After nearly 44 years in solitary, Albert Woodfox is freed today on his 69th birthday!

by the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3

Just moments ago, Albert Woodfox, the last remaining member of the Angola 3 still behind bars, was released from prison 43 years and 10 months after he was first put in a 6-foot-by-9-foot solitary cell for a crime he did not commit. After decades of costly litigation, Louisiana state officials have at last acted in the interest of justice and reached an agreement that brings a long overdue end to this nightmare. Albert has maintained his innocence at every step, and today, on his 69th birthday, he will finally begin a new phase of his life as a free man.

Albert-Woodfox-free-at-last-raises-fist-brother-Michael-Mable-021916-by-Travis-Spradling-Baton-Rouge-Advocate-300x227, After nearly 44 years in solitary, Albert Woodfox is freed today on his 69th birthday!, Abolition Now!
Free at last! Albert Woodfox, last of the world famous Angola 3 to be released, leaves prison Feb. 19, escorted by his brother, Michael Mable.

In anticipation of his release this morning, Albert thanked his many supporters and added: “Although I was looking forward to proving my innocence at a new trial, concerns about my health and my age have caused me to resolve this case now and obtain my release with this no-contest plea to lesser charges. I hope the events of today will bring closure to many.”

Over the course of the past four decades, Albert’s conviction was overturned three separate times for a host of constitutional violations including prosecutorial misconduct, inadequate defense, racial discrimination in the selection of the grand jury foreperson and suppression of exculpatory evidence. On June 8, 2015, federal Judge James Brady ordered Albert’s immediate release and barred the state from retrying Albert, an extraordinary ruling that he called “the only just remedy.”

A divided panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that order in November with the dissenting judge arguing, “If ever a case justifiably could be considered to present ‘exceptional circumstances’ barring re-prosecution, this is that case.” That ruling was on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court when news of his release broke.

‘40-years-of-solitary-40-years-of-torture’-Angola-3-supporters-Louisiana-Capitol-steps-041712-by-A3-Coalition-web-300x200, After nearly 44 years in solitary, Albert Woodfox is freed today on his 69th birthday!, Abolition Now!
Extraordinary organizing and countless demonstrations for the Angola 3, sustained for decades, serves as a model of prisoner support. The Angola 3 were heralded by celebrities around the world as well as the grassroots at home. This dramatic rally was held on the steps of the Louisiana Capitol on April 17, 2012. – Photo: Angola 3 Coalition

On behalf of the Angola 3 – Albert Woodfox, Robert King and in memory of Herman Wallace – we would like to sincerely thank all the organizations, activists, artists, legal experts and other individuals who have so graciously given their time and talent to the Angola 3’s extraordinary struggle for justice.

This victory belongs to all of us and should motivate us to stand up and demand even more fervently that long-term solitary confinement be abolished, and all the innocent and wrongfully incarcerated be freed.

The International Coalition to Free the Angola 3 can be reached via http://angola3.org/contact-us/.

Albert Woodfox, longest-serving solitary confinement prisoner, to be freed from prison after four decades

Statements from Albert Woodfox, one of the Angola 3, and attorneys George Kendall and Katherine Kimpel

Feb. 19, 2016, West Feliciana, La. – Albert Woodfox, who spent more time in solitary confinement than any prisoner in U.S. history, will be released this afternoon from custody today after more than four decades in the Louisiana prison system. Mr. Woodfox, who turned 69 today, continues to maintain his innocence for the murder that sent him to solitary confinement for more than four decades. He pled no contest to two lesser crimes before being set free.

Angola-3-Herman-Wallace-Robert-King-Albert-Woodfox-300x253, After nearly 44 years in solitary, Albert Woodfox is freed today on his 69th birthday!, Abolition Now!
These are the Angola 3: Herman Wallace, Robert King, Albert Woodfox

“I want to thank my brother Michael for sticking with me all these years, and Robert King, who wrongly spent nearly 30 years in solitary. I could not have survived without their courageous support, along with the support of my dear friend Herman Wallace, who passed away in 2013,” said Mr. Woodfox.

“I also wish to thank the many members of the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3, Amnesty International, and the Roddick Foundation, all of whom supported me through this long struggle. Lastly, I thank William Sothern, Rob McDuff and my lawyers at Squire Patton Boggs and Sanford Heisler Kimpel for never giving up.

“Although I was looking forward to proving my innocence at a new trial, concerns about my health and my age have caused me to resolve this case now and obtain my release with this no-contest plea to lesser charges. I hope the events of today will bring closure to many.”

The extreme and cruel solitary confinement endured by Mr. Woodfox and his fellow prisoners, Herman Wallace and Robert King, known as the “Angola 3,” drew international condemnation. The unnecessary and inhumane use of solitary confinement was particularly stark in light of Mr. Woodfox’s exemplary conduct record for decades. In fact, in the midst of litigation, the wardens of both institutions where Mr. Woodfox was held in solitary confinement admitted that he had exemplary conduct records.

Angola-Warden-Burl-Cain-by-Annabel-Edwards-Medill-Justice-Project-300x199, After nearly 44 years in solitary, Albert Woodfox is freed today on his 69th birthday!, Abolition Now!
Notorious Angola and Hunt prisons Warden Burl Cain had only one explanation for why he insisted on isolating the Angola 3 – his fear they would spread what he coined “Black Pantherism” to other prisoners. The three men had formed the first prison chapter of the Black Panther Party soon after they originally went to prison in 1971. – Photo: Annabel Edwards, Medill Justice Project

“Although we are overjoyed that Albert Woodfox is finally free, it is indefensible he was forced to endure decade after decade in harsh solitary confinement conditions, longer than any prisoner in the history of the United States,” stated George Kendall, attorney with Squire Patton Boggs, LLP. “Albert survived the extreme and cruel punishment of 40 plus years in solitary confinement only because of his extraordinary strength and character.

“These inhumane practices must stop. We hope the Louisiana Department of Corrections will reform and greatly limit its use of solitary confinement as have an increasing number of jurisdictions around the country.”

Mr. Woodfox and Mr. King, along with Mr. Wallace, brought a civil lawsuit in 2000, challenging the constitutionality of the state of Louisiana’s use of indefinite solitary confinement. Mr. Woodfox and Mr. King confirmed that a primary goal of the ongoing litigation is to help bring light to the fact that there is no penological justification for how the state of Louisiana currently uses solitary confinement and to create incentives for reform.

As Mr. Woodfox explained, “I can now direct all my efforts to ending the barbarous use of solitary confinement and will continue my work on that issue here in the free world.”

Robert-King-free-after-31-yrs-29-in-solitary-Angola-020801, After nearly 44 years in solitary, Albert Woodfox is freed today on his 69th birthday!, Abolition Now!
As a brilliant jailhouse lawyer, Robert King became the first of the Angola 3 to be released when he won his own case. Here, he walks out of Angola, the 18,000 acre former plantation, on Feb. 8, 2001, after 31 years in prison, 29 of them in solitary confinement.

Their case, which is pending, is supported by extensive reports from two nationally recognized corrections experts. Those most recent experts’ reports, from 2015, are publicly available and include extensive detail about the state system’s failings (http://bit.ly/1PUqjiG; http://bit.ly/1oNAfUv).

As a federal judge wrote, the extreme length of Mr. Wallace’s and Mr. Woodfox’s solitary confinement was “so far beyond the pale that this court has not found anything even remotely comparable in the annals of American jurisprudence.” See Wilkerson v. Stalder, No. 00-304 (M.D. La. Feb. 1, 2005) (Doc. No. 105 at 21).

“It is past time for our nation to leave behind its shameful legacy of being one of the only developed countries in the world that still relies so heavily on the outdated and ineffective corrections practice of indefinite solitary confinement,” commented Katherine Kimpel, partner at Sanford Heisler Kimpel, LLP.

“That Albert Woodfox served over four decades in solitary confinement shocks the conscience and is a national embarrassment. We should take advantage of the growing national consensus regarding corrections reform to ensure that, if our society were to be judged by entering our prisons, we would not be found lacking.”

Attorneys for Mr. Woodfox said he will now be able to receive the medical attention he desperately needs.

To contact attorneys for Mr. Woodfox or leading experts on solitary confinement conditions and reform, contact Laura Burstein or Jamie Moss at Laura.Burstein@Squirepb.com or jamie@newspros.com.

Albert Woodfox freed

by Jasmine Heiss, Amnesty International USA

Today, Louisiana prisoner Albert Woodfox walked free, 44 years after he was first put into solitary confinement.

Herman-Wallace-released-in-ambulance-100113-by-Democracy-Now, After nearly 44 years in solitary, Albert Woodfox is freed today on his 69th birthday!, Abolition Now!
Herman Wallace manages a smile despite advanced liver cancer when he was wheeled out of prison on Oct. 1, 2013. A vengeful state re-indictment two days later became moot on Oct. 4, when he died – among loving family and friends. – Photo: Democracy Now

He was the United States’ longest serving prisoner held in isolation. Nearly every day for more than half of his life, Albert Woodfox woke up in a cell the size of a parking space, surrounded by concrete and steel.

Tomorrow morning, for the first time in more than four decades, he will be able to walk outside and look up into the sky.

Over the course of nearly five years working on Albert Woodfox’s case at Amnesty, I heard many times that the odds were insurmountable. But I always knew that Albert Woodfox would go home.

I have seen the incredible power of our movement when we work together. I have seen the courage, humility and determination of so many of you who have played big and small roles to help this historic human rights victory come to fruition.

I have seen the unbelievable strength of the Angola 3: Robert King, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox himself – all three of whom endured nightmares but persevered with humor, dignity and resolve to wage a relentless fight against the cruel, inhuman and degrading practice of prolonged solitary confinement in the United States.

Today Albert Woodfox walks free – Feb. 19, 2016, his 69th birthday.

Jasmine Heiss, senior campaigner for the Individuals at Risk Program at Amnesty International USA, can be reached via Twitter at @JasminitaMH.