Angola Three

The Angola Three are three former inmates of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana. The men—all African American—each spent twenty-nine years or more in solitary confinement. Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox were convicted in 1974 of killing Brent Miller, a prison corrections officer who was stabbed to death during a 1972 prison riot. Robert King was convicted in a different prison homicide. All three men were already incarcerated when they were charged with their respective killings. For decades, the trio maintained their innocence, and garnered attention from groups like Amnesty International. After years of fighting for their freedom, the men were finally released in the twenty-first century—King in 2001, Wallace in 2013, and Woodfox in 2016. Their stories have been told in various media, including the 2011 documentary film, In the Land of the Free.

Background

Once called the bloodiest prison in the south, The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, also called “The Farm,” "Alcatraz of the South," or simply “Angola,” is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. Bordered by the Mississippi River on three sides, the prison grounds are part of an old plantation and the fields are still a working farm. Angola’s inmates work in the fields with the crops going to feed the prison population. Altogether, Angola is roughly the size of Manhattan. The history of the prison is rooted in controversy that has included corrupt leadership, mistreatment of the inmates, to Gruesome Gertie—Angola’s electric chair, named by the penitentiary’s inmates. Although the penitentiary has a violent history, prison officials have been quick to note many positive changes that have been made over the years. Although many of the inmates at Angola are unlikely to ever leave the penitentiary, there is a focus on rehabilitation, specifically in terms of moral rehabilitation. An inmate ministry program exists within the prison, with multiple chapels throughout the prison complex. There is also a hospice program, where inmates take care of other inmates. For those interested in furthering their education, Angola offers numerous educational programs, including college trade opportunities. The Angola Prison Rodeo, featuring inmate riders, is also known worldwide and open to the general public.

Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox, and Robert King were already inmates within the Louisiana penal system when they were involved in prison deaths. Wallace had been convicted of bank robbery, Woodfox had been convicted of armed robbery, and King was also arrested on robbery charges. In 1973, King was convicted of a prison murder. Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox were convicted in 1974 of the 1972 death of guard Brent Miller. All three men were placed in solitary confinement where they remained for decades.

Initially used in the nineteenth century for what was described as “self-reflection,” solitary confinement has been considered a form of punishment for problematic inmates. Prison officials consider the threat of solitary confinement a deterrent against violent crime and gang activity. Opponents argue that any positive aspects of the punishment are outweighed by the detrimental impact it has on the individual’s physical and mental health. Statistics show those in solitary confinement are more likely to have a shortened lifespan, even once they are released. The cause of those premature deaths may be natural or self-inflicted. Solitary confinement has also been shown to shrink the brain, specifically the part that deals with memory. Specific details surrounding solitary confinement units, also called restrictive housing and administrative segregation, varies from prison to prison. In many instances, the confinement means twenty-two to twenty-four hours per day alone in a cell or room. For the Angola Three, confinement meant twenty-three hours in a 6-foot by 9-foot cell. This was in contrast to the dormitory-style living in which other Angola prisoners lived.

In 2000, Wallace, Woodfox, and King filed a lawsuit arguing cruel and unusual punishment. In 1999, they had reached out to Scott Fleming, a University of California at Berkeley law student. Fleming had been studying the case and was able to attract the attention of Anita Roddick, founder of the cosmetics and body care company, The Body Shop, who ultimately paid for the trio’s attorneys.

Overview

Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox. Herman Wallace, a vocal member of the Black Panther Party, was convicted in 1974 of killing an Angola corrections officer. He was already serving time on a fifty-year sentence for armed bank robbery. During his appeal of the murder charge, legal questions were raised about the ethicality and legality of the investigation and trial, including the fact that no women served on Wallace’s jury. Wallace’s supporters also argued that overt racism was also a factor, particularly because of the Black Panther connection. Miller’s widow ultimately said she doubted the guilt of the two men, and urged law enforcement to reinvestigate to find her husband’s killer. Wallace’s conviction was overturned due to Fourteenth Amendment violations, specifically, the lack of women on his jury. He was released and transported by ambulance from the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, on Oct. 1, 2013. He died three days later from cancer that had been detected in June of 2013. Wallace was seventy-one years old. The day before he died, he was indicted again, with the district attorney for East and West Feliciana Parish stating that the evidence was sufficient enough to convict Wallace again.

Albert Woodfox was arrested at eighteen years of age after robbing a bar. At his sentencing, he overpowered two sheriff’s deputies, escaping to New York City for several days before he was caught and extradited to New Orleans. During his brief time in New York, Woodfox met up with the Black Panthers, causing him to be placed on the Panther Tier of the Orleans Parish Prison once he was returned to Louisiana. After his trial, Woodfox was sent to Angola in 1971. After Miller’s death in 1972, Woodfox and roughly twenty other men were sent to Angola’s Closed Cell Restricted unit. Woodfox was one of several men charged with the murder. It took an all-White jury less than one hour to convict him. He, as well as Wallace, received sentences of life without parole. Both were taken back to Angola and the Closed Cell Restricted unit. It was there that Wallace and Woodfox eventually met, and became friendly with, Robert King. King wrote the brief for Woodfox that argued his indictment was unconstitutional because the grand jury excluded women. The conviction was overturned, but Woodfox was quickly indicted again. He was again found guilty and returned to solitary confinement. After the 2000 lawsuit was filed arguing the solitary confinement was cruel and unusual punishment, Woodfox was released on February 19, 2016, his sixty-ninth birthday. In 2019, he told his story in a Pulitzer Prize-nominated memoir, Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solitary Confinement. My Story of Transformation and Hope. Woodfox died on Aug. 4, 2022, in New Orleans from complications due to COVID-19.

Robert King

Born on May 30, 1942, Robert Hillary King was involved with petty crimes before he was arrested on robbery charges. He spent time in the Orleans Parish Prison and Angola on multiple occasions, frequently maintaining his innocence. It was there that he became involved with the Black Panther Party and the Black Power Movement. King was charged following the death of August Kelly, another inmate. He was ultimately given life in prison and taken to a parish prison. Following the death of Miller, King was moved to Angola’s Closed Cell Restricted unit and identified as a “conspirator” in Miller’s death. King appealed his charges—and won—only to be retried in 1975, convicted, and returned to Angola’s Closed Cell Restricted unit. In the unit, he became friendly with Wallace and Woodfox, and the three men began to advocate for better living conditions for those in solitary confinement. In 2001, a federal court determined that King’s case should be reheard due to a lack of women and African-American representation on King’s jury. Past witnesses recanted earlier testimony, forcing the case to be sent back to the district court level for review. Ultimately, a deal was reached with King and he became the first of the Angola Three to be released from prison. Upon his release, he became a strong and vocal supporter of the release of Wallace and Woodfox. He also became an author and international speaker, lecturing on behalf of the Angola Three and other political prisoners. He published his autobiography, From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of a Black Panther, in 2008.

Bibliography

“The Angola 3 Case: What You Need to Know.” The Angola 3, angola3.org/the-case. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

“Angola Three’s Robert King Looks Back on 30 Years of Solitary Confinement.” Guardian, 10 June 2015, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/10/angola-three-robert-king-solitary-confinement. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Aviv, Rachel. “How Albert Woodfox Survived Solitary.” The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2017, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/16/how-albert-woodfox-survived-solitary. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

James, Erwin. “37 Years of Solitary Confinement: The Angola Three." Guardian, 9 Mar. 2010, www.theguardian.com/society/2010/mar/10/erwin-james-angola-three. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

“Robert King.” Anglia Ruskin University, aru.ac.uk/graduation-and-alumni/honorary-award-holders2/robert-king. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Schwartz, John. “Herman Wallace, Freed after 41 Years in Solitary, Dies at 71.” The New York Times, 5 Oct. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/10/05/us/herman-wallace-held-41-years-in-solitary-dies-at-71.html. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Vera, Helen. “After 42 Years in Solitary, Herman Wallace Dies a Free Man.” ACLU, www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/after-42-years-solitary-herman-wallace-dies-free-man. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Woodfox, Albert. Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solitary Confinement. My Story of Transformation and Hope. Grove Press, 2019.