Morning Star.png Albert Woodfox, 43 Years in Solitary, Released James Tweedie, The Morning Star, London, 22 February 2016 Albert Woodfox, the last of the "Angola Three" prisoners to be released, has spoken of his 43 years in solitary confinement in Louisiana. Mr Woodfox was finally freed on Friday, his 69th birthday, after pleading no contest to manslaughter charges in the 1972 killing of prison guard Brent Miller, to which he has always maintained his innocence. Albert Woodfox 2.jpg Albert Woodfox, Free At Last On Saturday, he told reporters of the mental torture he suffered during more than four decades in a tiny, solitary cell. "The cell starts closing in. The ceiling starts coming down. "You go through this psychological self-analysis and then you're talking to yourself and telling yourself that you're strong enough . just trying to push these walls back and the ceiling back with the force of mind." Along with Robert King and Herman Wallace, Mr Woodfox was sent to Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola prison, in 1971 for armed robbery. He escaped from the courthouse during his sentencing and joined the Black Panther Party during his brief time on the run. Albert Woodfox gives Black Power salute.jpg Black Panther Party for Self Defence After his recapture, he recruited the others into the Black Panthers and they began to agitate for better conditions. The three men said this was the true reason they had been placed in permanent solitary confinement following their conviction for Mr Miller's murder. The trial hinged on the testimony of a serial rapist on death row who received a pardon in return. Mr Woodfox's conviction was twice overturned on appeals that were in turn challenged by the state. Mr King was released in 2001 after his conviction was overturned. Mr Wallace was released in 2013 on compassionate grounds as he had terminal liver cancer. From: <http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-b763-United-States-Last-Angola-Three-i nmate-speaks-of-mental-torture#.VsqG1Pl9600> http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-b763-United-States-Last-Angola-Three-in mate-speaks-of-mental-torture#.VsqG1Pl9600 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
