In an article from the wonderful weekly news magazine, WORLD, writer Marvin Olasky profiles a prison warden at maximum security Louisiana State Penetentiary who brings his Christian values to work—and details how God is moving in “America’s worst prison” and “the bloodiest prison in the south.” He writes, “Who knows how evangelism could affect the lives of prisoners already burdened by life sentences?”

Since evangelism-friendly warden Burl Cain came to the prison in 1995
the number of weapon-wielding assaults by one inmate on another declined from 321, the year he came to the prison, to just 97 last year.

Inmates used to sleep with magazines under their T-shirts to deflect knife attacks. Now convict Eugene Tanniehill says, “God is in this place” and “men have new hope.”

Warden Cain is a Southern Baptist who encourages Christian efforts and says, “Only the Lord Almighty makes a prison safer.” Cain admits that he holds the hands of prisoners condemned to die as they receive lethal injections and have their last 90 seconds of consciousness. He tells of Taylor Feltus, executed on June 6, 2000, who had become a Christian and said that he was sorry for his crime; Cain was able to tell him that the family of his victim had forgiven him.