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The Angola Three are three African American former prison inmates (Robert Hillary King, Albert Woodfox, and Herman Wallace) who were held for decades in solitary confinement while imprisoned at Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola Prison). The latter two were indicted in April 1972 for the killing of a prison corrections officer; they were convicted in January 1974.[1] Wallace and Woodfox served more than 40 years each in solitary, the "longest period of solitary confinement in American prison history".[2]
Robert King was convicted of a separate prison murder in 1973 and spent 29 years in solitary confinement before his conviction was overturned on appeal; he was released in 2001 after taking a plea deal.[3] Starting in the late 1990s, each case was assessed, and activists began to work to have the cases appealed and convictions overturned because of doubts raised about the original trials.
In July 2013, Amnesty International called for the release of 71-year-old Herman Wallace, who had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.[4] He was released October 1, 2013, due to a judge overturning his original indictment due to the lack of female jurors. The state re-indicted him on October 3, 2013,[5] but he died on October 4, 2013, before he could be re-arrested.[6]
On November 20, 2014, Woodfox's conviction was overturned by the US Court of Appeals. In April 2015, his lawyer applied for an unconditional writ for his release.[7][8] His unconditional release was decided on June 10, 2015. He was released on February 19, 2016, after the prosecution agreed to drop its push for a retrial and accept his plea of no contest to lesser charges of burglary and manslaughter. He said he would have liked the chance to prove his innocence, but chose the plea deal because of advanced age and health issues.[9] Woodfox died from COVID-19 complications on August 4, 2022, at the age of 75.[10]
- ^ John Schwartz, "Herman Wallace, Freed After 41 Years in Solitary, Dies at 71", The New York Times, October 4, 2013; accessed March 12, 2019
- ^ Erwin James, "37 years of solitary confinement: the Angola three", The Guardian, March 10, 2010; accessed December 12, 2017
- ^ Ed Pilkington (April 16, 2012). "Forty years in solitary: two men mark sombre anniversary in Louisiana prison". the Guardian.
- ^ "Amnesty International Appeals for Release of Terminally Ill 'Angola 3' Prisoner, after 40 Years in Solitary Confinement". July 10, 2013. Amnesty International. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
- ^ "Dying Angola 3 member Herman Wallace reindicted, report says". NOLA.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ^ "Breaking: Herman Wallace Dies Just Days After Being Released from 40+ Years in Solitary". Democracy Now!.
- ^ Ed Pilkington (November 21, 2014). "America's longest-serving solitary confinement prisoner has conviction quashed". the Guardian.
- ^ "Albert Woodfox could possibly be freed without a retrial after 4 decades in solitary". NOLA.com.
- ^ Robertson, Campbell (February 19, 2016). "Last 'Angola 3' Inmate Freed After Decades in Solitary". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ Pilkington, Ed (August 4, 2022). "Albert Woodfox, held in solitary confinement for 43 years, dies aged 75". The Guardian. Retrieved August 5, 2022.