Louisiana seeks to block release of Angola Three inmate Albert Woodfox

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Louisiana attorneys asked a federal appeals court on Wednesday to block the release of longtime inmate Albert Woodfox and allow prosecutors to try him a third time in connection with the 1972 death of a prison guard, but Woodfox’s lawyer said a fair trial would be impossible due to the passage of time and the death of key witnesses.

Defense attorney George Kendall also cited Woodfox’s age, 68, and poor health.

“He shouldn’t be made to run the gauntlet again,” Kendall told a three-judge panel of the fifth US circuit court of appeals.

Woodfox has long maintained his innocence over the 1972 stabbing death of prison guard Brent Miller. He is the last still-incarcerated member of a group that supporters dubbed the “Angola Three” for their decades-long stays in isolation at the Louisiana penitentiary at Angola and other state prisons.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/02/louisiana-block-release-angola-three-albert-woodfox

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Associated Press in New Orleans
Wednesday 2 September 2015 17.42 BST

[Fast Walker 52]

1. so sick of these insanely cruel prisons and psychopathic wardens

[KamaAina]

2. Screw you, Booby.

[d_legendary1]

3. What exactly is the purpose of keeping this guy in jail?

All the evidence is gone, convictions were overturned or tossed out. Is this one of those "though on crime" things that some of these prosecutors are high on?

[Iggo]

4. Winning.

That's it.

If they have to let him go, they'll feel like losers.

[maindawg]

5. Obama should issue an executive order,Close that prison.

Angola is where Louisiana maintains its jim crow presence whithin the state so that people of color can be reminded that white folks are in charge and if they get do slip up, they have their room ready. Its a prison farm exactly in the image of a plantation. Once they have you there, they own you, just like they did your daddy.
Angola should be closed. Its an abomination. It is not a place of rehabilitation at all. And holding men in solitary confinement is a crime against humanity. The people who run that facility are criminals by definition.

[Roy Rolling]

6. I must disagree

I've filmed in Angola many times and talked privately with inmates. They almost all say Angola is the best prison they have been in. I've had run of the entire grounds, not just what they want to show me.

All prisons need improvement in solitary confinement and other practices, but this description of Angola is a bit exaggerated.