Speaker 1: I walk straight line shackle change, Oh, someome gird. It's
calling my name. There is no mercy and it's been
a tentery juice as the hill Stream game Rango three.
Speaker 2: Come in by me or die.
Speaker 1: Inside these walls, inside the wild.
Speaker 2: And when the girls I Hey everyone, and welcome back
to Bloody and GOA a podcast one and forty two
years in the making, the complete story of America's Bloodiest Present.
I'm Jim Chapman. What he is at polygraph school some
sort of conference or something out of state. So it's
me today and I'm going to bring you some more
writings of Wilbert Rido. I have had at least twenty
people email or message me on the Facebook page, and
they are loving these little short stories by Wilbert Ridou
that I found in the end golight in some other publications.
And they're saying any that I come across that I
could share, they'd love it. And so hopefully y'all are
loving the content there. And I've got a couple more
that I was able to dig up. And the first
one I'm in a reference is called Butler's Park by
Wilbert Rido, and it says this looks like it's going
to be the best thing to happen here since they
put inmates in blue jeans. Ernest Warren said of his
new duties an Angola security officer. Warren assists on varying
duties with a new and innovative feature of the prison's
inmate visiting system called outdoor Visiting, announced earlier this year
by Correction Secretary C. Paul Phelps, who described it as
the first step in the administration's long term plan to
institute incentive to induce and reward good behavior among the
prisoner population. The program furthers to improve the conditions of
inmate visiting at Angola. Traditionally, inmates at Louisiana State Penitentiary
have been permitted only two methods of visiting, the manner
being determined by custody status. Maximum security inmates must visit
with a screen or glass partition separating them from visitors.
Medium and minimum security inmates are permitted contact visits. The
inmate and his visitors simply walk into a visiting room,
select whatever table they desire, and are free to touch
or embrace. The new program adds another dimension to visiting,
and the first stage of it is already a reality.
A spacious, tree shaded park, nestled against sloping hills on
the outskirts of an employee residential area has been created
at the prison for eligible trustee inmates to have picnics
with their approved visitors. Barbecue grills have been installed to
allow inmates and visitors to cook their own meals. Administrative
emphasis is upon the relaxed atmosphere and allowing inmates and
visitors the freedom to do things together as a family.
People tend to forget that regardless of the reason the
inmate is in prison, he's somebody's father, son, husband, or brother.
That pointed out by Buddy Dell Weber. Weber, a security officer,
is on site coordinator of the program at the park.
If the inmate is to eventually leave here and be
reintegrated into free society, we have to prepare him for
it by helping him maintain and preserve his family ties.
Having an inmate visit his family across the table in
a crowded and noisy visiting room leaves a lot to
be desired out here in the park. A father can
play tag with his kids, They can move around. The
family can cook and do something together as a family.
This type of visiting is a much more meaningf way
to let the inmate remain a husband to his wife,
a son to his parents, a father to his children.
In addition, this kind of visiting is less stressful for
the visitors who we must remember our tax paying citizens
who haven't committed crimes. I think this is definitely a
step in the right direction for Louisiana State Penitentiary. The
visitors are grateful. This is the first time in seven
years that we've been able to all be together as
a family with Leyton Merl Krill states watching her son
and his child chase a butterfly, it's such a great
change from sitting in a visiting room. It feels good
to be able to get out like this, and we're
really enjoying it. Danny Welch had told his mother Mary
about the new visiting program, but she admits I still
didn't know what to expect. You can't really picture it
into your mind until you come here and actually see it,
And having seen it, it's still hard to believe. It's
so much more than I anticipate. The visitors love it.
Weber states, once they come out here, they'll go at
any length to be able to come back and visit
like this again. In fact, the inmates are now getting
pressure from their wives and families as a result. They
know that they can only come out here and visit
like this as long as the inmate is behaving himself
while he's in prison. And I hear the visitors talking
to the inmate as they're leaving, telling him under no
uncertain terms that he better stay out of trouble so
that they can continue to visit like this. It's true.
Lewis debon a trustee acknowledges. Right after the first visit
in the park. My wife served notice on me that
if I caused her to lose this privilege, I'm in trouble.
Eligibility for a picnic visit in the park is more
or less in the hands of the inmate. His custody
status and prison conduct record determine whether or not he
and his visitors are eligible for the new program. Currently,
the inmate is required to be a Class A trustee.
It must not have had a write up within the
past year. I don't know if anything is better than
this to give an inmate a reason to keep his
business straight. Warren said, it works out good for the system,
the inmates, and all US employees who will benefit from
the inmates behaving themselves. That's the purpose of the program.
Deputy Warden Hilton Butler emits he created the outdoor visiting program.
It's to give the inmates and visitors something good to
look forward to for a while, at the same time
making the present more trouble free. The park was Hilton's idea.
Warden Frank Blackburn states he felt that the trustees of
Angola deserves something for their efforts and good behavior, and
as you know, there's not very much we've been able
to do for them. Ever since Hilton told me about it,
I've liked the idea and I encouraged him to do it,
and I'm proud to say that it's turning out very well.
I think it'll do a man a lot of good
to be able to visit and picnic with his family
out there rather than being jammed up in the visiting room.
Butler explains some of the inmates going out there haven't
cooked or eaten with their family in ten fifteen years.
Now they can have a picnic, run a run, and
play with their kids. I think it'll contribute to keeping
the families closer together. It'll also help the inmate by
giving him a better attitude, while encouraging other inmates who
don't qualify to straighten up their act, make better men
of themselves, and work toward trying to get the same privilege.
It's also a good disciplinary tool because once they've had
a visit in the park, they're not gonna want that
privilege canceled by getting a write up. The program has
had his impact. While Danny Welch pointed out the new
privilege won't cause any dramatic changes in his behavior since
he makes it his business to stay out of trouble anyway,
he admits that the knowledge that the write up will
cancel the privilege does make you a little bit more
careful to make sure you don't get write up. He
believes the program will prove a definite incentive to other inmates.
Once they see the park and visit like this, they'll
realize it's definitely worth working and looking forward to. Outdoor
visiting in the park begins with the onset of warm
weather and runs until the weather gets too cold for
people to be out there comfortably. Butler explains, pointing out
that Louisiana's winters rarely lasts more than three months. Unlike
regular visiting programs, which restrict visits to two hours or less,
the new program allows inmates to be with their visitors
in the park for six and a half hours, from
eight in the morning until two thirty in the afternoon.
Visitors eligible for picnic visits are required to arrive at
the prison gate between eight and nine thirty. Those arriving
late must take their visit in the visiting room under
normal procedures, given that time factor, visitors have to put
forth a little extra effort to get to the preson
and within the appointed time, but many are willing to
make it. A Texas couple drove twelve straight hours from
Brownsville to get here in time to have a picnic
visit with their son. A New Orleans woman whose car
broke down in Baton Rouge hired a taxi to get
her to the prison on time. While the early hour
might be somewhat inconvenient, the visitors have no complaints, as
Mary Welch, also from New Orleans, states it was worth
having to get up at four in the morning to
get here on time. The surroundings the atmosphere. It's all
so different and nice. That is the most wonderful thing
that could have happened to us. Visiting like this lets
us really feel like a family to be scheduled for
a picnic visit in the park. All eligible inmates must
submit a written request to Butler proposing a specific date
on which his visitors can come. Since a year without
a disciplinaryan fraction is in the criteria, Administrative assistant Nettie
Vorhes pulls the inmate's file for Butler's review. I do
make exceptions, Butler admits, if the inmate had a minor
disciplinaryan fraction, something like dropping a cigarette butt on the
floor or not cleaning up his bed or something, I
don't hold that against him. For example, one inmate requesting
a part visit had two write ups for gambling, but
hadn't had a write up for several years before then.
I went on and I approved him for the program.
I'm flexible. I'm willing to consider the nature of the infraction,
but disciplinary infractions involving refusal to work or insubordination with
my officers of the kind I'm not going to give
any consideration to. While the regular visiting program operates five
days a week, eight hours a day. The outdoor visiting program,
in its infancy and restricted to Class A trustees, operates
only a small number of days per month, those days
being determined primarily by the number of requests for each visit.
Eligible inmates are allowed only one picnic visit per month.
A plan to extend the allowance to twice per month
is currently being considered. The park contains twelve tables and
visits that are not scheduled until there are enough approved
requests to justify opening the park to accommodate them. The
problem is that the Class A trustees constitute only a
small segment of the prison's inmate population, and a substantial
percentage of them are men who have been confined here
for years, men who experience the natural corresponding decrease in
the number and frequency of visitors that goes along with
the passage of time, and with disciplinary reports barring some
from eligibility. The number of inmates currently participating in the
program is small. Eligible inmates requesting an outdoor visit are
encouraged to give an alternate date. If he asks for
a particular day, he might be the only person requesting
that day Butler points out the stricter regulations governing behavior
in the prison's visiting room do not apply to the
outdoor visiting program, where the emphasis is on a relaxed
atmosphere and freedom. Aside from requiring that everyone stay within
the perimeter of the park, we only ask that each
set of visitors respect the others. For He's explains, each
inmate is responsible for his visitors and children. We rely
upon those who have the privilege to want to keep
it and not mess it up for themselves or others.
A disciplinary infraction incurred at any time anywhere in the
prison can result in removal of the inmate from the program.
Given the importance of visiting, the loss of outdoor visiting privileges,
in addition to the normal punishment meted out by the
prison disciplinary court, makes a disciplinary fraction particularly costly. That's
why I consider the nature of the write ups and
make exceptions, says Butler. You have to understand that I'm
giving the inmate something special, and all I'm asking for
in return is that he stays out of trouble, something
he should do anyway, I don't think that's asking for much,
so I want him to understand that he's automatically losing
all of this if he messes up. The only consideration
he's going to get, and the only exception I'll make
is if the infraction is something minor, something I can
understand and may be ignore. Other than that, he's getting
taken off the program. If he's not, I'll be defeating
the whole purpose of the program. Butler's enthusiasm for the
new program is common knowledge. He paid for the first
round of charcoal for the barbecues out of his own pocket,
asking that visitors donate whatever they wish to a fund
so that the steady supply could be available for everyone
utilizing the park. He often visits the park, going from
table to table, greeting the visitors and asking for their
input on ways to improve the park. He wanted to
install swings and provide playthings for the children, something many
of the visitors also suggested, but he's having to reconsider.
I'd love to do that, he said, but I'm having
to give it a lot of fun thought because I've
got to consider the possible civil liability involved if one
of the kids gets hurt. That's something I'm going to
have to discuss with mister Phelps. And our lawyers before
I install anything. Recently, he permitted one visitor to donate
a small plastic plaything in the part for smaller kids.
The new program has been greeted with enthusiastic support from
Phelps and Blackburn, visiting personnel, and a lot of prison
personnel who you wouldn't think would normally like the idea,
Butler said, Even staunch hardline security people tell me they
think it's one of the best things that ever happened
to the inmates here, and they've offered to do whatever
they can do to help make it a success. Everyone
wants to see it work. For instance, when we had
to come up with a way of letting visitors cook
without allowing them to bring groceries into the prison, Randy Weinstein,
who works in the commissary, agreed to leave his home
on his days off to go open the store and
fill orders for the visitors. There have been times when
I told him that he didn't have to do that.
I would personally go get groceries, but he wanted to
do it. And that's the kind of support we've been
getting from a lot of people, the mainenance department and
the inmate workers. My staff officials, personnel, and even inmate organizations.
Who's offered to buy things that might be needed in
the park. Everybody seems supportive. If there's somebody who's not,
or if they have a problem with the program, they're
not letting me know about it. The program began with
trustee prisoners, but it will not end with them. Picnic
rights for Class A trustees representing only the first stage
of a much larger program. I definitely intend to extend
it to a Class B trustee and medium security inmates.
Butler states they'll both be integrated into the program at
the same time in place, and it will operate more
or less like it does for the Class A trustees
in the park. The only difference will be the location.
He's considering, creating a park like area adjacent to the
main prison visiting He had initially planned to start the
program for medium security inmates next spring, but the program
for the trustees is working so well that I'm actually
trying to get something started for medium security inmates this fall,
he said. But if I can't pull it off, I'll
definitely have it ready by the spring. Those who are
interested in participating in the program can get ready for
it all they've got to do is give me a
year without a serious write up. Butler anticipates no problems
in extending picnic visits to medium security inmates. We're still
going to have inmates strip search following their visits, just
as we do now on regular visits and the visiting room,
he points out, we don't want any contraband flowing through there.
Of course, there's always the possibility after a while someone
might toy around with the idea of trying something. After all,
there are some people who go through a lot of
hassle to get some dope, but that's no real problem
because that kind of prisoner is not likely to be
eligible for the program. Stone art with, he's not the
kind who can stay clean of the disciplinary report for
an entire year. After considering all angles, and based on
my thirty three years of experience with prisoners, I don't
expect any increase in the flow of contraband or any
other type of problems. Butler feels the full potential of
the program won't be realized until medium security inmates are
incorporated into it. That's when it is expected become a
full fledged affair, operating on a daily basis. Medium security
inmates constitute the majority of the prison population and the
largest percentage of inmates receiving regular visits from friends and relatives.
I think we're going to have a lot of people
in the program, Butler speculates, and the more the better.
I hope we have so many people in the program
that it gets so big we have to keep expanding
the picnic area. Because if there are a thousand inmates
participating in the program, that's a thousand prisoners who are
staying out of trouble and not causing problems for anyone.
That's good news. I think this program has the potential
of being one of the best incentives for good behavior
that you can come up with, given the circumstances and
what we've had to work with. Butler says, it's something
to help the inmates, something that once they get it,
I don't think they're going to want to lose it,
and that will reduce disciplinary problems, make the prison more
troubled free, and in the long run, be good for
the security of the institution. The outdoor visiting program might
be an idea whose time has arrived. Jack Donnelly, the
warden of the troubled Washington Correctional Facility at Bugalusa, the
state's newest prison, recently visited the park site and has
requested all available information about the program. He's considering creating
a similar one at his prison, which has been plagued
by a lack of adequate incentive mechanisms. Butler and his idea,
We're paid the ultimate compliment. At a dinner in his
honor attended by officials and numerous inmate leaders, Warden Blackburn,
at the request of the inmates, officially proclaimed the park
site's new name to be Butler Park, and in the
postcrip it says Layton Crill, Lewis Davon, and Danny Welch
serve their sentences and were released. Sergeant Ernest Warren retired,
Buddy dell Weber no longer works at the park, and
Nettie Vorhees transferred to a prison closer to her home.
Frank Blackburn retired in nineteen eighty seven, and Hilton Butler
was named warden that same year. In nineteen eighty seven,
picnic visits where extended to medium security inmates the now
expanded Picnic Visiting program as a minister by the Prison
Classification Department. Similar programs now exist at most Louisiana prisons.
And that's a pretty good one. And we talk about
it a lot on Bloody Angola, and that is hope right.
You can't just lock prisoners up, give them no privileges
whatsoever and expect everything to be cope aesthetic. And I'll
continue on to the next one I chose, and that's
called called the Pelican Protector years End in nineteen eighty
six saw official dedication of the John B. Rabelais Waterfowl
Refuge in Louisiana State Penitentiary. The refuge is believed to
be the first wildlife sanctuary within the perimeters of a
prison anywhere in the nation. The story of the refuge
began some four years ago when Lieutenant Bobby Olivo discovered
a pelican trapped in a trout line on Lake Killerney.
He freed the unfortunate bird, but the pelican had suffered
serious injuries to his wing. Olivo saw to it that
the bird was treated and nursed back to health. Once healthy,
the bird was still unable to fly because he had
a damaged wings, so Captain John B. Rabelai took him
to Camp f where he was adopted and cared for
by the prisoners, and guess what they named him, y'all?
They named him Pierre. Rabelais and Ron Wickburg, a lifer,
decided that Pierre Sho should have a mate or be
relocated to an area where a mate was available. With
the blessing of Warden Frank Blackburn, wig Bird spearheaded the project,
contacting the media and people throughout the region. Pierre, one
of the most unusual of jailbirds, quickly became a focal
point of the media. He was featured in Louisiana Conservationist
magazine and was the subject of television reports. As a
result of the media attention, a mate was found for Pierre.
Doctor W. S. Bivins of the Louisiana State University Vet
School and two students had treated a gunshot wounded pelican
they named Samantha, and she needed a place to rest
and hill. Through the combined efforts of Bivins and Fur
and Refue Division Chief Johnny Tarver, Samantha was brought to Angola.
She immediately hit it off with Pierre. A variety of
other feathered creatures gradually joined the two pelicans at the pond,
including two more were injured Pelicans complements of the Audubon
Park Zoological Gardens. To ensure the peace of the camp
F Pond for its increasing waterfowl population, Rabbelay persuaded Warden
Blackburn to prohibit all hunting and fishing there. On December two,
nineteen eighty six, on a sunny but Chile afternoon, a
host of prison personnel, prisoners, local and state officials, and
friends and relatives of rabel A gathered in front of
Camp F to dedicate the John B. Rabel A Waterfowl
Refuge as a testimonial to the man in his thirty
years of service at Angola. Warden Blackburn served as MC
for the event. Prior to acknowledging the dignitaries present, Deputy
Warden Hilton Butler recounted his long standing friendship with Rabelais.
John and I go back a long ways, he told
the audience. It was kind of like it is now.
We were real shorthanded. I was the captain then and
John had just started working for me. He wanted to
get married, and I told him to go ahead. I'm
working his place, so I pulled a shift for him
and he got married. To this day, I don't know
whether I did Miss Dora a great favor or not.
Referring to that guy's wife, wick Burg, who had worked
for Rabelae to create the sanctuary, told the group today
mankind is solemnizing two important events. It's reafferring concern for
our wildlife and environment, and it's paying tribute to a
special human being friend. In my opinion, there's no man
more deserving. The high point of the event was provided
by Attorney Jack Grimion, who, as an Attorney General, first
met and became associated with rabbel Ai long ago and
when Rabelais worked in the prison's record office. I've always
cherished his friendship, and I will value it as long
as I live, he declared, calling his old friend up
to stand beside the podium. Grimion presented him with an
official certificate on behalf of J. Burton Angels, Secretary of
the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, and of the the Jeffersonians,
which was a civic organization. A simple man of simple taste,
Rabelay accepted the honor with both pride and humility. He
was never a soft man, but his face bore the
lines of age and wisdom, and merely a hint of
compassion that lay beneath the gruff exterior. He was a
man for his times and a man of few words.
I've always said and still do, that anything can be
accomplished by anybody willing to work together. This refuge is
the perfect example of that belief. Visibly moved by the honor,
he thanked everyone for participating. Bishop Stanley Ott of the
Baton Ridge Catholic Diocese blessed the refuge, pointing out that
the pelican is a symbol or a sign of the Eucharist.
A pelican's mother will give her own blood to her
young in order to feed it, and the pelican is
a beautiful symbol of love and unselfishness and of total giving.
Assistant Warden Roger Thomas closed the ceremony he's observing. We
had quite a few of these grand openings in recent months,
and I'm happy to see that this has been one
of the nicer ones. It demonstrates that there is much
more than Gola beyond the bars and guns. We are
not only in the business of rehabilitating inmates. We are
now going to be rehabilitating birds. Tarvar representing the Wildlife
and Fisheries Department told me in golight, I've been looking
forward to coming here to see for myself the results
of everyone's efforts, and I'm pleased with what I see.
It is most likely that this is the first such
sanctuary ever created inside a prison, setting, an event for
which Louisiana is proud. Sheriff Bill Daniels of West Feliciana Parrish,
on hand to extend his congratulations, said, John has been
a big asset to the correction system and is deserving
of this honor. Rablay told me in golight, the dedication
of the refuge in my name is an honor I
will never forget. This event is very touching, emotional, and
a proud time for me and my family. Although the
honor was bestayed on me personally, it's an honor which
is shared by many people who participated in this venture.
The refuge signifies much more than a place for different
birds and animals to live together in peaceful existence. It
confirms that all employees and inmates of a maximum security institution,
as well as all people, can work together under unusual
circumstances to develop positive programs in any environment. I personally
dedicate the refuge to all employees and inmates in Angola
as a symbol of cooperation, dedication, honor, respect and accomplishment.
Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for the efforts
of all inmates and staff who were responsible for developing
the refuge and for dedicating it in my name. Rabelai's
family was touched by the event. His wife, Dora, who
heads the prison's legal programs department, stayed, it is of
great significance to all of us at this particular time
in our lives. The dedication ceremony was very moving and
memorable for all of us. While John portrays a gruff,
tough professional exterior, those of us who know him know
that he's a kind, dedicated man of courage, honesty, and
integrity who has a special place in his heart for
anyone or anything suffering a disadvantage. I cannot think of
a more fitting tribute for John's thirty years of dedicated
professional service to Louisiana State Penitentiary. I hope that the
honorabis state on John will serve as a reminder to
all employees that corrections is not a thankless profession, and
that the refuge will serve as a symbol to both
staff and inmates that they can work together to accomplish
positive goals. And in the postcript sadly it says Captain
John B. Rabalay died in nineteen eighty seven. The Wildlife
Refuge is still maintained, and the pelican still lives in
a nearby waterway. And I got one more for you
that you're going to find really interesting. And look, if
you are from Louisiana, you've heard of the Neville Brothers.
As a matter of fact, one of my favorite Christmas
albums of all time is Aaron Neville's Christmas. If you
ain't heard it, go listen to it. Love Aaron Neville's voice.
And a lot of people don't know he used to
perform any in Gola a lot, and they would actually
set up concerts with Aaron Neville volunteering his time. And
I'm going to tell you a story of one of
those that was written by Tommy Mason, who was an
editor on the Angolet, and it says prison is hard,
a smothering place where men become stagnant. Prisoners are bombarded
with public's nation that they are animals who are not
to be trusted, who will prey on law abiding citizens
and who are incapable of rising above their mistakes. In
spite of it these stereotypes, many people are willing to
extend a hand to men behind bars and help them
rise above their worst failings. At Louisiana State Prison in
April nineteen eighty seven, a group of musicians did just
that by staging a concert for them. The entertainers were
the Neville Brothers, Charmagne Neville and Real Feelings, and the
Feister Sisters. Seven years earlier, Chuck Coulson of Watergate fame
brought Johnny Cash to perform at Angola through the organization
Prison Fellowship. That was the first concert since nineteen seventy four. Ironically,
following the show in nineteen seventy four, spirits were high
and there was much expectation for future concerts. However, state
politics were gradually moving right. The result was no concerts,
and on the occasion when interested entertainers tried to come,
key administrators were not willing to allow them to put
on shows. The seed for the nineteen eighty seven con
insert began coincidentally when in Goolight, editor Wilbert Rido spoke
to a civics group from the New Orleans area. It
happened that Lynn Batson and Aaron Neville of the Neville
Brothers were in the audience. Neville is the head of
the Uptown Youth Cultural and Developmental Center, a nonprofit volunteer
organization he founded in nineteen eighty whose mission is to
help young people become self reliant, contributing members of society
rather than wasting their lives on crimes, drugs, and alcohol.
His brother Charles, served time in Angola during the nineteen
sixties the Bloody Yearshaw. Lynn Batson has her own legal
practice and has worked with the Nevils for about nine
years as their unofficial spokeswoman. When she discovered how long
it had been since a concert had been organized for
Ingola prisoners, she decided to take action. The novels were
one hundred percent in favor of doing the concert, Batten said.
The Feisters, a local harmony group, were interested in coming,
and so was Charmaine Neville in her group Real Feelings
and in Gola. Hilton Butler, the newly appointed warden of
the prison, liked the idea. In designated assistant Warden Roger Thomas,
to oversee the projects. There were problems, I guess I
did foresee some of them bats until the end goal light.
It was hard to make people see the amount of
expenses that were incurred in doing something like this. The musicians,
of course were donating their time, but we still had
equipment to move and a range. Roger Thomas admitted I
knew it was going to be a tremendous amount of work,
but concerts providing outlet to the inmates. It's done all
over the country. I never heard of anyone who had
a strong rejection to someone coming in and performing for inmates.
I've always been for things to benefit inmates, as long
as it doesn't interfere with the security operations of the penitentiary.
Wilbert Rito sought out the leaders of the inmate clubs
to come up with donations to cover the expenses of trucking,
paying roadies and other fees. The Angola Amateur Boxing Club,
the Pardon Finance Board and the Angola JCS, the Lifers Association,
the Drama Club, and the Social Educational and Athletic Club
donating money to the event. Prisoners were involved in almost
every aspect of the production. Terry Dekale, Jerry Bell and
a crew of prisoners worked to design a stage that
would accommodate the equipment and entertainers. Thomas was also appreciative
of the cooperation he got from security. You couldn't ask
for a smoother operation. It was done through the coordination
of security, administration and the inmates. This thing went off
without a hitch. Charles Neville, an inmate at Angola, some
twenty years after being convicted for possession of marijuana, flew
in from Oregon to make the concert. Charles is quick
to shide those people whose attitude is if you're going
to wind up in the Pennate tentrary, that's going to
be the end of your life. He admits that for
some people, coming to prison is the end. However, the
fact that you have served time doesn't end your life.
Now a talented saxophonist, he acknowledges that his time behind
bars provided him with both the opportunity and the motivation
to refine his musical technique. The one thing that happened
to me is it got my technical skill together on
the horn, he told the Ngoli. When I came, I
could play, but I hadn't ever sat down and spent
hours and hours every day practicing scales. While at Angola.
Charles had time to do that, and he had the
determination to do it. When I left here, I could
go anywhere and play with anybody. Really, that was the
beginning of a big change in my life. The effort
Charles Neville put into getting the most out of serving
time and his desire to overcome mistakes of the past
opened up a vast new world to him upon his
release from prison. When he was paroled, he went to
New York, where his brother Aaron was enjoying success with
his big hit Tell It Like It Is. Charles had
traveled the world, established himself as an outstanding musician and
now lecturer at Oregon State University. Twenty years had passed
since Charles Neville was an inmate at Louisiana State Prison,
but he hasn't forgotten either the experience nor the people
who are behind bars. Eighty percent of Angola's population is black,
and Charles says, I would like to talk to people
and hear about stories and toasts and things like that,
to which used to be passed down from generation to
generation in black families. Charles had hoped obtaining a grant
would allow him to preserve those stories that have enriched
the black culture. An accomplished musician, father and grandfather, Charles
Neville has an identity, a sense of direction. I think
of myself as a person now, a useful, functional part
of any community. What you do determines what you are,
not what you have done. I know that there are
some people here who are really a number one type person.
They are real people. They just had bad breaks in life.
I just like to say, for everyone, you were going
to get out of here. This is not the end
of the line. But when you get out, that's the beginning.
While Charles Neville's experience may be unique, he was not
the only prison story. Holly Benson of The Feister Sisters
was also at Angola twenty years ago. Her dad was
a basketball coach in California, and during the summer of
nineteen sixty eight, he was the recreation director at Angola.
The real funny thing was the day my dad walked
into the ngolit office. The guy working there was his
old college roommate, and now he was an inmate. Benson
said that her mom and dad and sisters lived outside
of Angola's gates that summer. That's the first place I
ever saw James Booker play she recalled. Booker was leading
a band at the time, and Charles Neville had been
in that band the year before. In the late sixties,
prison was a very hard place and women were not
a part of the overall prisoner routine. We didn't have
that much of contact with prisoners, Holly said. We had
people that will work with you at your house or
with my dad, and then we had a fellow that
used to help my mom around the house. Benson remembers
one inmate in particular. His name was Acey. He used
to be a gardener. He had been here forever. After
his release, Benson said, he just came back. There was
nobody in his family left alive, and there was no
place for him to go. Benson learned of the concert
from the Nevills, and Charles was here before, and I'm
kind of another kind of alumni, she said. Charmaine Neville
is Charles's daughter and a talented entertainer in her own right.
As a young child, she never visited her father in prison.
Matter of fact, she commented, I didn't even know he
was in there until he was all already out. They
kept that kind of secret from me. Once out of prison,
Charles told his daughter about his experience. He told me
stories about Angola. First they were kind of scary, but
then as I got older, I understood Performing at the
prison was the first time experienced for Charmaine. At first,
I was kind of nervous about it, she told the
ngolight before the show. I'm not nervous now that I'm here.
I think the guys are really going to enjoy the show.
I know I'm going to give them a really good
one because I've never been here before, and I know
that they haven't heard any kind of entertainment for a
long time. We're going to make it good as long
as we can. Cyril Neville, at thirty eight, is the
youngest of the Neville brothers. He played music professionally starting
at the age of sixteen, but he says music has
always been a part of my life. My older brothers
rehearsed in my front room, so I have always been
exposed to it. Cyril has very strong feelings about having
the opportunity to perform for the minute in Goal. I
feel like the same way I would feel if I
got invited to South Africa to play for the brothers
and sisters over there. He said of the prisoners of Angola.
They've got a lot of people that I went to
school with and grew up with and everything. It's an
honor to be able to come here and lighten the loads.
The groups did not receive any payment for performing at Angola,
and they didn't expect any, but Cyril said, well, it's
not really for nothing. You could say this as a
labor of love. We might not personally get a chance
to meet any of these people, but I will always
feel good in my heart that we were able to
do something to show that I care. By far, the
most well known of the Nevils is Aaron. He has
been in the music business since the early fifties. His
grandmother comes from the Caribbean Islands, and his uncle founded
a New Orleans based dance group, the famous Wild Tea Chopatulis.
We are a musical family. That's the only way I
can put it, Aaron told the Angolite. Even as kids,
I got a grand he's just two years old. He
just hears music and he's got a move. What the
Nevill's play isn't message music. It's just music. We just
do what comes from the heart. Aaron explained. We got
a unique style which comes from Mardi Gras, Fat's Domino
and four individual brothers plus our rhythm section. Then we
pull everything for all the novels. The trip ton Gola
was a special occasion. We are getting ready to go
back overseas, and I figure this is about giving a blessing.
Arn't Neville said, put it like this. If it wasn't
for the grace of God, this could be me. It
was really important, Aaron said, because we're playing for some
people that aren't going to get a chance to see
no live entertainment. Then it got into the concert and
it said the Feister sisters Holly, Eva and Susie opened
the show. The arena was filled with over a thousand prisoners.
The prisoners were excited and the entertainers were warming up
to their audience. Charmaine Neville and real feelings took over
the Feisters. Charmaine took off with the tune my Mama
don't low know getting down, funky down Hey, that's exactly
out read y'all. And by the end of the song,
she was soaked in sweat and the prisoners were in
a frenzy. She took the audience higher and higher, and
the prisoner's scream yelled and applauded with each gyration of
her hips and changing her voice. I bet they did.
She brought the prisoners out of the prison world and
into a fantasy world where there was only pleasure and joy. Dang,
that must have been one hell of a concert. As
real feelings closed there act, Charmain threw kisses and waves
and smiles. With the sweat pouring off her, she took
a towel and began to dry herself. Then she strode
off toward the fence. The towel sailed into the air,
over the fence and towards the prisoners. A wave of
humanity moved in unison toward the towel, but a guy
from the Fifth roy snatch it out of the air.
More towels were given to Charmaine to toss into other
sections of the arena. When the towel supply ran out,
prisoners began to hurl caps, scarves, handkerchief shirts, t shirts,
any little item they could get autographed and use for
a souvenir into the arena. No sooner had Charmaine autographed
a bundle of clothing than other prisoners hurled their belongings
towards her. Act three was the big event. The Nevils.
The brother took up where Charmaine left off. They greeted
old friends. What you Know, Dut rang out, Robert Norwood
in Chicho were a couple of names that burst through
the air. The Nevels opened up with songs from the
new hit album and performed many tunes from the past.
They performed a moving rendition of Hey Pocky Way and
a stirring version of the gospel tune Amazing Grace, signaled
out the close of the show, and I'll tell you
what I've heard Aaron Neville sing Amazing Grace, and it
is amazing. I loved it. I enjoyed it in a
want to come back, said Susie of the Five Star Sisters.
Aaron Neville told us it was so great, We're going
to come back and do it again.
Speaker 1: And in the.
Speaker 2: Postcrypt it says this story prompted Pardon Board Chairman Lawrence
Hand to suggest Charles Neville that paid his dues and
should file an application for a pardon. Charles was granted
a full pardon by Governor Edwin Edwards. The Nevils offered
to return, but the Administrative effort is only now being
made to bring them back to hand Gola. There has
been no concert at the prison by professional entertainers since
the novels in nineteen eighty seven. There you have it.
Three short stories today from the records of Wilbert Rido.
Those were completely different, right. We talked about a wildlife refuge.
We talked about a concert at Angola, we talked about
a park at Angola. And I bet those are some
new things for some of you. So I appreciate you listening.
And until next time, I'm Jim Chapman for what do
you evertime? We're your host of Bloody Angola, a podcast
one and forty two years in the making. The complete
story of America's Bloody is present.
Speaker 1: Peace a Wall Street line, shackle Chaine, who's some girdie?
It's calling my name? There is no mercy and this
been a tentery juice ass the huge stream game. Wrangle three.
I'm here, but I f'm me to die inside these walls,
inside the wild.
Speaker 2: And when the walk
Speaker 1: As I know, it's abody angle, obody angle.