Two Louisiana Men in Angola Prison in Louisiana Have Spent 35 Years in Solitary Confinement
In Life in Solitary Confinement: 12,775 Days Alone, (AlterNet, 4/17/07), Brooke Shelby Biggs details the cases of two Louisiana men who have spent the past 35 years in solitary confinement at Angola prison, perhaps on false, politically-motivated charges. Biggs writes:
"Around midday today, Central Time, two men in Angola Prison in Louisiana will quietly mark the moment, 35 years ago exactly, when the bars of solitary confinement cells closed behind them. They will likely spend the moment in their 6 by 9 concrete cells reading, or writing letters to their hundreds of supporters around the world. And most of America and the rest of the world will still have never heard of them, or that in the United States of America, it is still possible to spend a life sentence in solitary confinement without interruption and without any real means of appeal. Americans shamefully imagine such things happen offshore in places like Guantanamo, or in totalitarian countries half a world away. Not here, though. Certainly not here.
"Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox are those men, who along with Robert King, are known as the Angola Three. (King established his innocence and was released in 2001 after almost 30 years in solitary.) Collectively, the three of them have spent 100 years in solitary confinement. Wallace asked this week, 'Where is the justice?'"
Read Biggs' full story here. And yes, I do not believe the men would be there if they were white instead of black. And I know they wouldn't be there if they were female instead of male.
To read more and to discuss this issue on my blog, click here.
Best Wishes,
Glenn Sacks
GlennSacks.com