Angola 3 News: A3 Newsletter: How Long Can Injustice Endure? (Aug. 8, 2014)

Friday, August 8, 2014

A3 Newsletter: How Long Can Injustice Endure? (Aug. 8, 2014)

Desmond Tutu says apartheid was such an injustice that it had to end. We wonder if the Palestinians in Gaza can have the same hope?

The Angola 3 have long stood in opposition to colonization, oppression and genocide internationally as well as here at home. We painfully watch our US made F-16's dropping US made bombs on innocent civilians in an effort to drive the indigenous people from their land in spite of peace agreements and UN mandates.

We have to question not just the prison industrial complex that keeps Albert ridiculously isolated in the worst possible circumstances in spite of the fact that his conviction has been overturned three times.

An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere.

The Angola 3 in the News: Herman's House nominated for 2014 News & Documentary Emmy Award II Angela A Allen-Bell: ACTIVISM UNSHACKLED & JUSTICE UNCHAINED: A CALL TO MAKE A HUMAN RIGHT OUT OF ONE OF THE MOST CALAMITOUS HUMAN WRONGS TO HAVE TAKEN PLACE ON AMERICAN SOIL

Join Us at the 5th to Hold Hunt and Wade Officials Responsible for Their Role in A3's Isolation

On the morning of Thursday, September 4th, the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit at 600 Camp St. in New Orleans will hold oral arguments in front of a three judge panel to decide whether or not to uphold Judge Brady's ruling denying qualified immunity for the Hunt and Wade defendants (one of two pending appeals holding up civil case progress).

Although a ruling will not be issued during the arguments, these proceedings will ultimately decide whether the Corrections officials at the prisons Herman and Albert were transferred to after their time at Angola (in 2009 to Hunt and 2010 to Wade respectively) will bear any legal responsibility for their continued isolation.

If you are in town and able to attend, the proceedings are open to the public. Doors open at 8am and court convenes at 9am in the En Banc Courtroom, room 209. Although first on the schedule for the morning, there is no telling the exact time our case will begin, so it is better to arrive early, but expect to potentially stay all morning. Arguments themselves are expected to be very short--30 minutes or less per side.

For those unable to attend, the hearing will be recorded by the Court and we will circulate a link to the proceedings as it becomes available.

For those of you who were with us last January when Albert's third overturned conviction appeal was heard, you may remember that the US Court of Appeals has very strict rules. Here is a reminder of what to expect if you do plan on attending:

1. The courtroom only holds 50 people on a first come, first serve basis, so although the argument may not start right at 9am, it's a good idea to get there early in the morning to make sure you get a seat.

2. No buttons, T-shirts or signs of any kind are allowed inside the courthouse.

3. Dress formally and expect to be searched. No cellphones or electronic devices of any kind are allowed.

4. Finally, Federal Marshals are allowed to remove spectators for even the most minor of perceived slights or disruptions. So please be extra careful to not talk, whisper, or communicate with each other once you step foot in the courtroom.

Panthers in the Hole: French Angola 3 Book Illustrates US Prison Crisis --An interview with Nicolas Krameyer of Amnesty International France

To discuss the release of the new 128-page French language graphic novel entitled Panthers in the Hole, as well as Amnesty France's broader support for Albert Woodfox and the Angola 3, our media activist project Angola 3 News interviewed Nicolas Krameyer, who is head of the Individuals at Risk / Human Rights Defenders Program for Amnesty International France.

Asked how Amnesty France's A3 and anti-solitary campaigning has impacted France, Krameyer responded: "Previously, solitary confinement was not really considered a big human rights issue, except for some rare experts or USA specialists here. Guantanamo and death penalty continue to be the two main public topics in regards to human rights violations known in France. The A3 and Robert King gave a face to that common practice of cruel and inhumane treatment in the USA."

Read the full interview, featuring previews of the book's artwork here.

You can buy Panthers in the Hole here.

Kenny 'Zulu' Whitmore Challenges His Conviction in Court and in the Press

Last week Kenny 'Zulu' Whitmore, a friend of A3 who has now spent over 30 years in isolation at Angola, filed his own habeas petition contesting his murder conviction in light of new evidence that his attorneys argue convincingly proves his innocence. You can read the compelling petition here.

Only days before, Burl Cain, the infamous warden of Angola Prison, was recently asked during an impromptu interview with students of Northwestern University's Medill Justice Project about the removal from solitary of Kenny 'Zulu' Whitmore, a member of the Angola chapter of the Black Panther Party. Cain told the young journalists that he would consider removing him. The Medill Justice Project reports:

What Cain said he was concerned about is Whitmore's longstanding affiliation with the Angola chapter of the Black Panther Party, a black revolutionary socialist organization that grew to prominence in the 1960s. Whitmore tried to escape in 1986, which also made him a security risk. Cain said Whitmore has the right to hold his political beliefs-as he himself does-but he expressed concern that Whitmore could spread his beliefs in the prison, sparking violence among inmates. "The Black Panther Party advocates violence and racism-I'm not going to let anybody walk around advocating violence and racism," Cain said.

Read the full article here.

Zulu's case was also recently spotlighted alongside the Angola 3 by the UK Independent. Read more here.

Also in the News:

Criminal Injustice: There Are No Children Here

Noam Chomsky: How the Bin Laden Raid Could Have Led to Nuclear Annihilation of Humanity

DN! interviews Cecily McMillan: Your Body Is No Longer Your Own

Victoria Law: A Year After Mass Hunger Strike in California Prisons, What's Changed?

Kristin Moe: Lakota Women Work to Fend Off South Dakota's Epic Drought

Freedom Archives: Newly Discovered George Jackson Video

Keep in Touch With Albert:

Albert Woodfox #72148
David Wade Correctional Center
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.

Friday, August 8, 2014

A3 Newsletter: How Long Can Injustice Endure? (Aug. 8, 2014)

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Enslavement, past and present--from the Middle Passage to US prisons today