By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON, United States – On the 40th anniversary of their confinement, Amnesty International turned over a petition signed by 65,000 people to Governor Jindal (Louisiana) to release two men from solitary confinement. The two men have sat in isolation – 23 hours a day – for the last forty years. Now, many believe the extreme form of imprisonment is cruel, unusual and unnecessary.
Albert Woodfox, 65 and Herman Wallace, 70 were placed in isolation at the Louisiana State Penitentiary known as Angola Prison on April 17, 1972, according to Amnesty International. The two men were convicted of murdering a prison guard. However, the two have constantly denied the accusations. Additionally, Democracy Now reports that Woodfox, Wallace and their supporters believe the two men were framed for their political activism and involvement with the Black Panther party.
What is more, there is no physical evidence linking the men to the murder, according to Amnesty International. Additionally, any and all potentially exculpatory DNA evidence has been lost.
Originally, a third man named Robert King was also convicted for the murder. His conviction was overturned in 2001. King told The Guardian that he spent 29 years in solitary confinement and he knows what it did to him. He said, “it shrunk the brain, it shrunk the individual . . . you become acclimatized to small distances.” He cannot bear the thought that his former fellow inmates have been in there an additional decade.
Extended stays in solitary confinement seriously impair both mental and physical health. Amnesty International insists that this form of long-term solitary incarceration is cruel and inhumane and against both the U.S. Constitution and international law.
Amnesty insists that these men are no longer a legitimate threat to the prison community. At their respective ages – and after the physical and mental degrade they have experienced – there are no longer rational reasons for this incarceration. Everette Harvey Thompson, a regional director for Amnesty International USA said, “There is no legitimate penal purpose for keeping these men in solitary. Louisiana authorities must end this inhumanity.
The cells are 2 meters by 3 meters and the men spend 23 hours there a day. There is a mattress, toilet, sheets, and a small bench on the wall, with no windows. The men get a short opportunity to “exercise” (in a concrete outdoor area) and time to shower. Their social interaction is severely limited to a few visits from family members and a few phone calls. They are also limited on the books they read, the news they read, and the education they can receive.
The men’s supporters and Amnesty International will continue to fight to get the “Angola 3” out of solitary confinement.
For more information, please visit:
Amnesty International — U.S. Authorities Urged to End Two Men’s 40-year-long Solitary Imprisonment — 17 Apr. 2012
Democracy Now — 40 Years in Solitary Confinement: Two Members of Angola 3 Remain in Isolation in Louisiana Prison — 17 Apr. 2012 (includes transcript of conversation as well)
The Guardian — Forty Years in Solitary: Two Men Mark Somber Anniversary in Louisiana Prison — 16 Apr. 2012
