learn - NOLA to Angola

NOLA to Angola
• Why are we doing this?
• The primary – but not the only – goal is to raise money for
Cornerstone Builders’ free Prison Bus Project
• Many other goals: education, outreach, connections
• What is involved with the ride?
• Route, camping sites, and some highlights of the ride
• How can I get involved?
• Ride Logistics
• Fundraising and other activities
Our Nation’s Prisons
More than one in every 100 adults in the United States is
incarcerated in a federal or state prison.
1
7.3 million people are under some form of correctional
supervision, accounting for more than 2.4% of the total
population.
2
3
1
Pew Center on the States. 2008. “One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008.”
Bureau of Justice Statistics Correctional Surveys. 2008.
3 U.S. Census Bureau. 2008. “State and Country Quick Facts.”
2
Louisiana Prisons
4
4
Pew Center On the States, 2009. “1 in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections, Louisiana Factsheet”
According to a 2010 study published by the Pew Center on the States, Louisiana is 1 of only 8 states in the country that has accelerated its rate of
incarceration since 2008. 43 other states are currently show signs of either decelerating or maintaining their rates of incarceration.
5
5
Pew Center on the States, 2010. “Prison Count 2010”
Angola
“Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) is an adult male correctional facility with a rated capacity of
5,998 offenders and an operational capacity of 5,149. The facility is Louisiana’s only maximum
security prison and the only in the state that houses male offenders sentenced to death (including
initial reception intake). LSP employs a workforce of 1624. LSP’s annual budget for FY 2009/2010
is $124,035,534.
LSP is located approximately 50 miles northwest of Baton Rouge on 18,000 acres of the finest
farm land in the south. Rather than a typical walled prison, LSP has seven fenced housing areas.
The remaining acreage is devoted to farming. To keep offenders constructively active, the
majority of the maximum and medium custody offenders work 8 hours-per-day, five days-perweek in the farm lines.
Of the 5,193 offenders incarcerated, 91% are violent offenders and 73.6% are serving life
sentences and will never be released from prison. Interestingly enough, however, most of the
offenders at LSP are housed in open-man dorms and not cells, due to their good conduct. Eightyone offenders are currently on Louisiana’s death row at LSP. The overall average age of the
population is 41.6 with 18.3% at or over the age of 55. The average length of sentence is 92.40
years.”6
Louisiana State Penitentiary Annual Report, 2010
6
http://doc.louisiana.gov/LSP/docs/2010_Annual_Report.pdf accessed 8/26/11
The Mississippi
Floodplain
The Mississippi Flood of 2011
Causes, Hazards, and
Lost Opportunities
Scott Eustis
Coastal Wetland Specialist
The Mississippi Flood
of 2011
Coastal Louisiana in 7min
Land
Lost
Land
Build
Online
Link
The Mississippi Floodplain
The Weight of our Freight, USCOE 2005
Industry
The River is the Source
The River is in Shackles
for Agriculture (Greenville and the Delta)
for Shipping
as a poop chute for Industry
for Flood Control
Very little Swamp Forest left in our area (Maurepas + Batture)
Industrial Development on top of Agricultural (Sugar)
remnant of sugar plantations, which hosted the first
Refineries
Shipping is alongside, but almost invisible, Unfathomable from
human perspective.
How?
Ride Logistics
• $50 registration fee (food, gas)
• Supplies: Helmet, bag, canteen, sunscreen, medication, rain gear
• Overnight gear: tents, sleeping bags, extra clothes
Fundraising
• Mileage sponsorship or flat donations; Sponsorship form
available
• Each bus trip costs about $1,000; $250 each from 25 riders will
cover 6 months-worth of bus trips
• Benefit show in September?