December 13, 1999, is a day that Jolie Aleman will never forget.
On that day 20 years ago, prisoners blindfolded her, held a knife up to her throat, and took her as a hostage in the St. Martin Parish jail.
“If it wouldn’t have went the way it did, they would have killed us. When I had that blindfold around my eyes and everything and I had that butcher knife in my neck, I really thought that was the end for me,” Aleman said.
The morning started out as a routine day in the parish jail.
The warden and three correctional officers working that day had no way of knowing they wouldn’t be going home that night.
They wouldn’t even step outside for the next five days.
“I could feel that butchers knife resting on the side of my neck, and I thought that was the lowest point for me. You know, I thought, ‘What else are they gonna do to us?'” Aleman said, recalling the incident.
Eight Cuban inmates, who felt they we being unjustly imprisoned in the U.S. because of their nationality, devised a plan.
“They were furious. They wanted to get out, and they couldn’t,” Aleman told News 10.
They took over the control room then handcuffed the warden, Aleman, and two other correctional officers in the warden’s office.
The inmates were completely in control of the jail.
“I didn’t know if I was going to make it or not,” Aleman remembered.
The takeover began a five-day hostage situation.
The warden, Aleman and the two other deputies became the prisoners.
“They told us they were going to spin the bottle and whoever it landed on, they would kill us, and they said, ‘Whoever it lands on we’re just gonna kill the warden first,'” Aleman said.
The inmates wouldn’t get the chance. After negotiations with the FBI and the SWAT team, the hostages were released one by one.
“It was rough. It was a long five-and-a-half days, but I made it through it. It’s just a blessing because when you don’t know if you’re going to make it out, that’s a hard situation,” Aleman told News 10.
It’s been 20 years since the takeover, and Aleman said she still can’t go back to the jail. She says the memory is just too painful.
