Inmates find and give comfort through

 hospice ministry

With an average sentence of 88 years, and many life sentences without the possibility of parole, most prisoners at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola die there.  But a hospice program, which includes volunteers from a United Methodist congregation within the prison walls, is giving new hope to dying inmates.

"The hospice program fit because we’re a community and a culture," said Warden Burl Cain. "And in a community and a culture, there’s dying. And when there’s dying, there’s a need for hospice."

Cain estimates that 90 percent of the more than 5,000 prisoners at Angola will die there.

A UMNS photo by John Gordon

Ron Hicks (r) comforts fellow prisoner Charlie Finley in the hospice wing at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.  Hicks leads a United Methodist congregation at the prison and is a volunteer with the hospice program.

"I think that every man, in their mind, they wonder what’s after this, what’s after this life," said Ron Hicks, who leads the United Methodist congregation at Angola and also volunteers with the hospice program.  "If God chooses not to heal, and they wind up dying, then I know that God has a purpose even in eternity for them," Hicks said.

Hicks was 19 when he was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder. He is now 35.  He said he was "broken down" when his lawyer told him he could spend the rest of his life behind bars if convicted.

"I really began to seek God concerning my future and asking God to help me through this," he said. "God has really given me the joy and the strength to make it through the time in prison."

Now, Hicks tries to pass along that hope to fellow inmates. He said the United Methodist congregation totals more than 200 members.

Cain says the "moral rehabilitation" of prisoners at Angola has changed it from one of the bloodiest prisons in the country to what he describes as one of the safest. Three chapels have been built and two more are under construction on the sprawling, 18,000-acre prison grounds, which is surrounded on three sides by the Mississippi River.  Cain calls the chapels "islands of freedom."

A UMNS photo by John Gordon

Three chapels are located at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, part of what Warden Burl Cain calls "moral rehabilitation" for inmates.  Two more chapels are planed on the prison grounds.

"Inmates are people, too, and many of these crimes were committed 20 and 30 years ago," he said. "…We created an atmosphere where you could be what you could be. You had a chance to be good, and it would be OK.  If you want to live and do right, then you can lead a pretty decent life here in prison. You just can’t leave," he said.

Inmate Gary Norris, 36, said his life has changed since being sentenced to life at Angola for murder. Norris is also a member of the United Methodist congregation at the prison.

"I’ve actually been near death, so I know what it feels like," said Norris. "I think it’s important to have somebody there with you, to talk to you, comfort you and tell you about God."

Robert Toney, an Angola staffer and supervisor of the prison’s chaplains department, said not only do volunteers minister to inmates, they help them get dressed and push their wheelchairs around the hospice ward.  Aging prisoners face problems just like those outside the walls, with cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.

"It is unbelievable the love and the care that they receive through hospice," Toney said. "This is a very innovative program."

Family members are allowed to visit hospice patients, but some inmates die at Angola without relatives attending their funerals.  Cain’s push for dying with dignity extends to prison funerals. Inmates built a horse-drawn hearse for funerals and they craft each wooden coffin it carries. They walk behind the hearse, singing hymns before paying their last respects at the prison cemetery.

How does Cain know if prisoners with a violent past are sincere in their religious beliefs? He doesn’t. Judging someone else is not his job as a warden, he said.

"If you’re lying to yourself, then when you die…that’s between you and God because God’s the judge, not me," Cain said.

*John Gordon wrote this story.  He is a freelance producer and writer in Marshall, Texas.

To view this story in its entirety, please visit UMTV.org

This story of hope has been brought to you by
the People of The United Methodist Church.

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