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CNN Live Saturday

Rodeo Day in Prison

Aired November 30, 2002 - 17:26   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Have you ever heard of a prison where thousands of people were actually lining up to get inside? In Bayou country, not far from Baton Rouge they do for Rodeo Day. CNN's Brian Cabell shows us the inmates' test of courage against bulls, broncs, and each other.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The line of cars stretches for miles, motorists eager to enter Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. Why would they want to come to this sprawling rural prison where half the inmates are convicted murderers? Well on this day, known as Rodeo Day, Angola becomes a virtual state fair, inmate arts and crafts, inmate cuisine, inmate music. Of course there is security here constant and vigilant but 1,000 of the best behaved inmates are allowed out to mingle with the crowd. That's one of them giving horseback rides to the kids.

BURL CAIN, WARDEN: It's one way for an inmate to show the public that they're not animals anymore that they have changed their lives. They don't have horns and a forked tail.

CABELL: The horns and tails you'll find on the beasts inside the arena and that's the main attraction, the rodeo itself. The performers are the inmates, most of them inexperienced but open to something new.

RONALD DRAKE, INMATE: It takes a lot of tension off from being couped up all the time, you know. You're already incarcerated so (UNINTELLIGIBLE) more than what you already are.

CABELL: No training is allowed. These wannabe cowboys simply watch, wait, and hope they don't embarrass themselves in very unfamiliar surroundings.

JOHN PERKINS, INMATE: NO, man I'm a truck driver. I don't do all that messing around. I ain't never had messed with livestock in my life.

CABELL: Today John Perkins, a convicted robber, does have to mess with livestock. He's there on the left and remarkably he and his partner, equally inexperienced, managed to wrestle a bull to the ground. But the fans here, 10,000 of them, see more courage on display than skill. It's an adrenalin rush the inmates will tell you, a break from the tedium. Look at this. It's called convict poker. You sit at the table, play cards, and pray that the bull attacks your buddies before it attacks you. The last one sitting wins $150. Alex Hennis, a habitual aggravated burglar, has his eye on the all-around cowboy award, the prize a belt buckle. He's worked on his skills here the last few years even though he had no prior experience.

ALEX HENNIS, INMATE: The only I wrote was motorcycles and skateboards.

CABELL: He rides a bull today but doesn't hang on for long. He's flung to the ground, stunned, and carried off. He'll be back on his feet in an hour. The inmates suffer broken bones and bruised egos but they also catch an exhilarating whiff of freedom. They'll tell you it's a fair exchange.

CABELL (on camera): For 38 years now, they've been holding these rodeos at Angola. Hundreds of thousands of cars have come through these gates, plenty of opportunities you would think for prisoners to escape. But according to the warden, not once on Rodeo Day has a prisoner escaped. No one wants to ruin a good thing.

Brian Cabell, CNN, Angola, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 30, 2002 - 17:26   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Have you ever heard of a prison where thousands of people were actually lining up to get inside? In Bayou country, not far from Baton Rouge they do for Rodeo Day. CNN's Brian Cabell shows us the inmates' test of courage against bulls, broncs, and each other.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The line of cars stretches for miles, motorists eager to enter Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. Why would they want to come to this sprawling rural prison where half the inmates are convicted murderers? Well on this day, known as Rodeo Day, Angola becomes a virtual state fair, inmate arts and crafts, inmate cuisine, inmate music. Of course there is security here constant and vigilant but 1,000 of the best behaved inmates are allowed out to mingle with the crowd. That's one of them giving horseback rides to the kids.

BURL CAIN, WARDEN: It's one way for an inmate to show the public that they're not animals anymore that they have changed their lives. They don't have horns and a forked tail.

CABELL: The horns and tails you'll find on the beasts inside the arena and that's the main attraction, the rodeo itself. The performers are the inmates, most of them inexperienced but open to something new.

RONALD DRAKE, INMATE: It takes a lot of tension off from being couped up all the time, you know. You're already incarcerated so (UNINTELLIGIBLE) more than what you already are.

CABELL: No training is allowed. These wannabe cowboys simply watch, wait, and hope they don't embarrass themselves in very unfamiliar surroundings.

JOHN PERKINS, INMATE: NO, man I'm a truck driver. I don't do all that messing around. I ain't never had messed with livestock in my life.

CABELL: Today John Perkins, a convicted robber, does have to mess with livestock. He's there on the left and remarkably he and his partner, equally inexperienced, managed to wrestle a bull to the ground. But the fans here, 10,000 of them, see more courage on display than skill. It's an adrenalin rush the inmates will tell you, a break from the tedium. Look at this. It's called convict poker. You sit at the table, play cards, and pray that the bull attacks your buddies before it attacks you. The last one sitting wins $150. Alex Hennis, a habitual aggravated burglar, has his eye on the all-around cowboy award, the prize a belt buckle. He's worked on his skills here the last few years even though he had no prior experience.

ALEX HENNIS, INMATE: The only I wrote was motorcycles and skateboards.

CABELL: He rides a bull today but doesn't hang on for long. He's flung to the ground, stunned, and carried off. He'll be back on his feet in an hour. The inmates suffer broken bones and bruised egos but they also catch an exhilarating whiff of freedom. They'll tell you it's a fair exchange.

CABELL (on camera): For 38 years now, they've been holding these rodeos at Angola. Hundreds of thousands of cars have come through these gates, plenty of opportunities you would think for prisoners to escape. But according to the warden, not once on Rodeo Day has a prisoner escaped. No one wants to ruin a good thing.

Brian Cabell, CNN, Angola, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com