A former correctional officer is voicing concerns over the way inmates are treated at Richwood Correctional Center, located about five-and-a-half-miles south of Monroe.

John Robert, who worked briefly at Richwood, spoke with sister station KTVE in Monroe, saying he’s worried about the safety and welfare of the inmates he used to protect.

Richwood is a medium-security prison operated by LaSalle Corrections, a private developer and operator of 18 correctional centers in Texas, Louisiana and Georgia.

In April, five former corrections officers at Richwood Correctional Center were indicted on charges they conspired to assault handcuffed inmates and submitted false reports on the incident.

Roderick Douglas, 37, Christopher Loring, 35, Demario Shaffer, 33, Quintail Credit, 26, and David Parker, 27, were charged in a seven-count federal indictment. The indictment says the guards sprayed a chemical agent into the faces of five handcuffed inmates kneeling on the floor in an area of the prison without surveillance cameras.

Robert told the station he worked at the privately-owned prison for a month before being fired. During that time, he said he documented everything he saw, seeking to bring permanent change to the facility. He claims the prisoners are treated more like dogs than human beings. 

“I was taught how to hate them”, says Robert. He tells us that was one of the first lessons he learned when training to become a CO.

“It made me feel horrible,” Robert said. “I was taught that I can have a pocket knife just in case something go down I can use it on them.”

He said those words came straight from his superiors. Robert added that he kept written records of all the abuse he says he witnessed, carried out by his fellow guards. 

“Beating them. He had pulled his legs up over his back using corporal punishment to get something out of him which is against the rules.”

But Robert says the abuse wasn’t just physical. 

Robert said he saw inmates who went weeks without a shower. “An inmate had a seizure lieutenant told me he was faking it.”

He added the lieutenant in charge made the call to not transport the inmate to the hospital.

“It’s the law that you have to give inmates medical attention whether they’re faking [or] telling the truth,” Robert said.

At times, Robert said, inmates were packed into cells like sardines, sometimes putting five prisoners in a cell made for two.

“Inmates under the bed, inmates on the side of the bed, by the toilet bowl…”.

Robert said what led him to speak up to his superiors over the injustices he felt the inmates were subject to, was a prisoner running to him in fear of what was about to happen.

The prisoner told Robert he believed his was going to be raped, and Robert told the lieutenant. But, Robert said, “The lieutenant told me to put him back into the dorm he came out of.”

Although Robert said the month he worked at RCC was tough, he knew he wanted to help the inmates no one else seemed to care about.

“Worst month of my life,” he said. But he added he didn’t do it for himself, but rather because he saw people in pain. “These prisoners are not protected at all. They have no one there of authority to say, ‘Hey, I’ll help you.’

“It’s like the ’40s and ’50s in there,” Robert continued. “The prisoners are the slaves and they [wardens] are the slave owners. It can’t be that way. These are human beings like everyone else.”

Robert said he won’t stop until his goal is reached. “See this jail transform from a concentration camp to a real prison.”

KTVE reached out to Warden Ray Hanson for comment but he referred us to the company lawyer who is not available until Monday. The station also reached out to the Louisiana Department of Corrections but did not hear back.