Prisoners' Parish

During the 1970s, after 40 murders were committed within a year’s time at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, Time magazine referred to Angola as “America’s bloodiest prison.” Shocking? Not really. It’s a maximum-security prison. What is shocking, however, is that today, 145 of the same prison’s inmates hold bachelor degrees from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

The southern Baptist school first began offering courses at the prison in 1996. Today, a reported 2,000 of the 5,000 inmates have converted, and incidents of violence are down from 500 to 100 per year. Burl Cain, the prison’s warden told USA Today, “It became a moral place. I have 145 bachelor degree inmates. When you have that many preachers walking around in the prison, starting churches, how can it be violent?"

Cain recently spoke at the Parchman, Mississippi state penitentiary's seminary commencement ceremony. The state's only maximum-security facility graduated 28 convicted killers, rapists and drug dealers.

Although some graduates are eventually paroled, many continue to serve life-sentences. Oddly enough, they seem to believe they’re right where they’re supposed to be — where their work is. "This will be my new job," said Jerry Mettetal, a former member of the Simon City Royal prison gang. "I came here and for a long time I didn't care. God allowed something to come into this prison to show that people can change."