Criminals Turned Cowboys: The Angola Prison Rodeo

It may look like any rodeo you’d find across America.

Donald Cousan says, “People come here to watch us, and we are here to put on a show for them. Even though we’re trying to win some money!”

What sets this rodeo apart? This is the Louisiana State Penitentiary, and these aren’t trained professionals -- they’re inmates.

Only inmates with a good prison record participate, and for many, this will be the only time they’ll be on a horse all year.

“Nobody can lie about not having fun out here,” says Justin Huckabay.

With events like “Convict Poker” and “Guts & Glory”, there’s no doubt why they call this the “Wildest Show in the South.” Some 10,000 people paid for a seat in the prison arena. The proceeds fund moral rehabilitation projects that the government doesn’t finance.

The prison once known as “The Bloodiest Prison in America” is now a model of rehabilitation.

Warden Burl Cain says, “The average sentence is 88 years, and there’s 3,200 lifers. So when you’re in there, you’re walking with those people who have changed their life, which shows that we can morally change.”

Justin explains, "… Hardened criminals, people who have done things you can’t imagine and now they’re Bible college students. Look at my past. I’ve got nothing to hide, but look at what I’m doing now. I’m ministering to people on death row.”

Justin is an inmate who is a living example of a life changed.

Before prison, Justin lived in rebellion in Central America and then on the streets of New Orleans. In 2000, he was convicted of second degree murder and sent to Angola.

He’s separated from family, and his child will grow up without him.

“Oh, I’m going to die here; I’ve got life [in prison],” Justin says.

When he arrived in prison, he made a life-altering decision. Was he going to hang out with the same crowd that led him to prison or find a new path? Justin chose to follow Christ.

"This is not Disneyland,” Justin says. “We have lost a lot of things, but the thing we haven’t lost [is] our free will. Now I’m going to take the time that is on my hands.”

With that extra time, he works with metal and studies as a full-time Bible student. A couple more years and he’ll receive a Bachelor degree from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Justin’s quick to share about the grace he’s found.

"I’ve accepted my fate,” he says. “I know who to be mad at now, and it’s me. I know the only person to blame is me. I look back now. You don’t realize when you’re that young that you can be guided.”

To Justin, the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. He’s accepted the consequences of his past and trusts God’s perfect will for the future.

Justin says, "There is a hope and a future, because Jesus always said, ‘I forgive.’”