Good evening everyone,
I am thrilled to report that earlier today Judge Brady issued the long
anticipated final judgment in Albert's case (attached), 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 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
Criminal Injustice in Louisiana Continues
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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