41 Years Locked Up Unjustly and in Solitary Confinement

From: Angola 3 News:

Today, April 17, 2013, marks 41 years that Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace have been unjustly incarcerated in solitary confinement in Louisiana. This is 41 years of living in concrete and metal cages of 6 x 9 feet; 41 years of being separated from their families and loved ones; 41 years of being wrongly accused of a murder they did not commit.

Over 41 years ago, prison officials at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka 'Angola'), an 18,000-acre former slave plantation, were first confronted by the Angola 3's challenge to the obscene human rights atrocities that were a daily reality for prisoners there. They responded to these efforts by fabricating a case against Albert and Herman for the tragic murder of prison guard Brent Miller in 1972. Shortly thereafter, when Robert King entered Angola, he was ensnared in the aftermath of that murder and joined Herman and Albert in solitary.

Although the flame for justice for the Angola 3 continues to burn bright these many decades later, words cannot express the profound rage and frustration we feel commemorating one more year of Herman and Albert's confinement. But we will not lose hope or forget how much we have already accomplished and just how close we are to winning both Herman and Albert's release. Solitary confinement's daily assault on Herman and Albert's mind, body and spirit has not been able to deter them. Inspired by their heroic resilience on the frontlines of the struggle, we too, will never give up our fight for their release.

Continuing this fight for Albert, Herman and all prisoners, today we are launching an action to kick-start the call for a State Congressional Hearing to end the use of prolonged solitary confinement in Louisiana. Our friends at The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) have enabled this through their campaign calling "upon state legislators and departments of corrections to begin now to take steps to end prolonged solitary confinement" in all 50 states and the federal prison system.

We need only 500 people within a particular state to sign the statement and NRCAT will send these endorsements to that state's governor, top corrections officials, and every member of that state's legislature. When we hit 1,000 signatures they will do the same again. PLEASE spread the word to help us achieve our petition goal for Louisiana and in states across the country. Please sign this now.

The campaign for the Angola 3 grows in strength around the world, from local organizations to international NGO's like Amnesty International (read their new statement marking 41 years) joining the call for justice. While Herman and Albert continue to live the hell that is solitary confinement, this cruel and unusual punishment is in the news more than ever before - with calls for its abolition from state congresses and increasing evidence of its violations to human rights.

Albert, Herman and Robert do not want anyone else to suffer the hellish torture they still endure today. Thank you all for your continued support. Without you the flame of justice would not burn so strongly.  Please mark this day by taking action to end the use of prolonged solitary confinement in Louisiana and the USA.

Events Mark 41 Years

This week you can also join us at one of the many events commemorating 41 years. 

The new Canadian film Hard Time is screening this week in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.



A 41-hour vigil on April 19-21, in New Orleans is being organized by the Angola 3 Movement, withHard Time shown alongside more films and presentations.

In New York City, Herman's House, the film, will premiere on April 19.

In Europe, Amnesty France is hosting a screening of In the Land of the Free in Paris on April 30.


 A Defined Voice 
--By Herman Wallace, 2006

They removed my whisper from general population

To maximum security I gained a voice

They removed my voice from maximum security

To administrative segregation

My voice gave hope

They removed my voice from administrative segregation

To solitary confinement

My voice became vibration for unity

They removed my voice from solitary confinement

To the Supermax of Camp J

And now they wish to destroy me

The louder my voice the deeper they bury me

I SAID, THE LOUDER MY VOICE THE DEEPER THEY BURY ME!

Free all political prisoners, prisoners of war, prisoner of consciousness.

--Below are two new photos of Herman Wallace, taken this month:

Prison rape: Sexual torture

Taken over from: SF Bay View, April 1st 2013
by Kenny Zulu Whitmore

Revolutionary greetings, my people.
Prison is a lonely, dark, cruel reality where you immediately become trapped in a time warp on one of the many modern day plantations that have sprung up like trees across America.

Rape in prison is a part of the fabric as is rotten, evil, racist corrections officers, or COs. One of America’s taboos right up with “There are no political prisoners or torture in America’s prisons.” Rape and the threat of rape by these COs is an act of sexual torture that leaves more mental scars than physical, and the victim of this violent act is no less a victim than if the act was committed out in society.

Kenny Zulu Whitmore back in the day

In 2008, shortly after Hurricane Gustav ripped through several of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, a brutal sexual assault was being carried out by a sadistic CO. I will conduct a sit-down with the victim of that violent act.

Twice a victim

Zulu: Shannon, how are you today, man, and what is your whole name?

S.A.: Shannon Alexander. I wish for better days, Zulu. Shannon Alexander, 298078.

Zulu: Shannon, you were a victim of a violent sexual assault by a CO here back in 2008. You want to tell me about that?

S.A.: This happened while I was housed at Camp-C Tiger 1R booth tier on the 10th day of September 2008 by Master Sgt. DeWayne McMills, a white male 42 years old. He’s about 6 feet tall, 200-230 pounds, with 24 years in as a guard here at Angola.

Zulu: Shannon, how tall are you and how much do you weigh? And describe what is a booth tier.

S.A.: I am 5 feet 2 inches and 135 pounds. A booth tier is a tier of 13 cells, as they have in several camps. The booth has bars like a regular cell in front, but with 4 feet by 4 feet of space with a steel door the guards can close when they are gassing you or beating you.

Zulu: That big door does nothing for anyone on the tier when the CO’s spray or beat someone, because everyone feels the effect of the gas and hears the guy being beat with those PR-24s (sticks) and kicked with those heavy boots. I have been on one such tier when an attack took place.
S.A.: Yes, you are right, too.

Zulu: What went down?

S.A.: I was laying in my bunk. When Master Sgt. DeWayne McMills entered my booth and pulled the steel door, and said, “Nigger, get your ass up, strip, take off the jumpsuit, and come to the bars. Turn around, bend over and spread your Black ass open.” I told the master sergeant not to use those racist terms with me and that I was not going to bend over and do nothing because he knows that ain’t the way it is done.

Zulu: I thought it was “squat and cough”?

S.A.: It is; that’s the way it’s supposed to go. But when I refused, Master Sgt. McMills went off calling me every racist name in the book, throwing the restraints against the walls: “You fucking Nigger, you are dead.” “You are one hung Nigger.”

Zulu: Wait a minute. He threatened to hang you?

S.A.: Yes, he did, and I know they will do just that. Master Sgt. McMills says “This is your third verbal order. Come to the bars and be restrained, Alexander.” Not to relive that whole experience, (but) I went up to the bars to be restrained. He put the cuff of the waist belt on and said, “Turn around,” so he could grab the restraints belt and violently pulled me up against the bars and fastened the belt around the bars and began slapping me upside the head through the bars and started feeling on my ass, saying all kinds of crazy shit.

That they was going to rape me, fuck me in the ass. There was nothing I could do. I feared for my life and I started to beg him not to do that. He – Master Sgt. McMills – went off again with the racist stuff about me. Black people. I still had the jumpsuit up. He said, “I want you to suck my dick through the bars.” And if I, Shannon Alexander, did not perform this act upon him, he would spit upon himself and hit his beeper and tell the warden I spit on him and took the restraints – to have me gassed and beaten. Master Sgt. McMills took the restraint belt aloose from the bars and took the cuffs off. “Strip, Nigger, and get on your knees.”

Zulu: What did you do?

S.A.: Being in fear of my life and what will happen when he presses his beeper, I had to pretend to go along with Master Sgt. DeWayne McMills. I went to the bars like I was going to come into compliance. I got down on my knees and Master Sgt. McMills unzipped his pants and pulled out his penis and attempted to enter my mouth with his penis. I kind of blacked out of my mind and bit down on Master Sgt. McMills’ penis.

Zulu: What?

S.A.: He ran out of the booth bleeding and hollering. Master Sgt. DeWayne McMills was arrested and booked into the West Feliciana Parish Jail on the 10th day of September 2008 on committing malfeasance in office, crime against nature, and oral sexual battery. McMills posted bail and on or about Oct. 28, 2008, committed suicide by gunshot to the head at his home. And I am the one being punished.

Zulu: You have been in solitary confinement ever since? And do you have an out date?

S.A.: Yes, I have been stuck in the cell ever since. I have written to warden of security about it because I have a parole eligibility date coming up in 2017. I want to get my GED and take up welding and culinary school. As you know, Zulu, administration will not let anyone in a cell participate in any of the educational programs. It’s like I am being victimized twice. My last disciplinary report was in 2010. I am being denied access to rehabilitation opportunities.

Zulu: Can all of this be verified through court records and administration files?

S.A.: Yes, all of it.

Zulu: Thank you, Shannon, for being brave enough to share your story with everyone. Speaking out is the way to shed some light on this horrible crime. The enemy counts on your silence, young brother, so keep on doing what you do.

Fight the power
Kenny Zulu Whitmore

Send our brother some love and light: Kenny Zulu Whitmore, 86468, D-HAWK, 4L, Louisiana State Prison, Angola, LA 70712. And visit the website of this extraordinary political prisoner, imprisoned for 38 years: FreeZulu.org.

Louisiana Attorney General Says Angola 3 “Have Never Been Held in Solitary Confinement”

By James Ridgeway and Jean Casella on SOLITARYWATCH
March 21st 2013

Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace in the early 1970s, when they were placed in solitary confinement. (Photo from “In the Land of the Free.”)

James “Buddy” Caldwell, attorney general of the state of Louisiana, has released a statement saying unequivocally that Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, the two still-imprisoned members of the Angola 3, “have never been held in solitary confinement while in the Louisiana penal system.”

In fact, Wallace, now 71, and Woodfox, 66, have been in solitary for nearly 41 years, quite possibly longer than any other human beings on the planet. They were placed in solitary following the 1972 killing of a young corrections officer at Angola, and except for a few brief periods, they have remained in isolation ever since.

The statement from Caldwell follows on the heels of a ruling by a federal District Court judge in New Orleans, overturning Albert Woodfox’s conviction for the third time–in this instance, on the grounds that there had been racial bias in the selection of grand jury forepersons in Louisiana at the time of his indictment. Subsequently, Amnesty International, along with other activists, mounted a campaign urging the state of Louisiana not to appeal the federal court’s ruling. In the absence of an appeal, Woodfox would have to be given a new trial or released.

Caldwell’s statement–which was rather mysteriously sent out to an email list that included numerous prisoners’ rights advocates who have supported the Angola 3–begins: “Thank you for your interest in the ambush, savage attack and brutal murder of Officer Brent Miller at Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) on April 17, 1972. Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace committed this murder, stabbing and slicing Miller over 35 times.”

Caldwell clearly states that he has every intention of appealing the District Court’s decision to the notoriously conservative Fifth Circuit: “We feel confident that we will again prevail at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. However, if we do not, we are fully prepared and willing to retry this murderer again.” Caldwell asserts that the evidence against Woodfox is ”overpowering”: “There are no flaws in our evidence and this case is very strong.” This statement belies the fact that much of the evidence that led to Wallace and Woodfox’s conviction has since been called into question.

In particular, the primary eyewitness was shown to have been bribed by prison officials into making statements against the two men. (For more details on the case, see our earlier reporting in Mother Jones, here, here, here, and here.) The two men believe that they were targeted for the murder, and have been held in solitary for four decades, because of their status as Black Panthers and their efforts to organize against prison conditions. (The third member of the Angola 3, Robert King, convicted of a separate prison murder, was released after 29 years in solitary when his conviction was overturned in 2001).

But Caldwell’s most controversial assertion is that Wallace and Woodfox’s conditions of confinement over the past 40 years do not qualify as solitary confinement:

Contrary to popular lore, Woodfox and Wallace have never been held in solitary confinement while in the Louisiana penal system. They have been held in protective cell units known as CCR. These units were designed to protect inmates as well as correctional officers. They have always been able to communicate freely with other inmates and prison staff as frequently as they want. They have televisions on the tiers which they watch through their cell doors. In their cells they can have radios and headsets, reading and writing materials, stamps, newspapers, magazines and books. They also can shop at the canteen store a couple of times per week where they can purchase grocery and personal hygiene items which they keep in their cells.
These convicted murderers have an hour outside of their cells each day where they can exercise in the hall, talk on the phone, shower, and visit with the other 10 to 14 inmates on the tier. At least three times per week they can go outside on the yard and exercise and enjoy the sun if they want. This is all in addition to the couple of days set aside for visitations each week.
These inmates are frequently visited by spiritual advisors, medical personnel and social workers. They have had frequent and extensive contact with numerous individuals from all over the world, by telephone, mail, and face-to-face personal visits. They even now have email capability. Contrary to numerous reports, this is not solitary confinement.
Caldwell’s description does not, in fact, refute the fact that the two men are held for 23 hours a day in closed cells that measure approximately 6 x 9 feet–smaller than the average parking space. CCR, or Closed Cell Restricted, is the Louisiana prison system’s euphemism of choice for solitary confinement.

[photo: Woodfox and Wallace in recent photos.]

In addition to challenging their convictions, Wallace and Woodfox have filed a civil suit in federal court, arguing that their 40 years in solitary confinement violate the U.S. Constitution. Their lawyers argue that both have endured physical injury and “severe mental anguish and other psychological damage” from living most of their adult lives in lockdown. According to medical reports submitted to the court, the men suffer from arthritis, hypertension, and kidney failure, as well as memory impairment, insomnia, claustrophobia, anxiety, and depression. Even the psychologist brought in by the state confirmed these findings.In his statement, Caldwell warns that if they win their civil suit, “these convicted murderers…could possibly receive money and a change in their housing assignments.” Any move out of solitary has been firmly opposed by the warden of Angola, Burl Cain. In a 2008 deposition, attorneys for Woodfox asked Cain, “Let’s just for the sake of argument assume, if you can, that he is not guilty of the murder of Brent Miller.” Cain responded, “Okay, I would still keep him in CCR…I still know that he is still trying to practice Black Pantherism, and I still would not want him walking around my prison because he would organize the young new inmates. I would have me all kind of problems, more than I could stand, and I would have the blacks chasing after them.”

Caldwell himself has even more vociferously opposed releasing the men from solitary. An ambitious Democrat-turned-Republican known for his Elvis impersonations, Caldwell took office in 2007 and was reelected in 2011. He has characterized the Angola 3 as political radicals and called Woodfox “the most dangerous person on the planet.”

In the fall of 2008, after Woodfox’s conviction was overturned for the second time, a federal court judge ordered him released on bail pending the state’s appeal. Caldwell opposed the release “with every fiber of my being.” Woodfox planned to stay with his niece, but his lawyers uncovered evidence that the state had emailed the neighborhood association of the gated community where she lived to say that a murderer would be moving in next door. Caldwell soon convinced the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to revoke Woodfox’s bail. He also brought Woodfox’s habeas case to the full Fifth Circuit, which reversed the lower court ruling and reinstated his conviction.

Now that a federal judge has ruled, for the third time, that Woodfox did not receive a fair trial, Caldwell apparently feels the need to reiterate his position. “Let me be clear,” his statement concludes. ”Woodfox and Wallace are GUILTY and have NEVER been held in solitary confinement” (emphasis in the original).

Herman Wallace’s drawing of his cell.

Judge Brady overturns Albert Woodfox's conviction for a third time!

From: Angola3News, Feb 26th 2013:

(View/Download a PDF of Judge Brady's ruling here.) 

Today, February 26, District Court Judge Brady released a 34-page ruling that granted habeas to Albert on the issue of racial discrimination in the selection of the grand jury foreperson for his 1998 retrial. This decision now overturns Albert’s conviction for a third time.

In the 34-page ruling, Judge Brady reviews the arguments of both sides and concludes that Albert's team used the correct baseline for comparison, and that using that baseline, the discrimination is statistically significant no matter which tests are used. It was the State's burden in these proceedings to prove that there was a race neutral procedure in place for selecting forepersons. Judge Brady agreed with Albert that the State failed to do this.

Just as when Judge Brady overturned Albert’s conviction in 2008, the State is now expected to appeal today’s ruling to the 5th Circuit. Therefore, nothing is certain except that the legal team and A3 supporters will not stop fighting until this ruling is affirmed by the 5th Circuit and Albert is finally a free man.

This is an important victory, thanks in no small part to the efforts of our supporters!

As we learn more, we will post updates here, so please check back for more information about Albert’s case. For more background, this is our report from the evidentiary hearing that preceded today's ruling.

SPLC reaches agreement to address prisoner abuse, neglect at Orleans Parish Prison

From: Southern Poverty Law Center
Dec. 11th 2012

The SPLC has reached an agreement with officials in Orleans Parish, La., to address the brutal and inhumane conditions at the Orleans Parish Prison, where prisoners have endured rampant violence, sexual assaults and neglect.

The federal consent decree outlines steps that Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman will take to ensure prisoner safety and adequate staffing of the facility. If approved by the court, an independent monitor will oversee the agreement to ensure compliance. The agreement, the result of an SPLC lawsuit filed in April, also would apply to any new facility that is built to replace the jail.

“We are hopeful the judge will agree that this settlement is in the best interest of all parties involved,” said Katie Schwartzmann, managing attorney for the SPLC’s New Orleans office and lead attorney on the case. “We also applaud Sheriff Gusman and his office for taking the important first step of acknowledging the problems within the jail. While implementation will be difficult, we are committed to improving conditions, and will work with him to do so. We also need the city to work with us and provide the funding to truly fix this jail.”

SPLC clients Byron Morgan and Nicholas Miorana, both prisoners in the Orleans Parish Prison, said they were pleased an agreement has been reached. “I am excited the sheriff has agreed to take a hard look, and fix this jail,” Morgan said. “I hope Mayor Mitch Landrieu will help make the changes as well.”


Miorana added, “Today, I understand what right and wrong stand for. With help from the Justice Department and SPLC, our cries will finally be heard.”
The decree includes the following provisions:

• Review and monitoring of prison operations by a professional corrections administrator.


• Comprehensive policies governing the use of force and restraints on prisoners.


• Documenting and tracking complaints of prison staff using excessive force.


• A staffing plan that provides enough officers to ensure prisoner safety.


• A ban on placing teenagers in units where they may have contact with an adult prisoner.


• Guidelines for providing medical and mental health care for prisoners.

The SPLC lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, described a facility where widespread violence and contraband – including knives – are the norm. It also noted that the jail is understaffed and that deputies are not only poorly trained and supervised, but are often complicit in the abuses suffered by the prisoners.

The U.S. Department of Justice intervened in the case in September, joining the effort to address the conditions. Three years ago, a comprehensive investigation by the department documented many of the same violations contained in the SPLC lawsuit.

Once the agreement is approved by the court, it will go into effect immediately. However, certain provisions cannot be implemented until the city and the sheriff’s office resolve how to provide adequate funding for the jail. If the city and the sheriff cannot resolve the funding dispute, the funding issue will go to trial on April 4, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Lance Africk.

“April 4 is a long time for the men, women and children in Orleans Parish Prison to wait,” said Schwartzmann. “With Sheriff Gusman committed to reform, we urge Mayor Landrieu to provide immediate emergency funding to support the necessary changes. Every day we wait, the lives of thousands of New Orleanians remain at risk.”

It shouldn't cost so much for inmates to call home

From: New Orleans Times-Picayune
Nov. 2nd, 2012
By James Gill

Prison telephones are such a scam that operators can afford to kick back at least $15 million to the state over the next five years -- and that's just at Angola and 10 other state penitentiaries. Altogether, Louisiana, which leads in the world in locking up its citizens, has 40,000 inmates in 170 jails and prisons. They are worth a fortune.

Inmates are not so much allowed as encouraged to make collect calls because the monopolies that provide the phones get to charge such obscene rates. This is the inevitable result of awarding contracts to the companies that agree to pay the state the biggest share of the loot. Sheriffs have been known to get in on the racket by setting up phone companies on the side.

Louisiana is not the only state to see misery as a profit center, but the families of our inmates have for decades been rooked to a spectacular degree. They pay 15 times more for their calls than the rest of us. Occasional attempts to stop the profiteering have been made in the Legislature, but a sense of shame is hard to discover in that quarter.

Now, the voice of decency has been raised, however. The Public Service Commission sets telephone rates, and its chairman, Foster Campbell, is proposing a 25 percent reduction and the elimination of various arbitrary surcharges. He says two of the other four commissioners, Jimmy Field and Lambert Boissiere, are on his side, so it seems he will prevail.

A call from a Louisiana jailbird will still not be all that cheap. It will cost about 23 cents a minute, whereas on the outside we pay 2 cents. Taking a call from the hoosegow in New York works out to just under a nickel a minute. Still, Campbell offers inmates' families some relief, and they need it desperately.

Read the rest here: http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2012/11/it_shouldnt_cost_so_much_for_i.html

Louisiana death-row inmate Damon Thibodeaux exonerated with DNA evidence

In: Washington Post
By Douglas A. Blackmon, Published: September 28

NEW ORLEANS — A little after 4 a.m. on July 21, 1996, Damon Thibodeaux, a deckhand on a Mississippi River workboat, cracked at the end of a nine-hour interrogation and confessed to the brutal rape and murder of his 14-year-old step-cousin, Crystal Champagne.

“I didn’t know that I had done it,” Thibodeaux said at one point, according to a police transcript. “But I done it.”


Before that day was over, Thibodeaux had recanted his confession, telling his court-appointed lawyer that he told police what they wanted to hear in response to threats of death by lethal injection and his grief over the death of his cousin. Nonetheless, Thibodeaux was later convicted of both crimes and sentenced to die.

Now, after more than 15 years spending 23 hours a day in solitary confinement on death row at Louisiana’s Angola prison farm, Thibodeaux is free.

Read the rest here.

Also check the Innocence Project's page on Damon here.

There are many more people with innocence claims and who are wrongfully convicted, also with no DNA evidence available, who need to be released and compensated for the years they had to endure as innocent people in prisons, threatened with death.

Free the Innocent!