Burl Cain

Warden

Louisiana State Penitentiary

To be great among your peers, you must serve. That’s what a leader is.

About Burl

I went to Louisiana State University and studied agriculture—I wanted to become a vocational teacher for the National FFA Organization.
After graduating, I taught for a few months, but quickly realized that I did not enjoy it.
Having started my career with the American Farm Bureau Federation, I was appointed as the assistant secretary of agribusiness for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
I was then appointed as the warden of the Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson, Louisiana.
I spent 14 years as warden of the DCI before accepting the position as warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary.
A year after becoming warden, I invited the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to set up a Bible college at the prison to help the inmates gain higher education, and find morality and peace.
When I started as warden, the Louisiana State Penitentiary was known as one of the most violent prisons in the U.S.—but the violence has decreased significantly over my tenure as warden.