516
00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:18.720
to oversee the projects. There were problems, I guess I

517
00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:21.519
did foresee some of them bats until the end goal light.

518
00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:23.960
It was hard to make people see the amount of

519
00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:28.319
expenses that were incurred in doing something like this. The musicians,

520
00:32:28.359 --> 00:32:31.119
of course were donating their time, but we still had

521
00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:34.599
equipment to move and a range. Roger Thomas admitted I

522
00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:37.039
knew it was going to be a tremendous amount of work,

523
00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:41.200
but concerts providing outlet to the inmates. It's done all

524
00:32:41.240 --> 00:32:43.720
over the country. I never heard of anyone who had

525
00:32:43.720 --> 00:32:47.359
a strong rejection to someone coming in and performing for inmates.

526
00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:51.359
I've always been for things to benefit inmates, as long

527
00:32:51.400 --> 00:32:55.240
as it doesn't interfere with the security operations of the penitentiary.

528
00:32:55.799 --> 00:32:59.519
Wilbert Rito sought out the leaders of the inmate clubs

529
00:32:59.559 --> 00:33:02.880
to come up with donations to cover the expenses of trucking,

530
00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:07.599
paying roadies and other fees. The Angola Amateur Boxing Club,

531
00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:13.400
the Pardon Finance Board and the Angola JCS, the Lifers Association,

532
00:33:13.640 --> 00:33:17.119
the Drama Club, and the Social Educational and Athletic Club

533
00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:21.079
donating money to the event. Prisoners were involved in almost

534
00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:25.240
every aspect of the production. Terry Dekale, Jerry Bell and

535
00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:27.920
a crew of prisoners worked to design a stage that

536
00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.839
would accommodate the equipment and entertainers. Thomas was also appreciative

537
00:33:32.920 --> 00:33:36.279
of the cooperation he got from security. You couldn't ask

538
00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:39.119
for a smoother operation. It was done through the coordination

539
00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:43.039
of security, administration and the inmates. This thing went off

540
00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:47.799
without a hitch. Charles Neville, an inmate at Angola, some

541
00:33:48.039 --> 00:33:52.440
twenty years after being convicted for possession of marijuana, flew

542
00:33:52.599 --> 00:33:56.039
in from Oregon to make the concert. Charles is quick

543
00:33:56.119 --> 00:33:58.960
to shide those people whose attitude is if you're going

544
00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:01.160
to wind up in the Pennate tentrary, that's going to

545
00:34:01.240 --> 00:34:04.000
be the end of your life. He admits that for

546
00:34:04.119 --> 00:34:07.240
some people, coming to prison is the end. However, the

547
00:34:07.319 --> 00:34:10.159
fact that you have served time doesn't end your life.

548
00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:15.679
Now a talented saxophonist, he acknowledges that his time behind

549
00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:18.920
bars provided him with both the opportunity and the motivation

550
00:34:19.599 --> 00:34:23.639
to refine his musical technique. The one thing that happened

551
00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:26.639
to me is it got my technical skill together on

552
00:34:26.760 --> 00:34:29.639
the horn, he told the Ngoli. When I came, I

553
00:34:29.719 --> 00:34:32.239
could play, but I hadn't ever sat down and spent

554
00:34:32.360 --> 00:34:37.079
hours and hours every day practicing scales. While at Angola.

555
00:34:37.239 --> 00:34:39.559
Charles had time to do that, and he had the

556
00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:42.920
determination to do it. When I left here, I could

557
00:34:42.960 --> 00:34:46.199
go anywhere and play with anybody. Really, that was the

558
00:34:46.280 --> 00:34:49.000
beginning of a big change in my life. The effort

559
00:34:49.159 --> 00:34:52.320
Charles Neville put into getting the most out of serving

560
00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:55.639
time and his desire to overcome mistakes of the past

561
00:34:55.840 --> 00:34:58.559
opened up a vast new world to him upon his

562
00:34:58.679 --> 00:35:01.880
release from prison. When he was paroled, he went to

563
00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:05.719
New York, where his brother Aaron was enjoying success with

564
00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:09.199
his big hit Tell It Like It Is. Charles had

565
00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:13.480
traveled the world, established himself as an outstanding musician and

566
00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:18.159
now lecturer at Oregon State University. Twenty years had passed

567
00:35:18.199 --> 00:35:21.360
since Charles Neville was an inmate at Louisiana State Prison,

568
00:35:21.480 --> 00:35:25.119
but he hasn't forgotten either the experience nor the people

569
00:35:25.199 --> 00:35:29.519
who are behind bars. Eighty percent of Angola's population is black,

570
00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:32.079
and Charles says, I would like to talk to people

571
00:35:32.119 --> 00:35:34.960
and hear about stories and toasts and things like that,

572
00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:38.280
to which used to be passed down from generation to

573
00:35:38.440 --> 00:35:43.000
generation in black families. Charles had hoped obtaining a grant

574
00:35:43.039 --> 00:35:45.960
would allow him to preserve those stories that have enriched

575
00:35:46.039 --> 00:35:50.760
the black culture. An accomplished musician, father and grandfather, Charles

576
00:35:50.840 --> 00:35:54.199
Neville has an identity, a sense of direction. I think

577
00:35:54.239 --> 00:35:57.960
of myself as a person now, a useful, functional part

578
00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:01.519
of any community. What you do determines what you are,

579
00:36:01.880 --> 00:36:04.280
not what you have done. I know that there are

580
00:36:04.360 --> 00:36:09.119
some people here who are really a number one type person.

581
00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:12.280
They are real people. They just had bad breaks in life.

582
00:36:12.760 --> 00:36:15.440
I just like to say, for everyone, you were going

583
00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:17.639
to get out of here. This is not the end

584
00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:21.519
of the line. But when you get out, that's the beginning.

585
00:36:21.760 --> 00:36:25.079
While Charles Neville's experience may be unique, he was not

586
00:36:25.400 --> 00:36:29.400
the only prison story. Holly Benson of The Feister Sisters

587
00:36:29.559 --> 00:36:32.679
was also at Angola twenty years ago. Her dad was

588
00:36:32.760 --> 00:36:35.400
a basketball coach in California, and during the summer of

589
00:36:35.519 --> 00:36:39.599
nineteen sixty eight, he was the recreation director at Angola.

590
00:36:39.880 --> 00:36:42.719
The real funny thing was the day my dad walked

591
00:36:42.760 --> 00:36:45.800
into the ngolit office. The guy working there was his

592
00:36:45.920 --> 00:36:50.079
old college roommate, and now he was an inmate. Benson

593
00:36:50.159 --> 00:36:53.440
said that her mom and dad and sisters lived outside

594
00:36:53.480 --> 00:36:57.159
of Angola's gates that summer. That's the first place I

595
00:36:57.320 --> 00:37:01.280
ever saw James Booker play she recalled. Booker was leading

596
00:37:01.360 --> 00:37:03.920
a band at the time, and Charles Neville had been

597
00:37:03.960 --> 00:37:07.519
in that band the year before. In the late sixties,

598
00:37:07.639 --> 00:37:10.320
prison was a very hard place and women were not

599
00:37:10.519 --> 00:37:13.960
a part of the overall prisoner routine. We didn't have

600
00:37:14.119 --> 00:37:17.719
that much of contact with prisoners, Holly said. We had

601
00:37:17.760 --> 00:37:20.239
people that will work with you at your house or

602
00:37:20.320 --> 00:37:22.320
with my dad, and then we had a fellow that

603
00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:26.639
used to help my mom around the house. Benson remembers

604
00:37:26.719 --> 00:37:30.000
one inmate in particular. His name was Acey. He used

605
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:32.400
to be a gardener. He had been here forever. After

606
00:37:32.519 --> 00:37:35.960
his release, Benson said, he just came back. There was

607
00:37:36.039 --> 00:37:38.320
nobody in his family left alive, and there was no

608
00:37:38.519 --> 00:37:41.360
place for him to go. Benson learned of the concert

609
00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:44.800
from the Nevills, and Charles was here before, and I'm

610
00:37:44.960 --> 00:37:48.920
kind of another kind of alumni, she said. Charmaine Neville

611
00:37:49.159 --> 00:37:52.519
is Charles's daughter and a talented entertainer in her own right.

612
00:37:52.679 --> 00:37:55.800
As a young child, she never visited her father in prison.

613
00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:58.400
Matter of fact, she commented, I didn't even know he

614
00:37:58.599 --> 00:38:01.320
was in there until he was all already out. They

615
00:38:01.519 --> 00:38:04.880
kept that kind of secret from me. Once out of prison,

616
00:38:05.039 --> 00:38:07.960
Charles told his daughter about his experience. He told me

617
00:38:08.079 --> 00:38:11.320
stories about Angola. First they were kind of scary, but

618
00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:14.760
then as I got older, I understood Performing at the

619
00:38:14.840 --> 00:38:18.280
prison was the first time experienced for Charmaine. At first,

620
00:38:18.320 --> 00:38:20.159
I was kind of nervous about it, she told the

621
00:38:20.400 --> 00:38:23.800
ngolight before the show. I'm not nervous now that I'm here.

622
00:38:23.960 --> 00:38:26.480
I think the guys are really going to enjoy the show.

623
00:38:27.079 --> 00:38:28.679
I know I'm going to give them a really good

624
00:38:28.760 --> 00:38:31.239
one because I've never been here before, and I know

625
00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:34.119
that they haven't heard any kind of entertainment for a

626
00:38:34.199 --> 00:38:36.880
long time. We're going to make it good as long

627
00:38:36.920 --> 00:38:40.400
as we can. Cyril Neville, at thirty eight, is the

628
00:38:40.519 --> 00:38:44.679
youngest of the Neville brothers. He played music professionally starting

629
00:38:44.719 --> 00:38:48.159
at the age of sixteen, but he says music has

630
00:38:48.199 --> 00:38:50.599
always been a part of my life. My older brothers

631
00:38:50.679 --> 00:38:53.719
rehearsed in my front room, so I have always been

632
00:38:53.800 --> 00:38:57.000
exposed to it. Cyril has very strong feelings about having

633
00:38:57.079 --> 00:39:00.280
the opportunity to perform for the minute in Goal. I

634
00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:03.280
feel like the same way I would feel if I

635
00:39:03.360 --> 00:39:05.960
got invited to South Africa to play for the brothers

636
00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:10.000
and sisters over there. He said of the prisoners of Angola.

637
00:39:10.440 --> 00:39:12.000
They've got a lot of people that I went to

638
00:39:12.039 --> 00:39:14.599
school with and grew up with and everything. It's an

639
00:39:14.679 --> 00:39:18.239
honor to be able to come here and lighten the loads.

640
00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:23.000
The groups did not receive any payment for performing at Angola,

641
00:39:23.239 --> 00:39:25.760
and they didn't expect any, but Cyril said, well, it's

642
00:39:25.880 --> 00:39:28.320
not really for nothing. You could say this as a

643
00:39:28.400 --> 00:39:31.599
labor of love. We might not personally get a chance

644
00:39:31.679 --> 00:39:33.760
to meet any of these people, but I will always

645
00:39:33.800 --> 00:39:35.599
feel good in my heart that we were able to

646
00:39:35.719 --> 00:39:38.840
do something to show that I care. By far, the

647
00:39:38.960 --> 00:39:42.000
most well known of the Nevils is Aaron. He has

648
00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:44.800
been in the music business since the early fifties. His

649
00:39:44.920 --> 00:39:48.320
grandmother comes from the Caribbean Islands, and his uncle founded

650
00:39:48.480 --> 00:39:53.400
a New Orleans based dance group, the famous Wild Tea Chopatulis.

651
00:39:53.679 --> 00:39:56.199
We are a musical family. That's the only way I

652
00:39:56.280 --> 00:39:59.159
can put it, Aaron told the Angolite. Even as kids,

653
00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:01.679
I got a grand he's just two years old. He

654
00:40:01.880 --> 00:40:04.159
just hears music and he's got a move. What the

655
00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:08.559
Nevill's play isn't message music. It's just music. We just

656
00:40:08.639 --> 00:40:11.199
do what comes from the heart. Aaron explained. We got

657
00:40:11.239 --> 00:40:14.599
a unique style which comes from Mardi Gras, Fat's Domino

658
00:40:14.840 --> 00:40:18.639
and four individual brothers plus our rhythm section. Then we

659
00:40:18.800 --> 00:40:22.719
pull everything for all the novels. The trip ton Gola

660
00:40:22.880 --> 00:40:25.239
was a special occasion. We are getting ready to go

661
00:40:25.400 --> 00:40:28.800
back overseas, and I figure this is about giving a blessing.

662
00:40:29.440 --> 00:40:32.119
Arn't Neville said, put it like this. If it wasn't

663
00:40:32.159 --> 00:40:35.760
for the grace of God, this could be me. It

664
00:40:35.960 --> 00:40:38.880
was really important, Aaron said, because we're playing for some

665
00:40:39.119 --> 00:40:41.280
people that aren't going to get a chance to see

666
00:40:41.480 --> 00:40:45.440
no live entertainment. Then it got into the concert and

667
00:40:45.519 --> 00:40:49.119
it said the Feister sisters Holly, Eva and Susie opened

668
00:40:49.159 --> 00:40:52.719
the show. The arena was filled with over a thousand prisoners.

669
00:40:53.039 --> 00:40:56.119
The prisoners were excited and the entertainers were warming up

670
00:40:56.199 --> 00:40:59.719
to their audience. Charmaine Neville and real feelings took over

671
00:41:00.239 --> 00:41:03.239
the Feisters. Charmaine took off with the tune my Mama

672
00:41:03.440 --> 00:41:09.440
don't low know getting down, funky down Hey, that's exactly

673
00:41:09.559 --> 00:41:12.079
out read y'all. And by the end of the song,

674
00:41:12.239 --> 00:41:15.440
she was soaked in sweat and the prisoners were in

675
00:41:15.559 --> 00:41:18.679
a frenzy. She took the audience higher and higher, and

676
00:41:18.800 --> 00:41:22.800
the prisoner's scream yelled and applauded with each gyration of

677
00:41:22.880 --> 00:41:25.840
her hips and changing her voice. I bet they did.

678
00:41:26.480 --> 00:41:29.039
She brought the prisoners out of the prison world and

679
00:41:29.159 --> 00:41:34.360
into a fantasy world where there was only pleasure and joy. Dang,

680
00:41:35.360 --> 00:41:37.880
that must have been one hell of a concert. As

681
00:41:38.119 --> 00:41:41.679
real feelings closed there act, Charmain threw kisses and waves

682
00:41:41.719 --> 00:41:44.400
and smiles. With the sweat pouring off her, she took

683
00:41:44.840 --> 00:41:48.039
a towel and began to dry herself. Then she strode

684
00:41:48.119 --> 00:41:51.599
off toward the fence. The towel sailed into the air,

685
00:41:51.760 --> 00:41:54.920
over the fence and towards the prisoners. A wave of

686
00:41:55.079 --> 00:41:58.360
humanity moved in unison toward the towel, but a guy

687
00:41:58.480 --> 00:42:00.760
from the Fifth roy snatch it out of the air.

688
00:42:01.440 --> 00:42:04.159
More towels were given to Charmaine to toss into other

689
00:42:04.280 --> 00:42:07.360
sections of the arena. When the towel supply ran out,

690
00:42:07.599 --> 00:42:11.760
prisoners began to hurl caps, scarves, handkerchief shirts, t shirts,

691
00:42:12.239 --> 00:42:14.760
any little item they could get autographed and use for

692
00:42:14.800 --> 00:42:18.960
a souvenir into the arena. No sooner had Charmaine autographed

693
00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:22.920
a bundle of clothing than other prisoners hurled their belongings

694
00:42:22.960 --> 00:42:26.639
towards her. Act three was the big event. The Nevils.

695
00:42:27.119 --> 00:42:30.239
The brother took up where Charmaine left off. They greeted

696
00:42:30.280 --> 00:42:34.599
old friends. What you Know, Dut rang out, Robert Norwood

697
00:42:34.800 --> 00:42:37.800
in Chicho were a couple of names that burst through

698
00:42:37.840 --> 00:42:40.559
the air. The Nevels opened up with songs from the

699
00:42:40.639 --> 00:42:43.760
new hit album and performed many tunes from the past.

700
00:42:44.400 --> 00:42:48.400
They performed a moving rendition of Hey Pocky Way and

701
00:42:48.599 --> 00:42:52.960
a stirring version of the gospel tune Amazing Grace, signaled

702
00:42:53.000 --> 00:42:54.760
out the close of the show, and I'll tell you

703
00:42:54.880 --> 00:42:57.199
what I've heard Aaron Neville sing Amazing Grace, and it

704
00:42:57.400 --> 00:42:59.880
is amazing. I loved it. I enjoyed it in a

705
00:43:00.199 --> 00:43:03.639
want to come back, said Susie of the Five Star Sisters.

706
00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:06.679
Aaron Neville told us it was so great, We're going

707
00:43:06.760 --> 00:43:09.920
to come back and do it again.

708
00:43:11.039 --> 00:43:11.400
And in the.

709
00:43:11.440 --> 00:43:16.239
Postcrypt it says this story prompted Pardon Board Chairman Lawrence

710
00:43:16.440 --> 00:43:19.320
Hand to suggest Charles Neville that paid his dues and

711
00:43:19.360 --> 00:43:22.880
should file an application for a pardon. Charles was granted

712
00:43:22.960 --> 00:43:26.440
a full pardon by Governor Edwin Edwards. The Nevils offered

713
00:43:26.519 --> 00:43:30.400
to return, but the Administrative effort is only now being

714
00:43:30.559 --> 00:43:32.800
made to bring them back to hand Gola. There has

715
00:43:32.880 --> 00:43:36.239
been no concert at the prison by professional entertainers since

716
00:43:36.320 --> 00:43:41.880
the novels in nineteen eighty seven. There you have it.

717
00:43:42.760 --> 00:43:48.239
Three short stories today from the records of Wilbert Rido.

718
00:43:48.559 --> 00:43:51.920
Those were completely different, right. We talked about a wildlife refuge.

719
00:43:52.079 --> 00:43:55.480
We talked about a concert at Angola, we talked about

720
00:43:56.039 --> 00:43:59.599
a park at Angola. And I bet those are some

721
00:43:59.719 --> 00:44:03.280
new things for some of you. So I appreciate you listening.

722
00:44:03.960 --> 00:44:08.000
And until next time, I'm Jim Chapman for what do

723
00:44:08.039 --> 00:44:11.639
you evertime? We're your host of Bloody Angola, a podcast

724
00:44:11.800 --> 00:44:14.480
one and forty two years in the making. The complete

725
00:44:14.519 --> 00:44:16.800
story of America's Bloody is present.

726
00:44:17.679 --> 00:44:42.159
Peace a Wall Street line, shackle Chaine, who's some girdie?

727
00:44:44.199 --> 00:44:50.440
It's calling my name? There is no mercy and this

728
00:44:50.679 --> 00:44:58.840
been a tentery juice ass the huge stream game. Wrangle three.

729
00:45:01.000 --> 00:45:09.519
I'm here, but I f'm me to die inside these walls,

730
00:45:11.199 --> 00:45:13.000
inside the wild.

731
00:45:14.519 --> 00:45:15.840
And when the walk

732
00:45:17.519 --> 00:45:32.679
As I know, it's abody angle, obody angle.