Juveniles at Louisiana’s Angola maximum-security prison will move to new youth facility in the fall

By SARA CLINE
Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana officials say juveniles currently housed at the country’s largest maximum-security adult prison will be moved to a new youth detention facility by mid-November. The juvenile lockup at Angola has faced staunch opposition, with critics saying that the trauma of being housed at the infamous state penitentiary would be irreversible. Two teens have filed a lawsuit alleging that they have been pepper-sprayed, held in solitary confinement for hours and had limited access to education. Officials have described the temporary youth lockup at Angola as a last-ditch but necessary measure as they addressed capacity, safety and service concerns at ailing juvenile detention centers.