BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Darrel Vannoy will serve as warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary after the current warden, Tim Hooper, announced his retirement, the Louisiana Department of Corrections announced on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Vannoy is making his return to the Louisiana State Penitentiary after he retired from the prison in September 2021 due to a bout of COVID-19. According to a news release, he has since served as warden of the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility in Woodville, Mississippi. He has spent the majority of his 49-year corrections career at Louisiana State Penitentiary. Vannoy got his start in March 1975 as a corrections cadet, according to a news release. He will step into the new role on Nov. 25. US Navy member from Baton Rouge gets appreciation award for service in Italian hospital Hooper is set to become warden of Elayn Hunt Correctional Center on Dec. 1. According to a news release, he is expected to retire on Sept. 30, 2025. He previously served as Hunt's warden for five years, been at Angola fo the past three and a half years and acted as regional warden since 2017. Interim Elayn Hunt Correctional Center warden Dusty Bickham will lead the Dixon Correctional Institute, starting Dec. 1. Latest News Early voting tops 50M a week before Election Day Group assaults man they claimed was a 'pedophile' at Texas grocery store, police say 'Million Meals for MLK’ campaign aims to combat food insecurity in Louisiana Taylor Swift donates to Second Harvest Food Bank after New Orleans stop on Eras Tour New affordable apartment community in Baton Rouge opens