Angola 3: Albert Woodfox Conviction is Overturned!!

From: nycjericho@gmail.com

Good evening everyone,

I am thrilled to report that earlier today (Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008) Judge Brady issued the long anticipated final judgment in Albert's case,officially overturning his conviction after 36 years in solitary confinement!

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell immediately told AP reporters that the State intends to appeal and retry if necessary saying: "We respectfully but
vehemently disagree with the judge's ruling ...If this ruling is upheld, we
will with no question retry Albert Woodfox. We will take it as high as we
need to go."

But no matter how hard the State fights back, this is a huge victory--Albert
is no longer convicted of the murder of Brent Miller, and there is at least
a possibility he could be released on bail in the near future. A big
congrats to the attorneys and everyone who has refused to give up on the
idea that Herman and Albert will one day be free.

Albert's attorneys and the Chair of the Louisiana House Judiciary Committee,
Representative Cedric Richmond, will hold a joint press conference call to
discuss the ruling tomorrow (Friday) at 11amC/12amE. The press release and
call-in numbers are below and everyone is welcome to tune in if they'd
like. If you have contacts in the media who may want to cover the story,
please forward the release to them as well. The AP story has already been
picked up by hundreds of outlets around the world.

HOOORAY! YAHOO!! YIPEEE!!!
peace,

--
Tory Pegram
Campaign Coordinator
International Coalition to Free the Angola 3
odsllc@gmail.com
504.338.2631
www.angola3.org

COALITION TO FREE THE ANGOLA THREE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Emma Mackinnon
Thursday, September 25, 2008
202.302.6920/emma@fenton.com


*** Press Call FRIDAY at 11 AM Central ­ Dial 1-800-895-1085, Conf. ID
'ANGOLA' ***

Conviction Overturned After 36 Years in Solitary For "Angola 3" Member
Albert Woodfox

Federal Judge Orders the State: Must Either Retry or Dismiss Charges
Against "Angola 3" Member

Lawyers: Charges Should be Dismissed Immediately; Otherwise, Woodfox
Should be Released on Bail

In response to a federal judge's decision overturning the conviction of
Albert Woodfox, one of the two "Angola 3" members who remain in prison,
lawyers for the men called on the State Attorney General's office to drop
any further charges and release the men immediately.

If the state intends to re-try Woodfox, they said, he should be released on
bail until the time of trial. They argued the man, now 61 and in poor
health, has spent long enough imprisoned on a wrongful conviction and that
continuing to hold him would be unthinkable. They plan a press conference
call for tomorrow, Friday, at 11 AM CDT; to join, reporters can dial
1-800-895-1085 and provide conference ID "Angola."

Woodfox and fellow inmate Herman Wallace have been imprisoned since 1972 for
the murder of prison guard Brent Miller. They spent 36 years
of that time in solitary confinement. The federal judge's ruling
acknowledged that Woodfox has been wrongfully imprisoned. His conviction
rested on the testimony of a fellow prisoner, a convicted serial rapist who
was promised and received the warden's help obtaining a pardon in exchange
for testifying against Herman and Albert. The deal was not disclosed at
trial; the witness was pardoned and freed later. An additional witness, who
said he had seen Albert in the area of the crime, was a schizophrenic who
was on heavy doses of psychotropic medications at the time of the murder,
which also was not disclosed. No physical evidence ties Woodfox or Wallace
to the crime.

"Both the magistrate judge and the district court judge have now found
that Woodfox's conviction was invalid and had to be reversed. Woodfox
has demonstrated the deep flaws in the state's investigation and
prosecution of the case against him, and has presented evidence of his
innocence. If the State of Louisiana appeals, it will bear the burden
of showing the court of appeals that both of the two judges were
incorrect. As the facts and the law are so clearly on the side of Mr.
Woodfox, we are confident that the State cannot carry that burden. No
further legal delay should deprive Albert of even one more day of his
life," said Chris Aberle, one of Woodfox's lawyers.

"The state has already stolen nearly four decades of Albert Woodfox's
life. The injustice in this case is unfathomable. How can Louisiana
continue to imprison a 61 year old man after a federal judge has ruled
that he shouldn't have been convicted in the first place? Albert must
be released," said Nick Trenticosta, co-counsel in the case.

The third member of the Angola 3, Robert King, was released in 2001
after a judge overturned his conviction. King had spent 29 years in
solitary confinement for a separate crime.

For a copy of the ruling or to speak with lawyers in the case, call
Emma Mackinnon at 202-302-6920 or email emma@fenton.com. For Friday's 11
AM CDT call, dial 1-800-895-1085 and provide conference ID
"Angola"; please RSVP for the call by emailing emma@fenton.com.


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--
Free All Political Prisoners!
nycjericho@gmail.com • www.jerichony.org