[Ppnews] Angola 3 pair moved to dorm

[Political Prisoner News]

Angola 3 pair move to dorm
Men in solitary since the 1970s
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/17041416.html?showAll=y&c=y
    * By <mailto:jharper at theadvocate.com>JEREMY HARPER
    * Advocate staff writer
    * Published: Mar 27, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:17 a.m.

Two men held in solitary confinement in Louisiana State Penitentiary 
at Angola since the 1970s were moved into a maximum-security 
dormitory with other inmates Monday, Assistant Warden Angie Norwood said.

Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, part of a group known as the 
Angola 3, have sued the state, claiming they are victims of cruel and 
unusual punishment for the years they spent in isolation. The two 
were convicted of killing a prison guard, though their attorneys 
argue they didn't commit the crime.

Their move out of solitary confinement came as attorneys for the 
prisoners and the state are negotiating a settlement in the lawsuit, 
which is pending in federal court in Baton Rouge.

Louisiana Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell and lawyers for the 
three men asked a federal judge Wednesday to delay a pretrial 
conference for two weeks to allow them to focus on negotiations.

"It appears at the moment that we may be able to come to an 
agreement, so we're asking the court to let us continue that 
discussion," said Nicholas Trenticosta, a New Orleans attorney 
representing the men.

Tammi Herring, a spokeswoman for Caldwell's office, declined to 
comment because negotiations are ongoing.

The Angola 3 are Wallace, Woodfox and Robert King, who used to go by 
the last name Wilkerson.

King was placed in isolation for allegedly killing a fellow inmate, 
but that conviction was overturned in 2001 after he pleaded guilty to 
a lesser charge. He spent 29 years in isolation before his release.

Wallace and Woodfox, who had formed a chapter of the Black Panther 
Party to fight problems inside the prison, were convicted of killing 
prison guard Brent Miller during a riot on April 17, 1972.

In isolation, an inmate spends 23 hours each day in a cell. The other 
hour is spent taking a shower and exercising alone.

Prison officials have maintained the men pose a security risk at the prison.

In addition to their claims of unjust treatment, attorneys with the 
national legal defense group Innocence Project have said evidence 
shows Wallace and Woodfox were not involved in Miller's death. The 
Innocence Project recently stepped up efforts to raise public 
awareness of the Angola 3.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, the chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary 
Committee, visited the prison last week and said evidence suggests 
the two men were wrongly convicted.

Norwood said the inmates were moved to the new dormitory as part of a 
larger transfer of inmates who have shown good behavior.

Angola is the first state prison to open a maximum-security 
dormitory, the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections 
announced in a news release last week.

"Good disciplinary records while in maximum custody will warrant the 
move to the dorm setting, while freeing up valuable cell space for 
younger, more violent offenders," the news release says.

Asked about the specific rules and living arrangements for the 
dormitory, Norwood deferred to the department's news release, which 
says only that the rules for the dormitory will be set by the warden 
of each facility.

Trenticosta said he doesn't know exactly how much of an improvement 
the dormitories will be over solitary confinement, but added that he 
hopes to learn more about them through the talks with the state.

"There are plenty of regulations in the various settings at Angola, 
and it is unclear to us today what are those regulations that are 
being applied in this situation," he said.



Two moved out of solitary at Angola

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/2_moved_out_of_solitary_at_ang.html


by Gwen Filosa, The Times-Picayune
Thursday March 27, 2008, 9:24 AM

For the first time in almost 36 years, two state prisoners from New 
Orleans serving life for the 1972 murder of a guard have been moved 
from solitary confinement into a special dormitory created for 
maximum security inmates

Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox were moved from solitary into a 
maximum security dormitory Monday, said Angie Norwood, assistant 
warden at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Wallace and Woodfox had been in solitary since their convictions in 
the death of guard Brent Miller, who was stabbed to death at a time 
when the prison was segregated and a Black Panther Party chapter had 
been formed there.

Wallace and Woodfox, who with a third inmate were known to supporters 
as the "Angola Three," have said their 36 years of solitary 
confinement at the prison amount to cruel and unusual punishment. 
Both are appealing their convictions. Both were serving time for 
armed robberies when the prison blamed them for Miller's killing.

The men's lawyers, who have recently captured national attention with 
the Angola Three's story, said they were taken by surprise with the move.

"They just did it," attorney Nick Trenticosta said. "It has nothing 
to do with what we did in the lawsuit. We've been in negotiations to 
settle the lawsuit. We had no knowledge or forewarning that they 
would be moved to a dormitory. It is a dorm created just now."

Wallace and Woodfox have sued the state over their stay in solitary 
confinement at Angola, where they and others are kept in single cells 
for 23 hours a day and only released for showers and exercise.

"This is no longer a secret," said Trenticosta, who plans to visit 
his clients Friday at the prison located about 2 1/2 hours from New Orleans.

Robert King, the third member of the Angola Three, had his conviction 
for killing another inmate overturned. He was released in 2001 after 
29 years in solitary confinement. King formerly used the surname Wilkerson.

. . . . . . .

Gwen Filosa can be reached at gfilosa at timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3304.




Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/ppnews_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20080327/6c175231/attachment.htm>