Carville

Carville is the name of the leprosarium in Carville, Louisiana, where about 130 residents lived in the 1990s. The residents were the final group of lepers confined to a facility in the continental United States. The facility also served as a prison. It is where the author of the book, Neil White, was housed after he was convicted of kiting checks.

Neil described the facility from the moment of his arrival. There were large oak trees between the buildings and the levee of the Mississippi River. The facility had once been home to a large community of those afflicted with the disease, and one inmate described it as a “country club.” There was a racquetball court, a walking track, orchards, and a church. There was a theoretical dividing line between prisoners and the lepers, but the guards were unable to actually enforce that division. The prisoners lived in rooms...