Angola Prison
Through a program facilitated by the nonprofit organization Lifeline Global, qualifying inmates at the maximum-security Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola Prison) are allowed to spend a few precious hours in person with their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews during the Returning Hearts Celebration each May.
Once the bloodiest prison in America, Angola is now home to a program that fosters reconciliation, responsibility and hope among its men, most of whom are serving life sentences, with the goal of breaking the cycle of incarceration within families. Lifeline operates in 58 prisons and jails in the United States and in eight prisons internationally.
In Louisiana, Sonya and her colleagues lead a media team, composed of university students, to share these stories through writing, photography and videography.
