In a press release earlier Friday, Woodfox thanked his brother and other supporters who have lobbied over the years for his release.
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Prior to his release Friday, Albert Woodfox retroactively pleaded no contest to charges of manslaughter and aggravated burglary in connection with the death of a prison guard at the Louisiana State Penitentiary – also known as Angola – in 1972.
He, along with Robert King Wilkerson and Herman Wallace, made up the “Angola 3”, a politically active trio of inmates in solitary confinement at Louisiana State Penitentiary named after the prison’s nickname.
KC Cornell The “Angola Three” spent decades-long confinement in isolation at the Louisiana prison in Angola and others elsewhere. In accordance with that plea, he was sentenced to 42 years of incarceration and given credit for time served.
With only a few months served sporadically among the general prison inmates over 45 years, Woodfox is believed to have served the longest period of time in solitary confinement of any inmate in the United States, according to The Times-Picayune. Woodfox has consistently maintained that he is innocent and was set up due to his activism and connection to the Black Panther Party while in prison.
“As it stands today, Albert Woodfox stands convicted of the homicide of Brent Miller”, said Clayton.
A judge had ordered Woodfox’s release last June and said he could not be put on trial a third time.
Herman Wallace, left, and his legal team discuss his trip home to New Orleans after his release from Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, La., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013.
For a more complete picture of Woodfox’s life, read our previous story, “How the Angola Three Became National Symbols of Injustice”.
Former Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell filed an emergency motion the following day to prevent Woodfox’s release.
Human rights organization Amnesty International celebrated his release, which comes on his 69th birthday.
The “no contest” plea is not an admission of guilt. But both convictions were thrown out on the grounds that Mr. Woodfox had not been adequately represented at trial and that racial discrimination had been a factor in selecting the foreman for the grand jury.
Woodfox was picked up from the West Feliciana Parish Jail, where he had been most recently held, by his brother and driven away.
The struggle of the Angola 3 has highlighted the torture of solitary confinement used against prisoners in the US. The case of the Angola 3 has garnered support from all corners of the globe pointing out the racism and horrendous conditions that prisoners in the US endure, especially those in solitary confinement.
Albert Woodfox can only hope this time is for real.
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Woodfox was never connected to the guard’s death by any physical evidence and he has long denied being the one who caused Miller’s death. She claimed the AG’s Chief Deputy, Bill Stiles, met with them and said if the case went before the supreme court, because all witnesses from the case are dead, Woodfox would walk out free and as a hero so he told them taking this plea bargain was the best deal. Landry issued a statement saying the agreement was reached with the cooperation of Miller’s family.
