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† Criminal InJustice is a weekly series devoted to taking action against inequities in the U.S. criminal justice system. Nancy A. Heitzeg, Professor of Sociology and Race/Ethnicity, is the Editor of CI. Kay Whitlock, co-author of Queer (In)Justice, is contributing editor of CI. Criminal Injustice is published every Wednesday at 6 pm.
Free Albert Woodfox!
by Angola 3 News
Editors note: The State of Louisiana, unparalleled in the scope of mass incarceration – is unparalleled too in unrelenting cruelty and venase form Angola 3 News. Please read shsre and offer ss on the latest in Woodfox’s cgeance towards many of itsases. prisoners, but especially the Angola 3. Of the three, Albert Woodfox remains imprisoned. ( Robert King was freed in 2001; Herman Wallace was released shortly before his death in 2013.) Below are updates and action requests from Angola 3 news — to whom we are eternally grateful for championing these cases. Please sign too Amnesty Internationals Petition of Support.
Louisiana Takes First Step to Retry Albert Woodfox –AG Caldwell Continues to Obstruct Justice But Albert Does Not Fear A Trial
Yesterday, the State of Louisiana took the first step toward a retrial and announced that a grand jury has re-indicted Albert a third time for the murder of Brent Miller.Though we continue to hope that the State will stop wasting taxpayer money on the prosecution and torture of this innocent man, Albert looks forward to being able to prove to the world once and for all that he is innocent.
We will update you as more information becomes available, and in the meantime urge you to join over 16,000 people in the US alone (and thousands more abroad) in signing Amnesty’s new petition calling for Albert’s immediate release.
Amnesty USA Responds to the Indictment
In response to today’s announcement of the indictment of Albert Woodfox, Amnesty International USA Executive Director Steven W. Hawkins issued the following statement:
“Attorney General Caldwell has made it clear that he is hell-bent on keeping Albert Woodfox behind bars-despite the fact that his conviction has been overturned three times, and an appeals court has affirmed that decision. He should stop pursuing a campaign of vengeance by trying to re-indict a man who has already spent more than four decades in cruel confinement, after a legal process tainted with flaws.
“His public accusations that Albert is a ‘serial rapist’ not only cross ethical boundaries, but inflame the public against a man who has suffered unspeakable cruelty at the hands of the Louisiana authorities. Albert Woodfox has never been tried or convicted of rape, and the accusations are entirely absent from 4 decades of trial transcripts.
“A week before his birthday, Albert should be looking forward to a bail hearing; not facing another legal hurdle in a life that has been more than half-spent in solitary.
“Attorney General Caldwell took the same action against Herman Wallace after his release: re-indicting him while he was on his deathbed, suffering from liver cancer. It is time for him to stop standing in the way of justice.”
Please take action for Albert Woodfox: New Amnesty Intl. Petition to Gov. Jindal Calls for the State to Not Oppose Bail
We are excited to announce that Amnesty International has started a new petition in support of Albert Woodfox’s February 6 bail request that he filed in response to the favorable Fifth Circuit Court ruling on February 3. The full text of an email sent out today by Amnesty, describing the campaign, is featured below. Please take action now!
Freedom is just around the corner
For more than four decades, Albert Woodfox has been held in solitary confinement: first in the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola Prison) and later in David Wade Correctional Center.
Albert spends 23 hours a day isolated in a small cell – four steps long and three steps across – with no access to meaningful social interaction or rehabilitation.
Last Friday, Albert’s legal team filed for bail. With your help, he could finally walk free.
Albert has been imprisoned for nearly 43 years for the second-degree murder of prison guard Brent Miller in 1972. He has been fighting to prove his innocence in a legal process tainted with flaws.
No physical evidence ties Albert to the crime. Brent Miller’s widow has said she believes that Albert is innocent. The Federal courts have overturned Albert’s conviction three times.
Despite all of this, the state of Louisiana has appealed three times and spent millions of dollars in legal fees during Albert’s 40-year struggle for freedom. The state authorities seem hell-bent on keeping him behind bars.
Allowing Albert his freedom is the only just and humane action the state can take after decades of holding him in cruel and inhuman conditions. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal must ensure that the state stops standing in the way of Albert’s freedom.
Tell the Governor: Stop wasting valuable taxpayer resources. Help ensure Albert’s release without further delay. It is imperative that justice delayed does not become justice denied.
Albert has endured the unthinkable. It is unconscionable to hold him for a single day longer.
It’s time for him to walk free.
With hope for justice,
Jasmine Heiss
Senior Campaigner, Individuals at Risk
Amnesty International USA
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