Burl Cain cleared of wrongdoing; Ex-Angola warden to hold press conference Wednesday

ANGOLA - Allegations of wrongdoing made against former State Penitentiary Warden Burl Cain are unfounded, a multi-agency investigation revealed Tuesday afternoon.

The Inspector General, State Police and Department of Corrections has spent the last few months investigating complaints that Cain acted inappropriately in his role as chief of the state's most notorious prison. But, the report was critical of Cain for using creative organizing to manipulate the need for state vehicles at the prison and for personally obtaining a death-bed confession in a case involving people he was professionally connected to.

"[Cain] should have used better judgment and left the securing of the confession up to other criminal justice professionals," a state corrections report suggested.

"Based on numerous witness interviews and the examination of pertinent documents, including polygraph information, it is the consensus of all investigators involved that the ... allegations are not supported by available facts," the OIG said.

Though, policy changes were recommended. Auditors said employee handbook definitions of "non-professional" and "friend" should be more specifically defined.

Cain retired from Angola late last year amid controversy over his management of the prison and his business dealings.

In a press release late Tuesday night, Cain announced he would be hold a press conference Wednesday at Noon on the State Capitol lawn.

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