Jail Journal

Big news at the big house

Editor Wilbert Rideau and Associate Editor Billy Sinclair cannot afford to play fast and loose with the facts. For one thing, they have to live close to their readers. For another, their readers include murderers, rapists, armed robbers and other criminals with a history of violent overreaction when provoked. Explains Rideau: "You're in a world where everybody plays for keeps."

Their world is the sprawling 4,100-inmate Louisiana state prison complex in Angola, 35 miles northwest of Baton Rouge. Their voice is the Angolite, the most probing and literate inmate publication in the U.S. Last week Rideau, 38, and Sinclair, 35, both convicted murderers serving life terms, won a prestigious George Polk Award for special-interest reporting. One article cited was Rideau's chilling account of homosexual rape and subjugation behind bars. Another story submitted to the Polk judges was an investigative report by Sinclair raising the possibility of misfeasance in the murder of a prisoner five years ago. As a result of Sinclair's story, the inmate convicted of the crime may win a new trial.

The Angolite (circ. 2,000) is published every other month. Each issue contains between 35 and 50 letters to the editor, news reports on matters of interest to inmates, a listing of recent court rulings and a number of feature articles. The editors move freely around the prison and make unmonitored outside telephone calls. In the company of a guard, they can venture off prison grounds to cover a story. While naturally sympathetic to inmates' positions, the Angolite is not a reflexive advocate. Not long ago, for example, the magazine raised inmate ire by publishing an editorial criticizing a prison-reform advocate. An associate warden reads the magazine before it goes to press, but mainly for journalistic quality. Not a single story has been killed in Rideau's four years as editor.

Neither editor made it past the ninth grade. "I'm black and urban," says Rideau. "Billy's cowboy and conservative." Rideau has written articles for national publications and is under contract to write a book upon his release. His sidekick has won tentative acceptance to law school and hopes to be a legal investigator some day. For the time being they will remain jailhouse journalists; both recently lost bids for clemency. Says Rideau: "We are sitting on a mountain of stories."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.