“It seems to me like we’re selling prisons to cover a hole this year but we haven’t addressed covering the hole next year.”
—Rep. Page Cortez (R-Lafayette) on Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposal to sell state prisons.
“Until the day I was arrested, I never knew there were ‘for-profit’ prisons.”
—Unidentified writer commenting on nola.com story on prison privatization.
“If the sheriffs don’t want to participate, we’ll go back to the original plan, go back to the private sector.”
—Gov. Bobby Jindal, reacting to Avoyelles and Rapides sheriffs Doug Anderson and Charles Wagner, Jr. who denied Jindal’s announcement that they had agreed to purchase state prisons in their parishes.
Louisiana Voice 
We have too many prisons in
Loisiana already. Governor
Jindal should sell–or lead the
move to sell–Angola prison
and sell the land to private
industry and individuals as
part of the Jindal Land Reform
Movement. We need land
reform in Louisiana. Corpor-
ations own thousands and
thousands–if not millions–
of acres and pay very little
taxes on it, while in Lake
Charles a fifty-foot lot with
a “white trash” house on it
is taxed to the hilt. Hooray
for Governor Jindal! He’s
doing a fine job. He is
really a Democrat at heart.
Keep up the good work,
Governor Jindal!
Sincerely,
Hardy Parkerson, Chairman
Louisiana Democrats for Jindal
Lake Charles
What we have are too many prisoners, not prisons. The legislature has historically criminalized more and more minor offenses and set mandatory prison sentences for these “crimes” to the point Louisiana has more prisoners per capita than any state in the nation. When lawmakers continually add mandatory prison terms to these offenses, it results in overcrowding and the federal courts have taken a historically dim view of overcrowding. Thus, the proliferation of state prison facilities.
You’re an attorney; you should understand that concept.
I’m not sure I understand your ideology. On the one hand, you advocate selling the land on which Angola sits to private industry. On the other, you lament the fact that “Corporations own thousands and thousands–if not millions–of acres and pay very little taxes.”
While I concur wholeheartedly with the latter statement, I am unable to reconcile the two positions. Why sell the Angola land to another non-tax-paying corporation? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?
There is no doubt about it, we need Land Reform in Louisiana.
Sincerely,
Hardy Parkerson, Lake Charles