Angola Prison in Louisiana is one of the highest security prisons in the country. The majority of the prisoners there have life sentences and some are on death row for their crimes.
Regardless, the warden, Burl Cain, provides the inmates with multiple opportunities to cope with their fate.
For those offenders not awaiting capital punishment, one of those opportunities is the Angola Prison Rodeo in which they can compete twice a year.
The Rodeo takes place inside the prison’s facilities and is open to the public. The inmates compete in several games that involve bull-riding, horse-handling and other demanding skills.
The majority of the inmates have no experience with rodeo and many get hurt easily.
Having "nothing to lose” –as some of them say–makes the rodeo popular among the inmates for entertainment as well as for the money they can win.
