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[h=4]Louisiana inmate, last of Angola 3, ordered free after 43 years in solitary[/h]Albert Woodfox said state went after him for murder because of Black Panther involvement.
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A federal judge has ordered the release of a prisoner who sat in solitary confinement in Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for 43 years. Albert Woodfox was convicted of killing of a prison guard in 1972, but the ruling was overturned. VPC
The entrance sign of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., as seen in 2007.(Photo: Misty Leigh McElroy, for USA TODAY)
A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered the release of a man who sat in solitary confinement in prison for 43 years, prompting the man's lawyer to say justice has been achieved.
The order signed Monday overturns the second conviction against Albert Woodfox for the 1972 killing of a prison guard at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. The order also bars a third trial from taking place. Woodfox had always maintained his innocence and has said he was implicated in the guard's murder because he helped organize the prison's Black Panther Party chapter. Woodfox was in prison serving a sentenced for armed robbery when the guard died.
The order signed by U.S. District Judge James Brady, who serves in Baton Rouge, cited numerous reasons, including an agreement with Woodfox's earlier argument that he received ineffective counsel. The judge also noted that the state cheated at the trial to get a conviction and every significant government witness is dead, Woodfox's lawyer, George Kendall, said in a telephone interview.
"This order achieves justice," Kendall said Monday night. "There cannot be another trial in this case and so this ruling is magnificent."
Woodfox is now 68 and ailing, with renal failure, heart problems and hepatitis c, Kendall said. "The tragedy about that is none of this is being treated," he added, pointing out that hepatitis c can sometimes lead to liver cancer.
Woodfox is one of the Angola 3, three inmates charged and convicted in the death of the prison guard. The other two men have since been released. He is believed to be the longest-serving solitary confinement inmate in the country, his lawyer said.
Kendall explained that Monday's order is not final, and that the state is expected to appeal the decision.
A representative for the state was critical of the order.
"With today's order, the Court would see fit to set free a twice-convicted murderer who is awaiting trial again for the brutal slaying of Corrections Officer Brent Miller," Aaron Sadler, communications director for the Louisiana Department of Justice, told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune.
In 1972, Woodfox was serving time for armed robbery at the Angola prison when the guard was killed. Woodfox was convicted in 1973 of second-degree murder but the conviction was overturned on a number of grounds. In 1992, a Louisiana District Court found that Woodfox was denied a constitutional right of "effective assistance of counsel" and his 1973 conviction was overturned. In 1993, Woodfox was indicted a second time and tried and convicted in 1998.
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