|
 Albert Woodfox, 68, is the last of three black inmates who gained
notoriety for their long stays in isolation at the Louisiana State
Penitentiary in Angola. The men said they were targeted for joining
the Black Panther Party and advocating for prison reforms.
Woodfox is believed to have spent more time in solitary confinement
than nearly any other prisoner in U.S. penal history, mostly in
Louisiana's infamous Angola prison in a cell measuring roughly 6
feet by 8 feet (1.8 metres by 2.4 metres), according to his
attorney.
U.S. District Judge James Brady on Monday ordered Woodfox's release,
in part on the grounds that his two convictions in the death of
Brent Miller, a white prison guard, were both overturned.
He was indicted in the murder for a third time in February after his
last conviction was overturned and has remained in prison without
bail.
Brady's order, which noted that Woodfox was confined in his small
cell for 23 hours per day, also barred the state from seeking a
third trial.
 But the state persuaded the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to
temporarily stay the judge's order. On Friday, the appeals court
extended the stay to allow it to fully consider the state's appeal
of Brady's order.
"There is a substantial interest in staying the release of a person,
twice convicted of murder, from being released from a life sentence
without the possibility of parole," the court wrote.
Woodfox's attorneys, George Kendall and Carine Williams, said, "We
will continue to challenge the right of the state to hold Mr.
Woodfox, an elderly man in failing health, in the harshest possible
solitary confinement conditions and work to get the medical care he
urgently needs at a proper medical facility."
[to top of second column] |
After 43 years in prison, Woodfox suffers from heart disease, renal
failure and hepatitis C, they said.
Aaron Sadler, a spokesman for the state attorney general, said
Louisiana prosecutors still intend "to hold accountable this
murderer who has an extensive history of violent crimes."
Woodfox, initially incarcerated on an armed robbery charge, and a
co-defendant, Herman Wallace, maintained their innocence in Miller's
slaying.
"Judge Brady's decision to grant him unconditional release should
have certainly ended this 43-year-long nightmare," said Steven
Hawkins, executive director of Amnesty International USA, which has
campaigned for Woodfox's release.
Wallace, who spent nearly 42 years in isolation, won his freedom in
October 2013 but died of liver cancer three days after being freed.
The third Angola Three inmate, Robert King, was accused of killing a
fellow inmate. He was released from prison in 2001.
(Editing by Will Dunham and Jonathan Oatis)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
