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Angola Three
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Angola Three
The Angola Three are three African American former prison inmates (Robert Hillary King, Albert Woodfox, and Herman Wallace) who were held for decades in solitary confinement while imprisoned at Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola Prison). The latter two were indicted in April 1972 for the killing of a prison corrections officer; they were convicted in January 1974. Wallace and Woodfox served more than 40 years each in solitary, the "longest period of solitary confinement in American prison history".
Robert King was convicted of a separate prison murder in 1973 and spent 29 years in solitary confinement before his conviction was overturned on appeal; he was released in 2001 after taking a plea deal. Starting in the late 1990s, each case was assessed, and activists began to work to have the cases appealed and convictions overturned because of doubts raised about the original trials.
In July 2013, Amnesty International called for the release of 71-year-old Herman Wallace, who had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. He was released October 1, 2013, due to a judge overturning his original indictment due to the lack of female jurors. The state re-indicted him on October 3, 2013, but he died on October 4, 2013, before he could be re-arrested.
On November 20, 2014, Woodfox's conviction was overturned by the US Court of Appeals. In April 2015, his lawyer applied for an unconditional writ for his release. His unconditional release was decided on June 10, 2015. He was released on February 19, 2016, after the prosecution agreed to drop its push for a retrial and accept his plea of no contest to lesser charges of burglary and manslaughter. He said he would have liked the chance to prove his innocence, but chose the plea deal because of advanced age and health issues. Woodfox died from COVID-19 complications on August 4, 2022, at the age of 75.
Wallace and Woodfox were each sent to Angola Prison in 1971: Wallace was convicted of bank robbery, and Woodfox was convicted of armed robbery. Woodfox was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Woodfox had escaped from the Orleans Parish courthouse during his sentencing hearing and fled to Harlem in New York City. There he was captured and jailed pending extradition to Louisiana. During this period, he met men for the first time who were members of the Black Panther Party. They taught other inmates to read, led political discussions, and began his education. "For Woodfox, the teachings of the Panthers were revelatory, giving his life a direction and moral meaning he had never previously found." He joined the Black Panther Party and kept his intellectual connection after it dissolved. He began to learn about African-American history and the justice system. When returned to Louisiana, Woodfox was incarcerated at Angola.
At Angola, Wallace also became a member of the Black Panthers. He and Woodfox were among activists seeking to improve conditions at the notoriously cruel and violent prison. They helped organize education of other prisoners, and petitions and hunger strikes to protest segregation within the prison, and to end widespread rape and violence. They were targeted by the prison administration, who feared the politically active prisoners.
The day after a prison guard was burned to death in 1972, 23-year-old prison guard Brent Miller was found dead of multiple stab wounds. Woodfox and Wallace were indicted and convicted of his murder.
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Angola Three
The Angola Three are three African American former prison inmates (Robert Hillary King, Albert Woodfox, and Herman Wallace) who were held for decades in solitary confinement while imprisoned at Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola Prison). The latter two were indicted in April 1972 for the killing of a prison corrections officer; they were convicted in January 1974. Wallace and Woodfox served more than 40 years each in solitary, the "longest period of solitary confinement in American prison history".
Robert King was convicted of a separate prison murder in 1973 and spent 29 years in solitary confinement before his conviction was overturned on appeal; he was released in 2001 after taking a plea deal. Starting in the late 1990s, each case was assessed, and activists began to work to have the cases appealed and convictions overturned because of doubts raised about the original trials.
In July 2013, Amnesty International called for the release of 71-year-old Herman Wallace, who had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. He was released October 1, 2013, due to a judge overturning his original indictment due to the lack of female jurors. The state re-indicted him on October 3, 2013, but he died on October 4, 2013, before he could be re-arrested.
On November 20, 2014, Woodfox's conviction was overturned by the US Court of Appeals. In April 2015, his lawyer applied for an unconditional writ for his release. His unconditional release was decided on June 10, 2015. He was released on February 19, 2016, after the prosecution agreed to drop its push for a retrial and accept his plea of no contest to lesser charges of burglary and manslaughter. He said he would have liked the chance to prove his innocence, but chose the plea deal because of advanced age and health issues. Woodfox died from COVID-19 complications on August 4, 2022, at the age of 75.
Wallace and Woodfox were each sent to Angola Prison in 1971: Wallace was convicted of bank robbery, and Woodfox was convicted of armed robbery. Woodfox was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Woodfox had escaped from the Orleans Parish courthouse during his sentencing hearing and fled to Harlem in New York City. There he was captured and jailed pending extradition to Louisiana. During this period, he met men for the first time who were members of the Black Panther Party. They taught other inmates to read, led political discussions, and began his education. "For Woodfox, the teachings of the Panthers were revelatory, giving his life a direction and moral meaning he had never previously found." He joined the Black Panther Party and kept his intellectual connection after it dissolved. He began to learn about African-American history and the justice system. When returned to Louisiana, Woodfox was incarcerated at Angola.
At Angola, Wallace also became a member of the Black Panthers. He and Woodfox were among activists seeking to improve conditions at the notoriously cruel and violent prison. They helped organize education of other prisoners, and petitions and hunger strikes to protest segregation within the prison, and to end widespread rape and violence. They were targeted by the prison administration, who feared the politically active prisoners.
The day after a prison guard was burned to death in 1972, 23-year-old prison guard Brent Miller was found dead of multiple stab wounds. Woodfox and Wallace were indicted and convicted of his murder.
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