| Location | Los Angeles |
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Angola 3
Albert Woodfox and Herbert Wallace have been held in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for 35 years -- for a murder they did not commit. Their friend, Robert King Wilkerson, was held in solitary confinement for 29 years, until 2001, when he was released after proving his innocence in the 1973 killing of another prisoner. Together, these men are known as the "Angola 3".
For nearly three decades, these men have lived alone in bathroom-sized solitary confinement cells from which they are released only one hour per day. During Louisiana's scorching summer months, the barely ventilated cells swelter with heat. They excercize alone, sometimes wearing chains, in outdoor cages approximately the size of a racquetball court. It is an extreme punishment that is physically and psychologically dehumanizing.
Woodfox and Wallace are serving life, without parole, after being convicted of the 1972 killing of a prison guard during a period of racial tension at the prison -- a former slave plantation now tilled by its 5,000 prisoners -- wherein 80 percent of the prisoners were African American and every correctional officer was white.
Woodfox, Wallace and Wilkerson -- imprisoned for common street crimes -- educated themselves and became leaders among black prisoners who were working against racism and racial violence at the prison during a time when strict racial segregation -- in housing, dining, labor and privileges -- was still enforced. From 1972 - 1975, 40 prisoners were killed and 350 more were seriously injured from the escalating violence, fueled by a culture of prison rape, sex, slavery and prostitution. According to the Times-Picayune, prisoners were “subject to being ’sold’ to each other to be used as ’sex slaves’ or prostituted out to other inmates in exchange for prison-brands of currency, such as cigarettes.”
Woodfox and Wallace were convicted on the basis of 'jailhouse informant testimony'. Two of the three living witnesses who testified against them have now recanted. New evidence demonstrates that the others were granted prison favors and were paid -- literally -- for their false testimony. Additionally, two new witnesses have stepped forward to identify another prisoner as the actual murderer.
The men and their families tried for more than 30 years to bring their plight to the attention of the outside world. Since 1998, a growing coalition of community activists and attorneys has come together to seek the freedom
of these wronged men. The time to act is now -- a visit by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers' has brought the plight of these men back to the forefront, with Conyers calling on Gov. Bobby Jindal to pardon these men for a crime they did not commit. Their federal trial, as victims of cruel and unusual punishment, may begin this summer.
I believe that our voice, as a collective, can help make a difference in the lives of these men by creating awareness and a massive, public outcry against this injustice. Please educate yourself about their plight and sign the petitions at the sites listed below ... and spread the good word to others.
Visit Angola 3's Website & Sign Petition:
www.angola3.org
Read Amnesty International's Message About Angola 3:
www.angola3.tv/Amnesty_A3.PDF
Visit Color of Change Website & Sign Petition:
colorofchange.org/angola3
Watch Angola 3: A song produced by Dave Stewart in protest of the incarceration of the Angola 3 featuring Saul Williams, Nadirah X, Asdru Sierra, Dana Glover, Tina Schlieske, Derrick Ashong and Dave Stewart:
www.youtube.com/v/YByERaSXiGA&hl=en
Albert Woodfox and Herbert Wallace have been held in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for 35 years -- for a murder they did not commit. Their friend, Robert King Wilkerson, was held in solitary confinement for 29 years, until 2001, when he was released after proving his innocence in the 1973 killing of another prisoner. Together, these men are known as the "Angola 3".
For nearly three decades, these men have lived alone in bathroom-sized solitary confinement cells from which they are released only one hour per day. During Louisiana's scorching summer months, the barely ventilated cells swelter with heat. They excercize alone, sometimes wearing chains, in outdoor cages approximately the size of a racquetball court. It is an extreme punishment that is physically and psychologically dehumanizing.
Woodfox and Wallace are serving life, without parole, after being convicted of the 1972 killing of a prison guard during a period of racial tension at the prison -- a former slave plantation now tilled by its 5,000 prisoners -- wherein 80 percent of the prisoners were African American and every correctional officer was white.
Woodfox, Wallace and Wilkerson -- imprisoned for common street crimes -- educated themselves and became leaders among black prisoners who were working against racism and racial violence at the prison during a time when strict racial segregation -- in housing, dining, labor and privileges -- was still enforced. From 1972 - 1975, 40 prisoners were killed and 350 more were seriously injured from the escalating violence, fueled by a culture of prison rape, sex, slavery and prostitution. According to the Times-Picayune, prisoners were “subject to being ’sold’ to each other to be used as ’sex slaves’ or prostituted out to other inmates in exchange for prison-brands of currency, such as cigarettes.”
Woodfox and Wallace were convicted on the basis of 'jailhouse informant testimony'. Two of the three living witnesses who testified against them have now recanted. New evidence demonstrates that the others were granted prison favors and were paid -- literally -- for their false testimony. Additionally, two new witnesses have stepped forward to identify another prisoner as the actual murderer.
The men and their families tried for more than 30 years to bring their plight to the attention of the outside world. Since 1998, a growing coalition of community activists and attorneys has come together to seek the freedom
of these wronged men. The time to act is now -- a visit by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers' has brought the plight of these men back to the forefront, with Conyers calling on Gov. Bobby Jindal to pardon these men for a crime they did not commit. Their federal trial, as victims of cruel and unusual punishment, may begin this summer.
I believe that our voice, as a collective, can help make a difference in the lives of these men by creating awareness and a massive, public outcry against this injustice. Please educate yourself about their plight and sign the petitions at the sites listed below ... and spread the good word to others.
Visit Angola 3's Website & Sign Petition:
www.angola3.org
Read Amnesty International's Message About Angola 3:
www.angola3.tv/Amnesty_A3.PDF
Visit Color of Change Website & Sign Petition:
colorofchange.org/angola3
Watch Angola 3: A song produced by Dave Stewart in protest of the incarceration of the Angola 3 featuring Saul Williams, Nadirah X, Asdru Sierra, Dana Glover, Tina Schlieske, Derrick Ashong and Dave Stewart:
www.youtube.com/v/YByERaSXiGA&hl=en
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