Angola 3 News: A3 Newsletter: One Year Later: Albert Woodfox is still not convicted or released

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A3 Newsletter: One Year Later: Albert Woodfox is still not convicted or released

One year ago today, supporters of Albert Woodfox were elated when Judge Brady's ruling on Albert's criminal case was announced. It was a THIRD overturning of his conviction!

How can it be possible that an innocent man, who now stands unconvicted in the eyes of the law, remains locked in a solitary cage while he waits for the State's endless appeal efforts to play out? How many more appeals, how many courts will it take for the State to finally recognize that they've done enough to this man?

There are oceans of press - firsthand accounts, testimony, scientific reports, documentaries, videos, songs - all establishing the senseless torture that is solitary confinement in the U.S. today. We are heartened by the significant solitary reforms agreed to by NY state this week and the Colorado guard who just publicly committed to eliminating solitary in Colorado. Yesterday's second set of hearings called by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin on solitary confinement were better attended with more spirited commentary than the first hearing last year (A written statement jointly submitted to yesterday's hearing by Robert King and Albert Woodfox is reprinted below). We see a major shift occurring in the perception and use of solitary in this country. You can watch video footage of the hearings at CSPAN.

Across the country in California a prisoner who has spent more than 42 years in solitary, Hugo Pinell, was recently moved to another facility where he has greater access to visits and a promise of eventual transfer out of solitary. On the East Coast, the long time struggle to move Pennsylvania prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz out of solitary succeeded just last week. State by state, correctional departments are reviewing this punishment modality that has raised such an outcry and are making changes. We can only pray that the State of Louisiana will join the rest of the country in recognizing that solitary confinement should be abolished, and begin by opening the gates for Albert.

Robert King Tours US & Canada to Speak Out for Albert Woodfox and Against Solitary Confinement

(PHOTO: Robert King and filmmaker Ron Harpelle w/ Kathleen Cleaver at the Montreal Black Film Festival on February 21, 2014. View more photos, including from Toronto's Black Film Festival here.)

As announced in our last newsletter, the Angola 3's Robert King has been traveling in the US, speaking in Chicago about solitary confinement at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in Canada alongside screenings of the film Hard Time. Featured below is a compilation of media coverage.

American Association for the Advancement of Science

BBC News: Scientists call solitary confinement 'damaging and unnecessary' II Japan Times / AFP: In prisons, solitary takes toll on minds II VIDEO: Science Magazine Live Chat w/ Robert King; Is Solitary Confinement Torture? II CNN: 29 Years in a Box

Hard Time Screenings in Montreal and Toronto, Canada

Tout Le Monde En Parle II Interview by Canadian Prison Radio Show II Morning News Montreal Televison Interview II La Presse: En croisade contre le milieu carcéral américain II Montreal Gazette Interview II Le Devoir: 29 ans d’isolement en prison

Angola Three: 42 Years of Solitary, 42 Years of Cruel and Unusual Punishment
--A statement submitted for the February 25 Congressional hearing on the use of solitary confinement in US prisons

Dear Chairman Durbin and Ranking Member Cruz:

My name is Robert Hillary King. I spent 29 years in solitary before I was freed in 2001 after proving my innocence. Since then I have worked tirelessly speaking and traveling around the world to raise awareness about prison conditions in the US, and to bring attention to the remaining member of the Angola 3-Albert Woodfox-who is still behind solitary bars in Louisiana after nearly 42 years actively fighting to prove his innocence in federal court.

Albert Woodfox's murder conviction was overturned for a 3rd time in February of last year, and for a third time, the State of Louisiana appealed. As Woodfox, now 67, prepares to enter his 42nd year in solitary confinement, he continues to maintain his innocence.

The third member of the Angola 3, Herman Wallace, was released last October from 41 years of solitary confinement after his conviction was overturned, but died 3 days later of advanced liver cancer at the age of 72. A group of U.S. Congressmen saw fit to mark his passing by entering a tribute to Wallace into the Congressional record, describing him as a "champion for justice and human rights."

Many people ask me to describe my nearly 3 decades in solitary. Here is an excerpt from my autobiography where I attempted to put these experiences into words:

"Solitary confinement is terrifying, especially if you are innocent of the charges that put you there. It evokes a lot of emotion. It was a nightmare. My soul still cries from all I witnessed and endured. It mourns continuously. Through the course of my confinement I saw men so desperate that they ripped prison doors apart and both starved and mutilated themselves. It takes every scrap of humanity to stay focused and sane in that environment. The pain and suffering are everywhere, constantly with you. There's no describing the day to day assault on your body and your mind and the feelings of hopelessness and despair."

Over a decade ago Herman, Albert and I filed a landmark civil lawsuit challenging the inhumane and increasingly pervasive practice of long-term solitary confinement.   Magistrate Judge Dalby describes our almost four decades of solitary as "durations so far beyond the pale" she could not find "anything even remotely comparable in the annals of American jurisprudence."   The case, scheduled for trial in June 2014, will detail decades of unconstitutionally cruel and unusual treatment (in violation of 1st, 4th, 8th, 13th and 14th Amendment rights) and systematic due process violations at the hands of Louisiana officials.

In July 2013 a group of US Congressmen issued a statement from the House Judiciary Committee calling on DOJ to investigate "the egregious and extensive use of solitary confinement and other troubling detention practices in various Louisiana prison facilities," alleging that the Louisiana Department of Corrections "has engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the US Constitution and federal law in its use of such confinement and detention practices."

Then in October, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E. Méndez, called on the United States to immediately end the indefinite solitary confinement imposed on Albert Woodfox since 1972 saying "keeping Albert Woodfox in solitary confinement for more than four decades clearly amounts to torture and it should be lifted immediately."

Although Albert has not had any disciplinary infractions in decades, and prison mental health records confirm that he is neither a danger to himself or others, he continues to be held in a 6x9 foot cell for 23, sometimes 24 hours a day. He is only allowed to leave the cell if chained at the ankles, wrists and waist, under escort, for up to one hour a day if weather allows in a small outdoor cage by himself.

For decades he's been denied meaningful review of his isolation status:

"The only reason given for maintaining the men under these conditions has been due to the "nature of the original reason for lockdown."

Amnesty International is firm in its belief that conditions for the men in CCR - 23 hour cellular confinement in stark, tiny cells; limited access to books, newspapers and TV; no opportunities for mental stimulation, work and education; occasional [non-contact] visits from friends and family and limited telephone calls - amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment."

Amnesty goes on to detail the human rights violations involved in such extreme confinement:

"The USA has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, both of which prohibit torture or other ill-treatment. The relevant treaty monitoring bodies (the Human Rights Committee and the Committee Against Torture) have found that prolonged solitary confinement an amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Both bodies have expressed concern that the harsh conditions of long-term isolation in some US segregation facilities are incompatible with the USA's treaty obligations.

Amnesty International believes their findings are particularly significant in the case of Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace given that few, if any, other prisoners have spent so long in solitary confinement in recent times.

Their treatment also contravenes the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. These and other relevant standards emphasize the importance of providing work and educational, recreational, religious and cultural activities for prisoners' mental and physical wellbeing, as well as to prepare individuals for reintegration into society."

We respectfully submit this statement with the hopes that you can use your legislative powers to put an end to long term solitary confinement. Without uniform standards of the infractions serious enough to merit placement; a meaningful review process with outside oversight; and a grievance process, opportunities for socialization and education, and a clear written timeline and detailed action plan for the inmate's release; this form of punishment serves no punitive or reformative purpose. In our view it is the very definition of cruel and unusual punishment as defined by the Constitution.

We believe that only by openly examining the failures and inequities of the criminal justice system in America can we restore integrity to that system. We are grateful for your efforts to do just that today.

Sincerely,
The 2 Surviving Members of "The Angola 3"
Robert King and Albert Woodfox

Keep in Touch with Albert:

Albert Woodfox #72148
David Wade Correctional Center
N1 A3
670 Bell Hill Road
Homer, LA 71040

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Angola 3 Basics

(Download a flyer version of this fact sheet here.)

In 1972, deep in rural Louisiana, three young black men were silenced for trying to expose continued segregation, systematic corruption, and horrific abuse in the biggest prison in the US, an 18,000 acre former slave plantation called Angola.

Peaceful, non-violent protest in the form of hunger and work strikes organized by inmates caught the attention of Louisiana’s elected leaders and local media in the early 1970s. They soon called for investigations into a host of unconstitutional and extraordinarily inhumane practices commonplace in what was then the “bloodiest prison in the South.” Eager to put an end to outside scrutiny, prison officials began punishing inmates they saw as troublemakers.

At the height of this unprecedented institutional chaos, Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox, and Robert King were charged with murders they did not commit and thrown into 6x9 foot solitary cells where they remained for decades.

Their struggle for justice continued until Robert was released in 2001, Herman in 2013, and Albert in 2016.

Despite a number of reforms achieved in the mid-70s, many officials repeatedly ignored both evidence of misconduct, and of innocence.

The State’s case was riddled with inconsistencies, obfuscations, and missteps. A bloody print at the murder scene did not match Herman, Albert or anyone charged with the crime and was never compared with the limited number of other prisoners who had access to the dormitory on the day of the murder. In 2008, NPR asked Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell why the state refused to test the print. "A fingerprint can come from anywhere," Caldwell explained. "We're not going to be fooled by that."

Potentially exculpatory DNA evidence was “lost” by prison officials—including fingernail scrapings from the victim and barely visible “specks” of blood on clothing alleged to have been worn by Albert.

Both Herman and Albert had multiple alibi witnesses with nothing to gain who testified they were far away from the scene when the murder occurred.

In contrast, several State witnesses lied under oath about rewards for their testimony. The prosecution’s star witness Hezekiah Brown told the jury: “Nobody promised me nothing.” But new evidence showed Hezekiah, a convicted serial rapist serving life, agreed to testify only in exchange for a pardon, a weekly carton of cigarettes, TV, birthday cakes, and other luxuries.

“Hezekiah was one you could put words in his mouth,” the Warden reminisced chillingly in an interview about the case years later.

Notably, Teenie Rogers, the widow of the victim, prison guard Brent Miller, after reviewing the evidence believed Herman and Albert’s trials were unfair, expressed grave doubts about their guilt, and called upon officials to find the real killer. "“Each time I look at the evidence in this case, I remember there is no proof that the men charged with Brent’s death are the ones who actually killed him. It’s easy to get caught up in vengeance and anger, but when I look at the facts, they just do not add up,” said Rogers in 2013.

Herman’s conviction was finally overturned in October 2013 by a Federal Judge. Although his trial was riddled with evidence of prosecutorial misconduct and other constitutional violations, it was the systematic exclusion of women from his jury in violation of the 14th Amendment that freed him. Unfortunately he was released in the late stages of advanced liver cancer and only experienced 3 days of freedom. Sadly for Herman, justice delayed was justice denied.

Albert’s conviction was overturned three times by judges citing racial discrimination, prosecutorial misconduct, inadequate defense, and suppression of exculpatory evidence. While the case worked its way through endless appeals, Louisiana officials refused to release Albert from solitary, even when no longer convicted of the crime, because “there’s been no rehabilitation” from “practicing Black Pantherism.”4

In June 2015, a Federal Judge courageously ordered Albert's immediate release and barred a retrial stressing the “Court's lack of confidence in the State to provide a fair third trial." This extraordinary remedy was also frozen pending yet another series of appeals.

Finally, Albert was released in February of 2016, 43 years and 10 months after first being put in isolation for a crime he didn’t commit.

Louisiana today has the highest incarceration rate in the US—thus the highest in the world.

Three-fourths of the 5,000+ prisoners at Angola are African American. And due to some of the harshest sentencing practices in the nation, 97% will die there.

Reminiscent of a bygone era, inmates still harvest cotton, corn and wheat for 4 to 20 cents an hour under the watchful eye of armed guards on horseback.

We believe that only by openly examining the failures and inequities of the criminal justice system in America can we restore integrity to that system.

We must not wait.

We can make a difference.

As the A3 did years before, now is the time to challenge injustice and demand that the innocent and wrongfully incarcerated be freed.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

In 2000, Herman, Albert and Robert filed a civil lawsuit challenging the inhumane and increasingly pervasive practice of long-term solitary confinement. Magistrate Judge Dalby described their decades of isolation as “so far beyond the pale” she could not find “anything even remotely comparable in the annals of American jurisprudence.” Over the course of 16 years, this seminal case detailed unconstitutionally cruel and unusual treatment and systematic due process violations at the hands of Louisiana officials and inspired worldwide action to end long term solitary.