Warden Burl Cain

As the moral and spiritual epicenter of the Louisiana State Penitentiary since 1995, Cain’s innovative approach to running the prison has garnered national and international attention. Cain’s “rehabilitation” philosophy of redemption through religion has become a model for other prisons throughout the South and is the subject of Dennis Shere’s book Cain’s Redemption (2005). Cain’s philosophy of prison management is infused with a religious dogmatism where faith equals redemption and precedes reintegration. The warden’s appearance fits his name. Burl Cain is a tough man with a robust presence. He is not the “Hollywood” warden depicted in films such as: Escape from Alcatraz (1979), Shawshank Redemption (1994), Murder in the First (1995), or The Green Mile (1999). These wardens are meek and bookish. Warden Cain exudes command and control. His presence demands attention. Warden Cain believes that four things make for a sound prison: “good playing, good praying, good food, and good medicine” (xxiv). The rodeo and crafts fair is good playing (and good food). Steeped in a rhetoric of rehabilitation and redemption, Warden Cain oversees the production, presentation and performance of the Angola Prison Rodeo and Crafts Fair; his influence is present as I spoke with the men he oversees.