Angola 3 News: June 2015

Sunday, June 28, 2015

A3 Newsletter: The Beat Goes On

Healing Our Wounds: Restorative Justice Is Needed For Albert Woodfox, The Black Panther Party & The Nation --Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell interviewed by Angola 3 News

On Monday, June 8, 2015, US District Court Judge James Brady ruled that the Angola 3's Albert Woodfox be both immediately released and barred from a retrial. The next day, at the request of the Louisiana Attorney General, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay of release set to expire on Friday, June 12.

Healing Our Wounds: Restorative Justice Is Needed For Albert Woodfox, The Black Panther Party & The Nation --An Interview With Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell

(VIDEO: Prof. Bell interviewed by Sky News, following Judge Brady's ruling to immediately release Albert Woodfox. A stay on his release was ordered later that day by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Also be sure to watch her June 12 appearance on MSNBC's News Nation with Tamron Hall)

Healing Our Wounds: Restorative Justice Is Needed For Albert Woodfox, The Black Panther Party & The Nation
--An Interview With Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell

By Angola 3 News

On Monday, June 8, 2015, US District Court Judge James Brady ruled that the Angola 3's Albert Woodfox be both immediately released and barred from a retrial. The next day, at the request of the Louisiana Attorney General, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay of release set to expire on Friday, June 12.

As the week intensified following Judge Brady's ruling, both Albert Woodfox and his family, friends & supporters wondered if he would finally be released over 43 years after first being placed in solitary confinement. Amnesty International USA launched a petition calling on Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to honor Judge Brady's ruling.

On June 9, US Congressman Cedric Richmond (LA-02) issued a statement declaring that "Attorney General Caldwell must respect the ruling of Judge Brady and grant Mr. Woodfox his release immediately...This is an obviously personal vendetta and has been a waste of tax payer dollars for decades. The state is making major cuts in education and healthcare but he has spent millions of dollars on this frivolous endeavor and the price tag is increasing by the day."

On June 11, eighteen members of the Louisiana House of Representatives voted unsuccessfully to pass a resolution (H.R. 208) urging Attorney General Caldwell to stop standing in the way of justice, withdraw his appeals, and let Judge Brady's unconditional writ and release ruling stand.

However, on Friday, June 12, the Court responded by scheduling oral arguments for late August and extending the stay of release at least until the time that the Court issues its ruling later in the Fall.

Albert Will Remain Behind Bars Pending Appeal --Justice Delayed is Justice Denied, But Not Forever (A3 Newsletter)

MEDIA COVERAGE: NOLA Times-Picayune II New Yorker II NPR interviews Prof Angela A. Allen-Bell II Hollywood Progressive: New A3 Feature Film II Huffington Post II CTV (Canada) / AP II Atlanta Black Star II Live Science

We are sad to report that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to continue the stay and block the release of Albert Woodfox until the State's appeal is heard (read articles by The Advocate and Washington Post).

Though it means some months before Albert will see his long overdue freedom realized, the court has granted an "expedited" status for the appeal. Oral Arguments are set for the week of August 31st. The State's written argument as to why they believe Judge Brady's order should be overturned is due on July 10th. Then Albert's team has three weeks to respond before the State is allowed a final rebuttal on August 7th.

A3 Newsletter: The Eve of Freedom?

(Artwork by Rigo 23)

As we all wait anxiously for what tomorrow may bring, we thought like us, you may want to immerse yourself in some of the most powerful shows of support for Albert from around the world that have emerged in the last few extraordinary days since Judge Brady's heroic ruling.

An article written today by the Associated Press and featured by the New York Times asks: What Has Louisiana Got on the Last of the Angola Three? Answering their own question, the AP / NY Times writes: "Woodfox's long-simmering story has been the subject of documentaries, Peabody Award winning journalism, United Nations human rights reviews and even a theatrical play. It's a staggering tale of inconsistencies, witness recants, rigged jury pools, out-of-control prison violence, racial prejudice and political intrigue."

Take Action with Amnesty International! Act quickly: Albert Woodfox’s fate could be decided TOMORROW

Featured below, reprinted in full, is a new Amnesty International action alert for Albert Woodfox.

Please Take Action Here!

On Monday night, I heard news almost too incredible to believe: After four decades of hellish isolation, a federal judge ordered that Louisiana prisoner Albert Woodfox finally be unconditionally released and never re-tried by the State of Louisiana. After so many years in solitary confinement, Albert was set to walk free.

It marked the most promising development to date in Albert's case.

A Visit This Week With Albert Woodfox: "They Call Me The Last Man Standing"

June 19, 2015 Update: Read the follow-up article by the same author about her most recent visit with Albert

(This touching essay detailing a visit this week with Albert Woodfox is reprinted in full from the Why Am I Not Suprised? Blog.)

(PHOTO: Author with Albert Woodfox from a previous visit)

Albert Woodfox "They Call Me The Last Man Standing"

Five years and eleven months ago yesterday, I first laid eyes on Albert Woodfox. He was still in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola then, where he had been locked up in solitary confinement almost continually since April of 1972. I had been a prison abolitionist myself for thirty-eight years at that point, so it was not surprising that we found each other. Despite the 6 X 9 foot cell in which he had been held so long, hundreds, maybe thousands, of people around the world had already found him before me. But unknown to him, when he turned 62 in February, 2009, I threw him a birthday party and invited students on the Louisiana university campus where I teach to come.

Fifth Circuit Issues Temporary Stay of Judge Brady's Ruling to Release Albert Woodfox

MEDIA COVERAGE: NY Times Editorial and In-Depth Article II Times-Picayune II The Independent UK II NPR II FOX News II The American Lawyer II Daily Mail UK II El Paso Times / AP II Washington Post II CNN II Agence France-Presse II Democracy Now! II The Root II ABC News / AP

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has just issued a temporary stay of Judge Brady's order to give Albert's attorneys time to respond to the appeal.

Though there will be no freedom for Albert tonight, we remain confident that Judge Brady's ruling is rooted in strong legal precedent and that justice will finally prevail for Albert sooner than later.

We will do our best to keep you updated as things develop.

Monday, June 8, 2015

BREAKING!: Judge Brady orders Albert Woodfox's Unconditional Release & Retrial Banned!! (Stay Tuned for Updates)

MEDIA COVERAGE: CNN II Los Angeles Times II Times-Picayune II NY Times / AP & Toronto Star II Spiegel Online II BBC II Guardian UK II Amnesty International USA II Christian Science Monitor II

We are ecstatic to announce that late this afternoon Judge Brady granted the unicorn of habeas rulings--an "unconditional writ" ordering Albert's immediate release and barring a retrial.
He argues that this extraordinary remedy is merited due to the following 5 factors: "Mr. Woodfox's age and poor health, his limited ability to present a defense at a third trial in light of the unavailability of witnesses, this Court's lack of confidence in the State to provide a fair third trial, the prejudice done onto Mr. Woodfox by spending over forty-years in solitary confinement, and finally the very fact that Mr. Woodfox has already been tried twice and would otherwise face his third trial for a crime that occurred over forty years ago."

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.