Prison View

The Louisiana State Penitentiary is a maximum-security prison farm in Louisiana operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is the largest maximum-security correctional facility in the United States, with 5,000 prisoners and 1,800 staff, including corrections officers, janitors, maintenance workers, social workers, nurses, educators, deputy wardens, and the warden himself. The current warden is Darrel Vannoy, who was appointed to the role in 2024, after having previously served as warden between 2016 and 2021, following long-time warden Burl Cain's resignation. Located in West Feliciana Parish, the correctional facility is set between oxbow lakes on the east side of a bend of the Mississippi River and thus flanked on three sides by water. It lies less than two miles (three kilometers) south of Louisiana's straight east–west border with Mississippi. The prison is located at the end of Louisiana Highway 66, around 22 miles (35 km) northwest of St. Francisville. Death row for men and the state execution chamber for men and women are located on the grounds of the correctional facility.