Louisiana Department of Corrections, Louisiana
End of Watch: Monday, April 17, 1972
Age: 23
Tour of Duty: 1 year
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Stabbed
Date of Incident: April 17, 1972
Weapon Used: Edged weapon; Shank
Suspect Info: Released in 2013 and 2016
Corrections Sergeant Brent Miller was stabbed to death at the Angola State Prison by inmates who were members of the Black Panthers.
The inmates had sharpened a lawn mower blade and used it to stab Sergeant Miller 38 times after attacking him in the prison's Pine 1 dormitory. Two of the inmates, 28 and 30, were convicted of Sergeant Miller's murder and sentenced to life. One was released on October 1, 2013. Three days later, he was indicted a second time for Sergeant Miller's murder. He died the next day from liver cancer. The other inmate was released on February 16, 2016. Both inmates spent more than 40 years in solitary confinement, more than any other inmate in U.S. history.
Sergeant Miller's father was also a prison guard at the prison, and he grew up on the prison grounds. He had worked as a guard at the prison for less than one year before being murdered. He was survived by his wife of two months, his parents, and two siblings.
He is buried at Pine Ridge Cemetery in Liverpool, Louisiana.