Louisiana government and corrections officials

"Of all the prisoners I've dealt with during my career in corrections, I can think of none more deserving of clemency than Rideau. It is my considered opinion that his continued imprisonment serves no useful purpose."
- Richard Wall, Angola security official and president of the Louisiana Correctional Association, letter to the 1976 pardon board, quoted in the Shreveport Sun, January 31, 1980.

"If anybody in this state or any other state has ever been rehabilitated by prison, it is Rideau. He should be pardoned."
- C. Paul Phelps, Secretary of Corrections, quoted in Business Magazine (Westchester, NY), October 29, 1978.

"Rideau was a black who had killed a white person. It's easy to raise community feelings over Rideau. But community feelings shouldn't be given that much weight."
- Edwin Edwards, four-time governor, quoted in the New York Times Magazine, November 16, 1980.

"I worked closely with Wilbert and had the opportunity to learn something of how he thought and felt and what kind of man he was. What I learned and saw, I liked and respected. He is a self-motivated individual and a hard and conscientious worker. . . . I've valued his opinion and his assistance when I've had to resolve prison problems. He has always been most helpful. And it wasn't a matter of his doing it for personal gain or to accrue favor because sometimes his lending assistance has been at risk to his own personal safety. I've known Wilbert as a man with credibility, character, and a reputation for being a responsible and trustworthy individual. . . . His intentions and character have been tested more than those of most prisoners who have been released, and he has never failed any test. If I had the power, I'd release him."
- Walter Pence, retired Chief of Security at Angola, letter to the 1984 pardon board, December 7, 1984.

"If ever an individual has been rehabilitated, I think Wilbert Rideau has,"
- Peggi Gresham, retired Assistant Warden and Angolite supervisor for 12 years, testifying before the 1986 pardon board, quoted in the Times-Picayune, May 8, 1986.

"As an inmate, he has done everything anybody could ask of him. He has a free mind trapped in a convict's body. He's a person of high integrity."
- C. Paul Phelps, Secretary of Corrections, quoted in the Dallas Morning News, June 15, 1986.

"If I reacted solely on my personal beliefs, I would sign the pardon. I agree with those who say he has been rehabilitated."
- Governor Edwin Edwards, press conference June 17, 1986, reported statewide.

"It takes an unusual individual in a prison society to obey the rules. Wilbert Rideau is rehabilitated. He can leave here, earn an honest living and obey the rules. . . . People from all over the country have asked me what [the Angolite's] secret is. And I tell them there is no secret; it is the individuals that work for the publication that make it work. Wilbert Rideau makes it work."
- Peggi Gresham, retired Assistant Warden and Angolite supervisor for 12 years, testifying before the 1986 pardon board, quoted in the Daily Reveille (LSU) November 14, 1986.

"Whatever standard of rehabilitation you pick, Wilbert Rideau exceeds it."
- C. Paul Phelps, quoted in the Daily Reveille (LSU), November 14, 1986.

"I think he's totally rehabilitated."
- Lt. Governor Bobby Freeman, quoted in the Louisiana Weekly, July 25, 1987.

"I have known Wilbert Rideau for 16 years. My field has and always will be prison rehabilitation. Wilbert Rideau should be released and allowed to live out the rest of his days a free man. His debt to society has been paid. . . . For the past six years I worked closed with Rideau because I was his immediate supervisor. I got to know him extremely well. I watched him handle numerous crises in his life, big ones and little ones. . . but never once did I ever see him resort to violence, lying, dishonesty or cheating to resolve his problems. . . . I am a prison official. This is the first letter that I've ever written like this. You've already received letters from other prison officials. Why? Because Wilbert Rideau is different, that's why. . . . Governor Roemer, I know Wilbert Rideau, and I know he can be released from the penitentiary with no adverse harm to society."
- Roger S. Thomas, Deputy Warden for Treatment, York Prison, York, PA; former Assistant Warden for Treatment at Angola and Angolite supervisor, letter to Louisiana Governor Roemer, 1990.

"Rideau has rehabilitated himself without a hell of a lot of help from the state. I'd be glad to have him as a neighbor."
- Walter Pence, retired Chief of Security at Angola, quoted in People Magazine, September 10, 1990.

"It's a poor message to send inmates‹that if you lay low and don't do anything to better yourself, your chances of getting out are better than if you work hard and try to accomplish something."
- Warden John Whitley quoted in "The Most Rehabilitated Prisoner in America," Life Magazine, March 1993.

"If there is such a thing as a man earning his freedom, Wilbert Rideau has earned his. Because of the contributions he has made, the way he has conducted himself for 40 years in prison with only one minor infraction of the rules, and the way he has improved himself with self-education, I think he belongs back out on the street. He can make an honest living and be an asset to society. He shouldn't be retried."
- Maurice H. Sigler, former Angola Warden, former Warden and Director of Corrections in Nebraska, retired Chairman of U.S. Parole Commission. His biography, Beyond His Time, by Sharon Johnson Rion, was published in January 2001. Quote submitted for the website April 16, 2001.