Name: Gov. Tate Reeves taps embattled former Angola warden to run Mississippi's 'broken' prison system
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Gov. Tate Reeves taps embattled former Angola warden to run Mississippi's 'broken' prison system

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Mississippi Clarion LedgerView CommentsA warden who left Louisiana's largest prison in January 2016&nbsp;following a string of investigative articles about his private financial dealings has been tapped to run Mississippi's prison system.Gov. Tate Reeves&nbsp;announced the decision to hire Burl Cain at a press conference Wednesday.Cain&nbsp;spent 21 years as&nbsp;warden at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, which is commonly known as Angola. The Baton Rouge Advocate reported that Cain was &nbsp;the crooked county commissioner from "The Dukes of Hazzard."Cain is a Louisiana native whose brother, James David Cain, was a prominent Republican politician.Cain announced his resignation as warden in late 2015 after &nbsp;detailed private business dealings Cain had with the families of some inmates.In 2017, more than a year after Cain stepped down from running Angola, Louisiana's&nbsp;legislative auditor released a report that found he played fast and loose with the public's money. The report said he spent public money on personal appliances such as big-screen TVs and a refrigerator and on room and board for relatives who stay in state-owned homes at Angola nearly 200 times. All told, those costs totals about $45,000, the report said.When asked about the 2017 audit Wednesday, Cain said, "those allegations were unfounded."OUR INVESTIGATION:Cain and his work have been profiled by national news outlets and in documentaries. Hollywood movies were filmed on the Angola prison grounds during his tenure.Violent incidents at the facility decreased under his watch.The Atlantic magazine and an associated film described Cain as creating a "controversial model for rehabilitation" at the prison, centered on work and religion. "He is almost certainly a man trying to do the best he can for a population damned and forgotten by society with the resources he has available," the article notes. But the piece also highlights a "second storyline" of Angola, that of a sort of "reinvented" slavery on the penitentiary's farm operations and other industries under Cain's leadership.A Mother Jones article noted Cain had a "near-mythical reputation for turning Angola, once known as the bloodiest prison in the South, into a model facility" in part by introducing prisoners to God and Christian values —&nbsp;there are several chapels on the Angola grounds —&nbsp;as well as putting them to work, and organizing events such as prison rodeos. He and the prison faced lawsuits related to the religious direction of the facility, including by a Catholic inmate who wanted to participate in mass and a Mormon who said he was denied religious publications.Cain also allowed inmates to participate in various media, including a prison-run radio station profiled by the New York Times in 2006. "Our greatest challenge is to give hope where there is hopelessness," he told the newspaper.The Mississippi Department of Corrections has been without a permanent commissioner&nbsp;since Reeves took office in January.Cain replaces Pelicia Hall, who announced her resignation in December. Reeves has railed against her tenure in recent months, claiming the agency spent money wastefully. Hall followed Chris Epps, who was MDOC commissioner from 2002 to 2014.&nbsp;After resigning&nbsp;from his position&nbsp;on Nov.&nbsp;5, 2014, he&nbsp;was indicted on charges of accepting bribes and kickbacks in exchange for contracts and&nbsp;illicit activity with various corrections facilities. Epps is currently in federal prison.Mississippi has one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation. The U.S. Justice Department announced in February that it is&nbsp;investigating&nbsp;the state prison system after several inmates were killed or injured in outbursts of violence in late December and early January. At least 42 inmates have died since then, many after illness.Mississippi prisons also faces multiple federal lawsuits filed on behalf of inmates.Reeves called MDOC "broken" at Wednesday's press conference."It was personally horrifying for me," Reeves said of the deaths of inmates.&nbsp;“... I have no intention of hiding our problems I have every intention of fixing our problems.”He seemed to draw parallels between the current condition of Mississippi prisons and Angola when Cain first took over."Angola was once known as the bloodiest prison in America ... Then a man named Burl Cain&nbsp;entered the picture," Reeves said. "... They went from beatings to Bible study.”Reeves has been critical of past leadership at the Department of Corrections. In the midst of the violence at state prisons, he created a task force that was to conduct a nationwide search to find the next commissioner.Reeves said the task force and he were well aware of the past allegations against Cain."It seemed like once the politics were removed that the accusations were basically dropped," Reeves said. "And I have absolute full confidence in Burl Cain's ability to change the culture at the Department of Corrections."According to state law, the appointment of Cain , which is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday. The man who chairs the Senate Corrections Committee, Sen. Juan Barnett, D-Heidelberg, said he expects his fellow lawmakers will confirm Cain."I think that the governor and the people he had put in place to find us a new commissioner was a group of individuals that were respected in their communities and across the state," Barnett said. "I think they made the best decision for the Department of Corrections and the state of Mississippi going forward."Luke Ramseth contributed to this report. The Associated Press contributed to this report.Contact Giacomo "Jack" Bologna at 601-961-7282 or .&nbsp;Follow him on .View Comments

Mississippi Clarion LedgerView CommentsA warden who left Louisiana's largest prison in January 2016&nbsp;following a string of investigative articles about his private financial dealings has been tapped to run Mississippi's prison system.Gov. Tate Reeves&nbsp;announced the decision to hire Burl Cain at a press conference Wednesday.Cain&nbsp;spent 21 years as&nbsp;warden at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, which is commonly known as Angola. The Baton Rouge Advocate reported that Cain was &nbsp;the crooked county commissioner from "The Dukes of Hazzard."Cain is a Louisiana native whose...

Gov. Tate Reeves taps embattled former Angola warden to run Mississippi's 'broken' prison system

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