Louisiana inmate held in solitary confinement for decades is released

Feb 20, 2016, 14:02

The last of Louisiana's "Angola Three" inmates, who served some four decades in solitary confinement, was to be released on Friday after pleading no contest to manslaughter in a prison guard's 1972 death, U.S. media has reported. The man has become a symbol for injustice in the American penal system after doing four decades in the hole-likely the longest such term in U.S. history.

The inmate was awaiting a third trial in Miller's murder after federal courts tossed out earlier convictions for reasons including racial bias in selecting a grand jury foreman.

Meanwhile, he languished in solitary.

A man held in nearly continuous solitary confinement for 43 years has been released from prison.

Woodfox had been convicted twice for the crime and was facing a third prior to Friday's release.

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Given the freaky way this whole saga has played out, it's unsafe to declare that Woodfox is in the clear for good. But this belated measure of justice, on Woodfox's 69 birthday, is something he has been seeking for more than half his life.

"Albert Woodfox, by his own plea, stands convicted of the homicide of Brent Miller". "I hope the events of today will bring closure to many", he said.

He had been there since April 1972, after he was blamed for the death of a guard during a prison riot.

Another inmate convicted for Miller's death was released in 2013 and died three days later.

"There were serious questions about whether a conviction would be viable", one of Woodfox's attorneys, Katherine Kimpel of Washington, told the Los Angeles Times on Friday.

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Upon his release, he had no words for the prison-guard's family and said he wanted to pay respects to his mother, who died while he was behind bars. According to The New York Times, the decision to put him in solitary confinement was not related to the murder, however Angola warden Burl Cain insisted that Woodfox was risky and should be kept in isolation.

Woodfox was a Black Panther who organized inmates against segregation and inhumane conditions inside Louisiana's Angola prison, which was formerly a slave plantation.

"I want to thank my brother Michael for sticking with me all these years, and Robert King, who wrongly spent almost 30 years in solitary". The terms of the plea agreement included a 42-year prison sentence for Woodfox - and since he has already served longer than that sentence calls for, he was released. As we witness this remarkable development, we remember that each year in the United States, thousands of people are released directly from prolonged solitary confinement to our communities with no means of grappling with the psychological, social and physical trauma this immoral treatment has caused.

Former Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell filed an emergency motion the following day to prevent Woodfox's release.

"I fully believe that what happened today was in the best interest of the citizens of the state of Louisiana".

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A bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur listed the plea for hearing next week. The Supreme Court stated that "You are leading a risky proposition".

The plea is not an admission of guilt but instead a legal manoeuvre in which he "does not contest that the State would present evidence at a new trial from witnesses who said he committed this crime", his lawyers said.