Angola 3 Prisoners Out of Solitary After 36 Years

Two moved out of solitary at Angola, LA Prison

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

Free the Angola 3: http://www.angola3.org/

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.

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

http://www.angola3.org/