Culpables del practicar el "Panterismo Negro", tres presos politicos han resistido la tortura en una moderna plantacion de esclavos del estado de Louisiana, EU, durante casi cuatro decadas. / Together, Robert King, Albert Woodfox, and Herman Wallace have spent more than 100 years in solitary confinement.
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by Hans Bennett/Alternet.org
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"Mi alma llora por todo lo que he presenciado y aguantado," dijo el Pantera Negra Robert Hillary King, al salir de Angola, la infame penitenciaria del estado de Louisiana, en el 2001, despues de pasar 29 anos en aislamiento. King sostiene que la esclavitud persiste en Angola y en otras prisiones de Estados Unidos, permitida por la Enmienda 13 a la Constitucion de Estados Unidos, la cual legaliza la esclavitud en las prisiones como "un castigo para un crimen por el cual una persona ha sido debidamente condenado." Dice King: "Puedes estar legalmente encarcelado, siendo moralmente inocente."
Robert King, Albert Woodfox y Herman Wallace se conocen como "los tres de Angola" (The Angola 3), un trio de presos politicos que han contado con el apoyo de Amnistia Internacional, Desmond Tutu, el congresista John Conyers y la Union Americana de Libertades Civiles (ACLU). Kgalema Mothlante, el presidente de Sudafrica, dice que este caso "tiene el potencial de desnudar los defectos del sistema estadounidense entero." Woodfox y Wallace son los dos co-fundadores de la agrupacion en Angola del partido Panteras Negras-la unica agrupacion oficial de los Panteras en prision. Condenados por el asesinato con arma blanca del guardia blanco Brent Miller, Woodfox y Wallace han pasado mas de 36 anos en aislamiento.
La demanda federal de derechos civiles interpuesta por King, Woodfox y Wallace, alegando que el tiempo que pasaron en aislamiento constituye "el castigo cruel e inusual," sera procesada en proximos meses en el tribunal del Distrito Central de Estados Unidos en Baton Rouge, Louisiana. La apelacion de Herman Wallace a su condena por asesinato esta ante la Suprema Corte de Louisiana, y el 18 de marzo, el fue trasladado al penal Hunt en St. Gabrielo, Louisiana, donde esta mantenido en aislamiento. El 2 de marzo, el Tribunal Federal del Quinto Circuito escucho argumentos orales con respecto a la condena de Albert Woodfox despues de que el Procurador del estado de Louisiana apelo un dictamen de un tribunal menor que habia desechado la condena.
Angola, una ex plantacion esclavista de 7,300 hectareas en Louisiana rural, es la prision mas grande de Estados Unidos. Hoy en dia, las condiciones ahi guardan un asombroso parecido a las de la esclavitud antes de la Guerra Civil en Estados Unidos: los Africano-americanos son mas de 75% de los 5,108 presos, los guardias se conocen como "hombres libres," la jornada de trabajo semanal de 40 horas es obligatoria y el salario minimo es 4 centavos por hora. A principios de los 1970s, la situacion fue aun peor: los presos fueron obligados a trabajar jornadas semanales de 96 horas (16 horas diario / 6 dias a la semana), con un sueldo minimo de 2 centavos por hora. Oficialmente considerada "la prision mas sangrienta del Sur" en esos tiempos, tanto la violencia de los guardias como la que existia entre los propios presos fue endemica. Las autoridades de la prision permitieron la violacion sexual de los presos, y segun el ex director Murray Henderson, los guardias ayudaron a facilitar un sistema brutal de esclavitud sexual, donde los presos mas jovenes y debiles fisicamente fueron comprados y vendidos para ser sometidos. Como parte del notorio sistema de internos "de confianza" quienes funcionaban como guardias (responsables de matar a 40 presos y mutilar gravemente a 350 otros en el periodo 1972 y 75), a algunos presos las autoridades les dieron armas para imponer la esclavitud sexual y todas las otras injusticias de esta prision. La vida en Angola fue un verdadero infierno --una plantacion esclavista del siglo XX.
Los Panteras de Angola vieron la vida en Angola como la esclavitud moderna y se resistieron con huelgas de hambre y huelgas laborales no violentas. Las autoridades de la prision se enfurecieron ante los esfuerzos organizativos de los Pantera Negras, y hay contundente evidencia de que tomaron represalias contra los tres organizadores, tendiendoles una trampa e inculpandolos de asesinatos que no cometieron.
Albert Woodfox y Herman Wallace
Condenados por el asesinato con arma blanca del guardia blanco Brent Miller el 17 de abril de 1972, Albert Woodfox y Herman Wallace han logrado recientes victorias importantes que podrian resultar en su libertad. Como respuesta, el director de Angola Burl Cain y el procurador James "Buddy" Caldwell hacen todo lo posible para evitar su salida y mantener a los presos aislados. Por contraste, la viuda del guardia Miller, Leontine Verrett, ahora cuestiona la culpabilidad de Woodfox y Wallace. Entrevistada en marzo del 2008 por el noticiero NBC Nightly News, ella llamo a una nueva investigacion del caso. "Lo que quiero es la justicia. Si estos dos hombres no lo hicieron, creo que deben salir."
Woodfox y Wallace se encontraban en Angola, cada quien condenado por un robo distinto, cuando fundaron la agrupacion del partido Pantera Negra en Angola en 1971. Woodfox se habia fugado de la prision de Nueva Orleans y huido a la ciudad de Nueva York, donde conocio a varios integrantes de los Panteras Negras, incluso "los 21 de Nueva York," antes de ser atrapado de nuevo y enviado a Angola. Wallace habia conocido a unos integrantes de la agrupacion de Louisiana de los Panteras, incluso "los 12 de Nueva Orleans," en la carcel de esa ciudad.
El 19 de septiembre de 2006, la Comisionada Judicial del estado de Louisiana Rachel Morgan recomendo la revocacion de la condena de Wallace porque las autoridades de la prision habian ocultado informacion al jurado mostrando que el testigo de cargo principal fue sobornado para dar testimonio falso. Sin embargo, en mayo del 2008, en un voto 2-1, el Tribunal de Apelaciones estatal rechazo la recomendacion de Morgan y se nego a revocar la condena. La apelacion de Wallace ahora esta ante la Suprema Corte de Louisiana, donde esperan una decision en los proximos meses.
El 10 de junio de 2008, la magistrada federal Christine Noland recomendo la revocacion de la condena de Woodfox, en base de pruebas de representacion legal inadecuada, conducta improcedente de la Procuraduria, supresion de pruebas exculpatorias y discriminacion racial. El 25 de noviembre, el juez federal James Brady del Tribunal de Distrito avalo la recomendacion de Noland, revoco la condena y autorizo la salida de Woodfox bajo fianza. El estado de Louisiana respondio con una apelacion al Tribunal del Quinto Circuito federal. En diciembre, el Quinto Circuito nego su salida bajo fianza pero decidio agilizar la apelacion, indicando simpatia para la revocacion. Escribio: "No estamos convencidos de que el Estado haya establecido una probabilidad de exito basada en las cuestiones de fondo del caso." El 3 de marzo, los jueces Judges Carolyn Dineen King, Carl E. Steartm y Leslie H. Southwick, escucharon la apelacion y se espera que daran su dictamen dentro de seis meses. Si el panel de tres jueces afirma la revocacion de la condena de Woodfox, el estado tendra 120 dias para aceptar el dictamen o enjuiciar a Woodfox de nuevo. El estado ha jurado enjuiciarlo de nuevo si es necesario. Si el Quinto Circuito acepta los argumentos del estado, la condena de Woodfox sera restaurada.
Ira Glasser, ex integrante de la ACLU, critico a Caldwell, explicando que despues de que la sobrina de Woodfox anuncio en octubre de 2008 que ella estaba dispuesta a recibirlo en su casa si lograba la fianza, Caldwell "emprendio una campana publica de miedo semejante al tipo de histeria incendiaria utilizada para provocar a las turbas enardecidas de linchamiento. Caracterizo a Woodfox como violador violento, aunque el jamas fue acusado, y mucho menos condenado de la violacion; envio correos electronicos a los vecinos [de la sobrina de Woodfox], diciendo que Woodfox era un asesino y violador violento e insto a los vecinos a firmar peticiones contra su salida. Al final, su sobrina y familia estaban tan asustados que el mismo Woodfox rechazo la propuesta de vivir con ellos al estar libre bajo fianza." En su dictamen del 25 de noviembre, el juez Brady critico la campana de intimidacion: "Aparentemente, la organizacion de vecinos no fue informada de que el senor Woodfox es fisicamente debil, que su salud es delicada y que el tiene un record de buena conducta durante mas de veinte anos."
Cuando la Radio Publica Nacional (NPR) informo sobre el caso directamente desde Angola en su serie del 27-29 del octubre pasado, la reportera Laura Sullivan se mostro horrorizada por las patentes imagenes de supremacia blanca y esclavitud, observando que "hay cien hombres negros en el sembradio con el cuerpo doblado, cosechando jitomate. Un solo oficial blanco montado en caballo los vigila con escopeta sobre las piernas...Se veia igual hace 40 anos, hace 100 anos." Al comentar que muchos de Angola, "al parecer, quieren enterrar este caso en un lugar donde nadie lo va a encontrar," NPR reporto que el director Burl Cain y otros oficiales se negaron a comentar. Sin embargo, Caldwell le dijo a NPR que esta convencido de que Woodfox y Wallace son culpables y jura que el va a apelar el caso de Woodfox hasta la Suprema Corte de Estados Unidos. Afirmo: "El es una persona muy peligrosa. Es la persona mas peligrosa del planeta."
Tal como fue documentado por NPR, no hay evidencia fisica que relaciona a Woodfox o Wallace con el asesinato. Una huella digital sangrienta fue encontrada en la escena, pero no hay comprobacion entre esta y las huellas de Woodfox o Wallace. Es indignante que las autoridades de la prision siempre se han negado a comparar esta huella con las huellas en su propio banco de datos. Caldwell promete continuar esta practica, comentando a NPR: "Pueden sacar una huella digital de cualquier lugar...A nosotros no nos van a enganar."
Caldwell tambien le dijo a NPR que el cree el testimonio del testigo ocular de la procuraduria, Hezekiah Brown, un violador en serie con sentencia de cadena perpetua sin la posibilidad de libertad condicional. Al principio, Brown les dijo a las autoridades de la prision que no sabia nada, pero despues testifico que vio a Miller apunalado a muerte por cuatro internos --Woodfox and Wallace, mas otros dos, ahora difuntos: Chester Jackson (testigo de cargo quien se confeso culpable de un cargo menor) y Gilbert Montegut (absuelto despues de que un oficial le dio una coartada).
Perdonado en 1986, y ahora difunto, Brown siempre nego haber recibido favores especiales de las autoridades de la prision a cambio de su testimonio; sin embargo, numerosos documentos de la prision revelan el trato especial que recibio, incluso buen alojamiento y un carton de cigarrillos cada semana. Al dar testimonio en el juicio de Woodfox, el ex director Murray Henderson reconocio haberle dicho a Brown que si el daba testimonio para "resolver el caso," seria recompensado y que Henderson haria cabildeo para un indulto.
Aislamiento por el "Panterismo Negro"
A principios de 2008, una peticion con 25,000 firmas iniciada por la organizacion ColorofChange, llamando a una investigacion de las condenas y del aislamiento de Woodfox y Wallace, fue entregada al gobernador de Louisiana Bobby Jindal por Cedric Richmond, el presidente del Comite Juridico de la Casa de Diputados estatal, pero Jindal todavia se queda callado. |
En marzo de 2008, despues de una visita de John Conyers, el presidente del Comite Juridico de la Camara de Diputados federal; el fundador del Innocence Project Barry Scheck y Cedric Richmond, las autoridades cambiaron a Wallace and Woodfox de sus celdas de aislamiento y los alojaron juntos en un nuevo dormitorio de maxima seguridad para veinte hombres. Este respiro duro ocho meses. Woodfox reflexiono: "Lo que mas me gusta de estar con Herman es reirnos, platicar, chocar hombros...todo eso nos fue negado durante tanto tiempo. De vez en cuando el me echa el brazo sobre mis hombros o yo le pongo el brazo sobre los suyos. Son esas las cosas que te hacen sentir humano y nos estamos disfrutando mucho de eso."
En abril, despues de su visita, Conyers le escribio una carta al FBI, pidiendo los documentos relacionados con el caso. Dijo: "Estoy muy preocupado sobre la tragica falta de justicia indicada por la evidencia en el caso de estos hombres. Hay importantes pruebas que no solo sugieren su inocencia sino tambien la preocupante mala conducta de los oficiales de la prision." Sospechosamente, el FBI respondio insistiendo en que no tienen archivos sobre el caso porque, supuestamente, todos han sido destruidos.
En su declaracion jurada del 22 de octubre del 2008, el director Burl Cain explico por que se oponia a concederle a Woodfox la fianza. En respuesta a por que le preocupa Woodfox, Cain dijo: "El quiere manifestarse. Quiere organizar. Quiere ser rebelde...Una huelga de hambre es muy muy mal porque el obviamente estaba organizando una manifestacion pacifica. No hay tal cosa como una manifestacion pacifica en prision." Cain declaro que aun si Woodfox es inocente del asesinato, quisiera mantenerlo aislado porque "Se que tiene tendencia a la violencia...el todavia intenta practicar el "Panterismo Negro" y yo todavia no quisiera tenerlo suelto en mi prision porque podria organizar a los nuevos internos. Yo tendria todo tipo de problemas, mas de lo que podria aguantar, y tendria los negros siguiendolo. Tendria caos y conflicto. Eso creo."
El unico otro preso que tiene tantos anos en aislamiento es Hugo Pinell, en California. Uno de "los seis de San Quentin," Pinell era companero cercano del Pantera Negra y escritor desde la carcel, George Jackson. Ahora encerrado en la notoria Unidad de Alojamiento Especial (SHU) de la prision Pelican Bay, Pinell ha estado en continuo aislamiento desde por lo menos 1971. Robert Hillary King dice que Pinell "es un claro ejemplo de un preso politico." Este enero, a Pinell le fue negado la libertad condicional para los proximos 15 anos. Dice King que "esta es una sentencia para morir en prision. Es el castigo cruel e inusual, que puede ser legal pero no es moral."
Robert Hillary King
El nuevo libro, From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Robert Hillary King (Desde abajo del monton: La autobiografia de Robert Hillary King), publicado por PM Press, acaba de salir. Este libro inspirador cuenta el triunfo de King sobre los horrores de Angola. Nacido pobre en Louisiana rural, el fue criado por su heroica abuela, que "trabajo en las plantaciones de cana desde el amanecer hasta el atardecer por menos de un dolar por dia. Cuando no era la temporada, ella lavaba, planchaba y limpiaba el piso para los blancos, por unos centavos o por las sobras de la mesa. Sus juanetes y ampollas contaban la historia de sus tribulaciones."
King ingreso a Angola por la primera vez a la edad de 18, condenado por un robo. [Durante la siguiente decada paso varios anos en prision por robo o por violaciones de la libertad condicional...] A principios de los anos '70 conocio a unos de los presos de "los 12 de Nueva Orleans," integrantes del partido Panteras Negras detenidos despues de un enfrentamiento con la policia. Se radicalizo y trabajo con los Panteras, organizando huelgas de hambre no violentas y practicando la auto-defensa contra ataques violentos de los oficiales.
En 1972, King fue cambiado a Angola un poco despues de la muerte del guardia Brent Miller. Al llegar, fue acusado de "querer jugar a ser abogado para otro interno" y fue mantenido en aislamiento, primero en "la mazmorra," luego en la seccion conocida como "Sombrero Rojo," y luego en la unidad de Celdas Cerradas de Correccion (CCR), donde quedo hasta su salida en 2001. King escribe que los Panteras de Angola y otros internos siguieron luchando desde la CCC, usando la unica hora al dia en que les permitian salir de sus celdas, banarse y platicar con los demas, para organizar: "De esa manera platicamos, intercambiamos periodicos, nos educamos y coordinamos nuestras acciones."
King escribe sobre la campana, iniciada en 1977, para poner fin a la practica de las revisiones anales de los presos: "Llegamos a un consenso de que esta practica fue el legado de la esclavitud (antes de ser vendido, el esclavo fue desnudado y sujeto a un examen rectal), y despues de varios meses de apelar a los custodios, nos pusimos de acuerdo en tomar un paso atrevido: simplemente nos negamos a permitir una revision anal. No ibamos a ser participantes voluntarios en nuestra propia degradacion." Cuando King y los demas se opusieron a las revisiones, fueron brutalmente golpeados. Woodfox contrato a un abogado para representar a todos los presos, quienes entablaron una exitosa demanda. El tribunal dictamino un fin a las "revisiones anales rutinarias." Otra victoria se dio despues de una huelga de hambre de un mes que detuvo la insalubre y deshumanizante practica de meter la comida del interno debajo de la puerta de la celda, resultando en la perdida y ensuciamiento de la comida.
En 1973, King fue acusado de asesinar a otro preso y fue condenado en un juicio donde fue atado y amordazado. Despues de muchos anos de mantener su inocencia y apelar su caso, su condena fue revocada en el 2001, despues de que el, muy renuente a hacerlo, se declaro culpable de un cargo menor, "conspiracion a cometer un asesinato" y fue liberado, tomando en cuenta el tiempo que el habia estado ahi.
Kenny "Zulu" Whitmore
El 21 de junio de 2008, Robert King asistio a la inauguracion de un mosaico de 12 metros de altura dedicado al Pantera Negra, preso de Angola, Kenneth "Zulu" Whitmore, lanzando la campana "Libertad para Zulu." King esta trabajando para difundir su caso. Dice: "Zulu es un verdadero guerrero, Pantera, sirviente del pueblo. Ha peleado una buena batalla durante tanto tiempo, sin reconocimiento, sin apoyo!"
El mosaico adorna una pared de la casa de la activista/artista Carrie Reichardt en el suburbio de Chiswick en Londres. Dice Reichart: "Decidimos basar el diseno sobre una interpretacion moderna de la diosa Kali. Ella es considerada la diosa de liberacion, tiempo y transformacion. Queriamos usar una fuerte y positiva imagen femenina que podria dar esperanza y alentar a otras personas a sumarse a la lucha para hacer un cambio social. Su burbuja de dialogo dice: La revolucion es ahora.
Presos desde 1977, Whitmore conocio a Herman Wallace en la prision de Baton Rouge en 1973...Despues de salir de prision y volverse organizador en su comunidad, fue condenado por robo y asesinato en segundo grado. Su caso, igual que el de "los 3 de Angola," esta lleno de hoyos y el esta apelando su condena. Hay un esfuerzo para recaudar fondos para contratar un abogado. Vean www.freezulu.co.uk.
Angola: La ultima plantacion esclavista (Angola: The Last Slave Plantation)
En esta etapa critica con tres casos pendientes..., un nuevo DVD ha salido, producido por PM Press, titulado The Angola 3: Black Panthers and the Last Slave Plantation (Los 3 de Angola: Los Panteras Negras y la ultima plantacion esclavista). El DVD es narrado por el periodista Mumia Abu-Jamal desde el corredor de la muerte, y tiene metraje de la salida de King en 2001, igual que una entrevista con King y varios otros Panteras y personas que apoyan a "los 3 de Angola," incluso Bo Brown, David Hilliard, Geronimo Ji Jaga (antes Pratt), Marion Brown, Luis Talamantez, Noelle Hanrahan, Malik Rahim, y la difunta Anita Roddick.
La continuacion de la supremacia blanca y la esclavitud en Angola es un tema principal del documental. Fred Hampton Jr. enfatiza que "tenemos que conectar estas plantaciones modernas con lo que paso con respecto a la esclavitud "chattel" (cuando personas son tratadas como la propiedad de otra persona o entidad). Scott Fleming, un abogado para los Angola 3, dice: "Todavia manejan esa prision como una plantacion esclavista...Personas como Albert Woodfox y Herman Wallace son ejemplos de lo que te pasara si resistes ese sistema."
La activista japonesa-americana de toda la vida Yuri Kochiyama dice que Woodfox y Wallace "aman a la gente y pelean por la justicia aun cuando los pone en una situacion peligrosa. Yo los veo como verdaderos heroes...que lamentan ver que otras personas en prision sufran maltratos." La periodista de San Francisco y ex Pantera Negra Kiilu Nyasha agrega que "No podemos olvidar a los que estaban en la linea de batalla por nosotros...Hay que rescatarlos porque ellos nos rescataron."
Los muchos anos de represion y tortura no han extinguido el espiritu y la voluntad para resistir de los 3 de Angola. Como explica Woodfox en el DVD: "En el corazon, mente y espiritu, seguimos siendo Panteras Negras. Todavia creemos en los mismos principios como el partido Panteras Negras y todavia promovemos el programo de diez puntos. Todavia insistimos en que todos los presos, negros o blancos, son seres humanos. Merecen ser tratados como seres humanos."
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The Angola Three: Torture in Our Own Backyard
Together, Robert King, Albert Woodfox, and Herman Wallace have spent more than 100 years in solitary confinement.
"My soul cries from all that I witnessed and endured. It does more than cry, it mourns continuously," said Black Panther Robert Hillary King, following his release from the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in 2001, after serving his last 29 years in continuous solitary confinement. King argues that slavery persists in Angola and other U.S. prisons, citing the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which legalizes slavery in prisons as "a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." King says: "You can be legally incarcerated but morally innocent."
Robert King, Albert Woodfox, and Herman Wallace are known as the "Angola Three," a trio of political prisoners whose supporters include Amnesty International, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Congressman John Conyers, and the ACLU. Kgalema Mothlante, the President of South Africa says their case "has the potential of laying bare, exposing the shortcomings, in the entire U.S. system." Woodfox and Wallace are the two co-founders of the Angola chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) -- the only official prison chapter of the BPP. Both convicted in the highly contested stabbing death of white prison guard Brent Miller, Woodfox and Wallace have now spent over 36 years in solitary confinement.
The joint federal civil rights lawsuit of King, Woodfox, and Wallace, alleging that their time in solitary confinement is "cruel and unusual punishment," will go to trial any month in Baton Rouge, at the U.S. Middle District Court. Herman Wallace's appeal against his murder conviction is currently pending in the Louisiana Supreme Court, and on March 18, he was transferred to the Hunt Correctional Facility in St. Gabrielo, Louisiana, where he remains in solitary confinement. On March 2, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court heard oral arguments regarding Albert Woodfox's conviction, after the Louisiana Attorney General appealed a lower court's ruling that overturned the conviction.
An 18,000-acre former slave plantation in rural Louisiana, Angola is the largest prison in the U.S. Today, with African Americans composing over 75% of Angola's 5,108 prisoners, prison guards known as "free men," a forced 40-hour workweek, and four cents an hour as minimum wage, the resemblance to antebellum U.S. slavery is striking. In the early 1970s, it was even worse, as prisoners were forced to work 96-hour weeks (16 hours a day/six days a week) with two cents an hour as minimum wage. Officially considered (according to its own website) the "Bloodiest Prison in the South" at this time, violence from guards and between prisoners was endemic. Prison authorities sanctioned prisoner rape, and according to former Prison Warden Murray Henderson, the prison guards actually helped facilitate a brutal system of sexual slavery where the younger and physically weaker prisoners were bought and sold into submission. As part of the notorious "inmate trusty guard" system, responsible for killing 40 prisoners and seriously maiming 350 between 1972-75, some prisoners were given state-issued weapons and ordered to enforce this sexual slavery, as well as the prison's many other injustices. Life at Angola was living hell -- a 20th century slave plantation.
The Angola Panthers saw life at Angola as modern-day slavery and fought back with non-violent hunger strikes and work strikes. Prison authorities were outraged by the BPP's organizing, and overwhelming evidence has since emerged that authorities retaliated by framing these three BPP organizers for murders that they did not commit.
Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace
Both convicted of murder for the April 17, 1972 stabbing death of white prison guard Brent Miller, Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace have recently had major victories in court that may soon lead to their release. In response, Angola Warden Burl Cain and the Louisiana State Attorney General, James "Buddy" Caldwell, are doing everything they can to resist this and to keep the two in solitary confinement. In sharp contrast, Miller's widow, Leontine Verrett, now questions their guilt. Interviewed in March, 2008, by NBC Nightly News, she called for a new investigation into the case: "What I want is justice. If these two men did not do this, I think they need to be out."
Woodfox and Wallace were inmates at Angola, resulting from separate robbery convictions, when they co-founded the Angola BPP chapter in 1971. Woodfox had escaped from New Orleans Parish Prison and fled to New York City, where he met BPP members, including the New York 21, before he was recaptured and sent to Angola. Wallace had met members of the Louisiana State Chapter of the BPP, including the New Orleans 12, while imprisoned at Orleans Parish.
On September 19, 2006, State Judicial Commissioner Rachel Morgan recommended overturning Wallace's conviction, on grounds that prison officials had withheld evidence from the jury that prison officials had bribed the prosecution's key eyewitness in return for his testimony. However, in May 2008, in a 2-1 vote, the State Appeals Court rejected Morgan's recommendation and refused to overturn the conviction. Wallace's appeal is now pending in the State Supreme Court, with a decision expected any month.
On June 10th, 2008, Federal Magistrate Christine Noland recommended overturning Woodfox's conviction, citing evidence of inadequate representation, prosecutorial misconduct, suppression of exculpatory evidence, and racial discrimination. Then, on November 25, U.S. District Court Judge James Brady upheld Noland's recommendation, overturned the conviction, and granted bail. Attorney General Caldwell responded by appealing to the U.S. Fifth Circuit. In December, the Fifth Circuit granted Caldwell's request to deny Woodfox bail, but indicated sympathy for the overturning of the conviction, writing: "We are not now convinced that the State has established a likelihood of success on the merits." On March 3, oral arguments were heard by appellate Judges Carolyn Dineen King, Carl E. Steart and Leslie H. Southwick, and a decision from them is now expected within six months. If the three judge panel affirms the overturning of Woodfox's conviction, the state will have 120 days to either accept the ruling or to retry Woodfox. The state has already vowed to retry him if necessary. If the Fifth Circuit rules for the state, Woodfox's conviction will be reinstated.
Ira Glasser, formerly of the ACLU, criticized AG Caldwell, writing that following the October 2008 announcement that Woodfox's niece had agreed to take him in if granted bail, Caldwell "embarked upon a public scare campaign reminiscent of the kind of inflammatory hysteria that once was used to provoke lynch mobs. He called Woodfox a violent rapist, even though he had never been charged, let alone convicted, of rape; he sent emails to [Woodfox's niece's] neighbors calling Woodfox a convicted murderer and violent rapist; and neighbors were urged to sign petitions opposing his release. In the end, his niece and family were sufficiently frightened and threatened that Woodfox rejected the plan to live with them while on bail." In his Nov. 25 ruling, Judge Brady himself criticized the intimidation campaign: "it is apparent that the [neighborhood] association was not told Mr. Woodfox is frail, sickly, and has a clean conduct record for more than twenty years."
When the October 27-29 National Public Radio (NPR) series on the case reported directly from Angola, reporter Laura Sullivan observed, "a hundred black men are in the field, bent over picking tomatoes. A single white officer on a horse sits above them, a shotgun in his lap ... It's the same as it looked 40 years ago, and 100 years ago." Commenting that many at Angola today "seem to want to bury this case in a place no one will find it," NPR reported that Warden Burl Cain and others refused to comment. However, Caldwell told NPR he is convinced that Woodfox and Wallace are guilty, and that he will appeal Woodfox's case all the way to the US Supreme Court. "This is a very dangerous person," Caldwell says. "This is the most dangerous person on the planet."
As NPR documented, there is no physical evidence linking Woodfox or Wallace to the murder. A bloody fingerprint was found at the scene but it matches neither prisoner's prints. Prison officials have always refused to test that fingerprint against their own inmate fingerprint database. Caldwell vows to continue this policy, telling NPR: "A fingerprint can come from anywhere ... We're not going to be fooled by that."
Caldwell also told NPR that he firmly believes the testimony of the prosecution's key eyewitness, Hezekiah Brown, a serial rapist who had been sentenced to life without parole. Brown first told prison officials that he didn't know anything, but he later testified to seeing Miller stabbed to death by four inmates: Woodfox and Wallace, and two others who are now deceased: Chester Jackson (who testified for the state and pled guilty to a lesser charge) and Gilbert Montegut (who was acquitted after an officer provided an alibi).
Pardoned in 1986, and now deceased, Brown always denied receiving special favors from prison authorities in exchange for his testimony. However, prison documents reveal special treatment, including special housing and a carton of cigarettes given to him every week. Testifying at Woodfox's 1998 retrial, former Warden Murray Henderson admitted telling Brown that if he provided testimony helping to "crack the case," he would reward him by lobbying for his pardon.
Solitary Confinement for "Black Pantherism"
In early 2008, a 25,000-signature petition initiated by ColorOfChange.org, calling for an investigation into Woodfox and Wallace's convictions and solitary confinement, was delivered to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal by the head of the State Legislature's Judiciary Committee, Cedric Richmond. To this day, Jindal remains silent on the case.
In March, 2008, following a visit from Congressman John Conyers, Chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee; Innocence Project founder Barry Scheck; and Cedric Richmond, Wallace and Woodfox were transferred from solitary and housed together in a newly-built maximum security dormitory for twenty men. This temporary release from solitary lasted for eight months, during which time Woodfox reflected: "The thing I noticed most about being with Herman is the laughing, the talking, the bumping up against one another ... we've been denied this for so long. And every once in a while he'll put his arm around me or I'll put my arm around him. It's those kinds of things that make you human. And we're truly enjoying that."
In April, following his visit, Conyers wrote a letter to the FBI requesting their documents relating to the case, stating: "I am deeply troubled by what evidence suggests was a tragic miscarriage of justice with regard to these men. There is significant evidence that suggests not only their innocence, but also troubling misconduct by prison officials." The FBI responded by claiming that they had no files on the case, because, they had supposedly been destroyed.
In his deposition taken October 22, 2008, Warden Burl Cain explained why he opposed granting Woodfox bail and removing him from solitary confinement. Asked what gave him "such concern" about Woodfox, Cain stated: "He wants to demonstrate. He wants to organize. He wants to be defiant ... A hunger strike is really, really bad, because you could see he admitted that he was organizing a peaceful demonstration. There is no such thing as a peaceful demonstration in prison." Cain then stated that even if Woodfox were innocent of the murder, he would still want to keep him in solitary, because "I still know he has a propensity for violence ... he is still trying to practice Black Pantherism, and I still would not want him walking around my prison because he would organize the young new inmates. I would have me all kinds of problems, more than I could stand, and I would have the blacks chasing after them. I would have chaos and conflict, and I believe that."
The only other known U.S. prisoner to have spent so many years in solitary confinement is Hugo Pinell, in California. One of the San Quentin Six, Pinell was a close comrade of Black Panther and prison author, George Jackson. Currently housed in Pelican Bay State Prison's notorious "Security Housing Unit," Pinell has been in continuous solitary since at least 1971. The recently freed Angola 3 prisoner Robert Hillary King says Pinell "is a clear example of a political prisoner." This January, Pinell was denied parole for the next 15 years, which King says "is a sentence to die in prison. This is cruel and unusual punishment, which may be legal but is definitely not moral."
Robert Hillary King
The new book From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Robert Hillary King has just been released by PM Press. This inspiring book tells of King's triumph over the horrors of Angola. Born poor in rural Louisiana, he was raised mostly by his heroic grandmother, who King recounts "worked the sugar cane fields from sun up 'til sun down for less than a dollar a day. During the off-season, she washed, ironed clothes, and scrubbed floors for whites for pennies a day or for leftover food. Her bunions and blisters told a bitter but vivid tale of her travails."
King first entered Angola at the age of 18, for a robbery conviction. In his book, he admits to doing some non-violent burglaries at the time, but maintains his innocence regarding this conviction and every one since. Granted parole in 1965, at the age of 22, he returned to New Orleans, got married, and began a brief semi-pro boxing career as "Speedy King." He was then arrested on charges of robbery, just weeks before his wife Clara gave birth to their son. After being held for over 11 months, his friend pled guilty to a lesser charge and was released on time served. Simultaneously, the DA dropped the charges against King, but he was not released, because his arrest, coupled with his friend's guilty plea was deemed a parole violation. Therefore, King was sent back to Angola where he served 15 months and was released again in 1969.
Upon release, King was again arrested on robbery charges, and was convicted, even though his co-defendant testified that he had only picked King out of a mug shot lineup after being tortured by police into making a false statement. King appealed, and while being held at New Orleans Parish Prison, he escaped, but was re-captured weeks later. Upon returning to Orleans Parish he met some of the New Orleans 12--BPP members arrested after a confrontation with police at a housing project. He was radicalized and worked with the Panthers organizing non-violent hunger strikes, and engaging in self-defense against violent attacks from prison authorities.
In 1972, King moved to Angola shortly after the death of prison guard Brent Miller. Upon arrival, on grounds that King "wanted to play lawyer for another inmate," he was immediately put into solitary confinement: first in the "dungeon," then the "Red Hat," and finally to the Closed Correction Cell (CCR) unit, where he remained until his 2001 release. At CCR, King writes that the Angola BPP chapter and others continued to struggle, using the one hour a day outside their cells (when they were allowed to shower and interact in the walkway) to organize: "That was how we talked, passed papers, educated each other, and coordinated our actions."
King writes about the fight, started in 1977, to end the practice of routine rectal searches of prisoners: "Coming to a consensus conclusion that this practice was a carryover from slavery (before being sold, the slave had to be stripped and subjected to anal examination), and after months of appealing to our keepers, we decided to take a bold step: we would simply refuse a voluntary anal search. We would not be willing participants in our own degradation." When King and others refused, they were viciously beaten. Woodfox hired a lawyer on the prisoners' behalf and they filed a successful civil suit. The court ruled to ban "routine anal searches." Another victory came after a one month hunger strike that stopped the unhealthy and dehumanizing practice of putting the inmate's food on the floor to be slid underneath the cell door, whereby food would often be lost and the remaining food would usually get dirty.
In 1973, King was accused of murdering another prisoner, and was convicted at a trial where he was bound and gagged. After years of maintaining his innocence and appealing, his conviction was overturned in 2001, after he reluctantly pled guilty to a lesser charge of "conspiracy to commit murder" and was released on time served.
Kenny "Zulu" Whitmore
On June 21, 2008, Robert King attended the unveiling of a 40-foot mosaic dedicated to Angola prisoner and Angola BPP member Kenneth "Zulu" Whitmore, launching the "Free Zulu" campaign. King is working to publicize his case, saying "Zulu is a true warrior, Panther, a servant of the people. He has fought a good battle, for so long, unrecognized, unsupported!"
The mosaic adorns the back of activist/artist Carrie Reichardt's home in the West London suburb of Chiswick. Reichardt says "we chose to base the design around a modern day interpretation of the Goddess Kali. She is considered the goddess of liberation, time and transformation. We wanted to use a strong, positive image of a female that would give hope and encourage others to join the struggle to bring about social change. Her speech bubble says 'The revolution is now'."
Imprisoned since 1977, Whitmore met Herman Wallace while imprisoned in 1973 at the East Baton Rouge Prison. Whitmore was released but then arrested and subsequently imprisoned at Angola when he was convicted of robbery and second-degree murder after he had returned to the community and been a political organizer. Just like the Angola 3, the case against him is full of holes, and he is appealing his conviction. Whitmore does not have a lawyer yet, so the freezulu.co.uk website is raising money to support his appeal.
Angola: The Last Slave Plantation
Three court cases are now pending: the federal civil rights lawsuit at the U.S. Middle District Court, Albert Woodfox's appeal at the U.S. Fifth Circuit, and Wallace's appeal at the State Supreme Court. At this critical stage, a new DVD has just been released by PM Press, titled The Angola 3: Black Panthers and the Last Slave Plantation. The DVD is narrated by death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, and features footage of King's 2001 release, as well as an interview with King and a variety of former Panthers and other supporters of the Angola 3, including Bo Brown, David Hilliard, Geronimo Ji Jaga (formerly Pratt), Marion Brown, Luis Talamantez, Noelle Hanrahan, Malik Rahim, and the late Anita Roddick.
The perpetuation of white supremacy and slavery at Angola is a central theme throughout the film. Fred Hampton Jr., emphasizes that "we've got to make the connection between these modern day plantations, and what went down with chattel slavery." Scott Fleming, a lawyer for the Angola 3, says: "That prison is still run like a slave plantation ... People like Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace are the example of what will happen to you if you resist that system."
Longtime Japanese-American activist Yuri Kochiyama says that Woodfox and Wallace "love people and will fight for justice even if it puts them on the spot. I think of them as real heroes ... who hated to see people in the prison get hurt." San Francisco journalist and former BPP member Kiilu Nyasha adds that "it behooves us to not forget those who were on the frontlines for us. ... We need to come to their rescue because they came to ours."
The many years of repression and torture have failed to extinguish the Angola 3's spirit or will to resist, as Woodfox explains in the DVD: "At heart, mind and spirit, we're still Black Panthers. We still believe in the same principles as the BPP, we still advocate the ten point program. We still advocate that all prisoners, black or white, are human beings. They deserve to be treated as human beings."
Original source: Alternet.org
