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<font size=3>Angola 3 pair move to dorm<br>
Men in solitary since the 1970s <br>
<a href="http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/17041416.html?showAll=y&c=y" eudora="autourl">
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/17041416.html?showAll=y&c=y</a>
<ul>
<li>By <a href="mailto:jharper@theadvocate.com">JEREMY HARPER</a>
<li>Advocate staff writer
<li>Published: Mar 27, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:17 a.m.
</ul><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
“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.<br><br>
Tammi Herring, a spokeswoman for Caldwell’s office, declined to comment
because negotiations are ongoing.<br><br>
The Angola 3 are Wallace, Woodfox and Robert King, who used to go by the
last name Wilkerson.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
In isolation, an inmate spends 23 hours each day in a cell. The other
hour is spent taking a shower and exercising alone.<br><br>
Prison officials have maintained the men pose a security risk at the
prison.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
Norwood said the inmates were moved to the new dormitory as part of a
larger transfer of inmates who have shown good behavior.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
“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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
“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.<br><br>
<br>
</font><h1><b>Two moved out of solitary at
Angola</b></h1><font size=3>
<a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/2_moved_out_of_solitary_at_ang.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/2_moved_out_of_solitary_at_ang.html<br>
<br>
</a></font><h3><b>by Gwen Filosa, The Times-Picayune <br>
Thursday March 27, 2008, 9:24 AM</b></h3><font size=3>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<br>
<a name="more"></a><br>
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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.
<br><br>
"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." <br><br>
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. <br><br>
"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. <br><br>
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.
<br><br>
. . . . . . . <br><br>
<i>Gwen Filosa can be reached at gfilosa@timespicayune.com or (504)
826-3304. <br><br>
<br><br>
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