New Orleans' Abandoned Prison - Closed Since Hurricane Katrina

[Music] on august 29 2005 citizens all across the city of new orleans were going through the unimaginable as one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit the u.s was unfolding the most harrowing events of the storm however likely occurred right here at the orleans parish prison what about the prisoners in the jail right now will they just simply stay in the jail we have backup generators to accommodate any any power loss excuse me we have backup generators uh we are fully staffed we're under our emergency operations plan so we're we're only uh and we've been working with the police department so we're going to keep our prisoners where they belong as the wind and water bear down on the buildings guards locked inmates in their cells and abandoned their posts the prison full of not only violent convicts but also suspects awaiting trial and juveniles as young as 10 was plunged into complete darkness as backup generators failed for the next three days the inmates would be forced to fend for their own with no food no water and no idea if anyone was ever coming to evacuate them now sixteen years later many of the hurricane damage prison buildings have been demolished however this tower known as the community corrections center still stands it's become a haven for scrappers and taggers but still signs of the struggle that once occurred here remain visible join us as we venture inside and see what's left so [Music] [Music] this portion of today's video is sponsored by brightland brightland makes high quality olive oils for cooking baking and drizzling ingredients can make or break a dish and knowing everything that goes into your food allows you to thoroughly enjoy it with brightland you know the exact type of olives and fruit used and the year of harvest for each product there are no additives no junk and it's produced using organic methods i've been using them for cooking simple dishes and they really do taste a lot better than your standard store-bought oil brightland 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gave independent testimonials following the events and i found the vast majority of their stories to be in complete alignment my accounting of events later on in this episode will be based on experiences that occurred repeatedly in a significant amount of testimonies i'll include a link to the 400 testimonials in the description if anyone wants to read for themselves as we ventured inside we didn't know much of the building's harrowing history but things would start to be uncovered as we explored it's in a wide open door in fact the whole door is just missing there's cops everywhere around here we're surrounded by police place they don't see it looks pretty strict there's anything that's going on with this building and looks like the inside shows tons of computers stacked up over here [Music] this whole hallway is all computers there's nothing interesting back here unless you really like 90s technology like casio disc title printer it's just a label maker for printing onto cds all the drywall is cut off at the same height that's interesting a lot of vandalism just crazy because um we know people who are here a year and a half two years ago place was mint went downhill fast but i don't really think you can blame it being posted on social media and stuff really it's just the fact it's in new orleans and it's wide open this is what's gonna happen an old smart board um is this a herman miller chair that is sure looks like one it's a nice one let's see yep there it is herman miller logo all these scrappers hauling metal out of here they don't know the real treasure is right here about face program there's stairs here all right let's go upstairs there's definitely cells in this building this floor doesn't look like it has any it's an x-ray cartridge wolf x-ray in the stairwell there's bars in here okay now we're in like prison level i don't know if this is a jail or a prison though it's pretty big so that makes you think it would be a prison actually but here's is chapel conference but they're all pretty strict yes stripped out there's some buttons here probably to open doors day room one and wards one two three in isolation and check out this one the store says restraint on it let's do the normal ward first and then we'll check out the restraint one this also has isolation there's beds in here wow bunks triple high it's like almost 30 people they would have had in this one tiny room that's crazy yeah just as many bunks in here is this isolation perhaps yeah i only see a room with just one bed yeah in there you can't really see it yeah maybe yeah this feels uh pretty depressing in here it smells terrible this one you at least get a window barely to the another room it's some connection to the outside world at least damn these doors are serious look they can even close off these window these windows on the door yeah and you're just completely isolated wow it says medical clinic let's check it out blue tiles already different oh my god what is that smell smells like some kind of chemical like industrial grade cleaners it's like already a lab right here really it's pretty trashed all these still have pills in them take one they say they are it says on each thing this is prednisone looks like the uh these pills are evolving there's some other kind of form geez various antacids okay yeah these rooms were mint yeah like a year and a half ago [Music] wow dental chairs past its prime for sure yeah i remember seeing pictures of this one in the corner it was perfect check this out i just found some kind of restraint looks like your wrist would go in there maybe [Music] here's a 2004 list of patients here's a dark room for developing the x-rays probably yo sneak preview of the new yeezys oh that's a sick eye exam thing a very old one [Music] oh wow yeah one of the classes like something you'd see in old asylum moldy ass uh whatever this liquid is is what's smelling up this entire place yeah i think we found the source citrus cleaner but it's like rusted nasty the sheriff's fitness center looks pretty rough in here too i don't think there's going to be any part of this building that's really so so [Applause] massive splash came out damn it oh there we go it's just covered the first time i stepped on it the splash came up like a foot high a ton of water in there so this was the gym for the officers not for the prisoners this is a saying if you pee in the shower you will be terminated sergeant don ditto back into the darkness not sure what kind of a room this was some kind of planning on the board over here for each department incident reports let's see what happened north sides here backed up by deputy washington index royal construction making sure all shores are locked an unknown inmate in cell number three stated say red i bet you got a big old body and you got a fat ass you yes you made the statement they all said no one you're running for violations call for debit come to he made the statement a lot of these are just inmates not wanting to get back in their cell which can you blame them the first one we read was definitely the best one i think we've been hearing a lot of noise coming from these stairs it's like a lot of scrapper traffic going up and down [Music] it also makes me uncomfortable if these are the only stairs in the building it's kind of weird module b [Music] oh hi uh just checking the place out sorry to bother you [Music] yeah yeah sure now you have to get through here let's get on the other side yeah spurts looks just like in the movies somebody really wanted to get through here here we were thinking this hole was busted open by some crazy vandals or copper hungry scrappers but we would soon find out the truth what the hell look all these photos look at this dude it's all family photos check it out in a sec these are all just standard cells over here a single bunk bed per room [Applause] this one looks a bit cleaner control board yeah boring one yeah that's what i saw on the other side this place is a mess all right so we just talked to one of the scrappers in here that girl said she found one batch of letters about a guy who was in here for possession of xanax um people were getting like raped and it was just completely out of control the guards basically just said like you're on your own to the prisoners and just locked them all in there and left them here for days and they were just looking out the windows seeing just water everywhere everything completely flooded initially after hearing the scrapper's story of the letter i figured it may have been a little embellished but when i got the chance to dig into the history online it seemed the nightmare that occurred here was even worse than i could have imagined as the power failed and the flood waters rose inmates on the ground floors found their cells being inundated with water for many prisoners the water eventually reached as high as chest level for those who didn't have to deal with the flood water many still had to contend with sewage backing up from the toilet and covering the floor of their cells for most inmates this was occurring in complete darkness and with zero air circulation you can imagine how this quickly became unbearable eventually prisoners were able to work together to free each other using things like shower pipes to pry open cell doors now the prison was in a state of anarchy and the exact experiences of each prisoner varied based on where exactly they were some inmates reported being attacked and in some units inmates banded together to protect juveniles from sexual assault over two days later the slow and grueling evacuation would begin but it wouldn't bring much salvation to the inmates several at a time were transported by boat to a highway overpass and left to sit out in the sun some for another multiple of days many reported being maced indiscriminately and only some received as much as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to eat eventually the prisoners were bussed to other facilities most to hunt correctional center near baton rouge but still their ordeal was far from over here they were forced to sleep in a field for several days until they could be properly accommodated their only water source was a gushing pipe sticking out of the ground and their only food were sandwiches thrown over the barbed wire fence by guards most inmates reported that multiple stabbings occurred as a result of fighting over the limited food supply it feels like now is a good time to bring up that many of these prisoners were still waiting for a trial and hadn't actually been convicted of a crime approximately one-third of them in fact some had even been arrested for violations as menial as jaywalking begging and unpaid fines and probably would have been released without charges had the hurricane not struck but now the new orleans justice system was in complete shambles many employees had left the city for good and inmate paperwork along with evidence pertinent to those awaiting trial had all been lost in the flood water some innocent until proven guilty inmates would be waiting over a year for their day in court and others would be held for months without ever being charged with a crime [Music] there's someone in here we're back here so far everyone's been chilling here though yeah i think there's like a conduit passageway back there yeah and we could be hearing it from different floors yeah possibly look at this what is it manual release levers oh wow for when the electric fails all released already so i'm not gonna move philosophy is that waters or something blue waiters peace my brothers proper education always corrects errors this one doesn't have the um the gray mesh yeah lower security i guess windows are blown out in here yeah what the hell let's take a look at that there's birds see all the cop cars i believe two to a cell zero privacy we gotta take a yeah i have my opinions about the prison system in the u.s i don't think it should be anywhere near as dehumanizing as it is but talk too much about that and people will say we're getting political so enjoy the views of this decrepit prison so that is what we will provide hey there's letters here i got a plan for us so do your time it really gave me a shocking feeling through my body when i opened the mailbox and saw your letter baby i was so happy and excited because you probably received plenty of letters from your fans i'm trying to be a special fan if you know what i mean what anyways to start this thing off right i would like to know how you your day has been going i hope pleasant and easy oh lost yeah trouble uh what the hell is this about that's it thinking about you what are you gonna do when you get out my info interesting pretty sad stuff this is like some weird a lot let's just decayed together looks like something that would sell us modern art they're all postmarked 2005. which is after katrina no katrina was in 2007 summer 2005. yeah these were all april may shortly before these are probably photos sent to the prisoners yeah let's see like how their families are doing yeah on the outside what the hell that's a lot of trophies who's this guy i see daylight so this is their outdoor recreation now it's the graffiti spot yep what do they do when a ball goes over the wall oh look there is something up there a little watchtower that air conditioning condenser got up [Applause] geez [Music] official records of what happened here at orleans parish prison immediately following hurricane katrina simply do not exist and we may never know the true extent of the disaster all we have are the words of those who live through it the sheriff's department has never admitted any wrongdoing either sheriff marlon guzman had this to say about the accounts it's kind of hilarious to read them none of it was true but when you put it in the paper it becomes more credible and it frustrates the hell out of me don't rely on crackheads cowards and criminals to say what the story is with no official record there was never any accountability for what occurred all we can do is hope that lessons have been learned [Music] you

Channel: The Proper People

Views: 1,687,743

Keywords: abandoned, urban, exploration, urbex, exploring, haunted, proper, people, theproperpeople, abandoned places, new orleans, hurricane katrina, natural disaster, prison, jail, documentary

Id: tvB6_NpuNOI

Length: 32min 22sec (1942 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 07 2022