Albert Woodfox — a member of the Angola 3 — was held in solitary confinement in Louisiana for more than four decades after his alleged involvement in the 1972 murder of prison guard Brent Miller.
Woodfox is the sole remaining imprisoned member of the so-called Angola 3. He has twice been tried for the 1972 death of 23-year-old prison guard Brent Miller, and each time his conviction has been overturned.
Woodfox has always maintained that he is innocent of the murder, and claims he was implicated in order to prevent his activism with the Black Panther Party chapter in Louisiana State Penitentiary. He had organized hunger strikes and other demonstrations against prison conditions.
He and the two other men held in solitary at the prison — Robert King and Herman Wallace — became known as the "Angola 3" because the prison is located next to a former slave plantation by the same name, according to the BBC.
King and Wallace were released in 2001 and 2013 respectively. Wallace died shortly after his release pending a new trial. King's conviction was overturned.
In a 2008 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Miller's widow, Teenie Rogers questioned Woodfox and Wallace's involvement in her late husband's death, saying: "If I were on that jury, I don't think I would have convicted them."
The Court has found at least five factors that weigh in favor of a finding of exceptional circumstances to justify an extraordinary remedy. The five factors include: Mr. Woodfox's age and poor health, his limited ability to present a defense at a third trial in light of the unavailability of witnesses, this Court's lack of confidence in the State to provide a fair third trial, the prejudice done onto Mr. Woodfox by spending over forty-years in solitary confinement, and finally the very fact that Mr. Woodfox has already been tried twice and would otherwise face his third trial for a crime that occurred over forty years ago. The fact that Mr. Woodfox has not served the maximum possible sentence and the fact that the underlying constitutional violation could be corrected upon retrial have little weight compared to the factors outlines above. Moreover, this is not a case where evidence of guilt is "overwhelming." Having considered the parties' arguments, the jurisprudence, and the factual and procedural history of this case, this Court exercises its discretion in finding that there are exceptional circumstances, and the only just remedy is an unconditional writ of habeas corpus barring retrial of Mr. Albert Woodfox and releasing Mr. Woodfox from custody immediately. An order will be issued accordingly.
Brady's order also barred a third trial for Woodfox on the murder charge.
A spokesman for Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's office, Aaron Sadler, said that the order was "based on faulty procedural issues" and "arbitrarily sets aside jury decisions" in an emailed statement obtained by The Times-Picayune.
"With today's order, the Court would see fit to set free a twice-convicted murderer who is awaiting trial again for the brutal slaying of Corrections Officer Brent Miller," Sadler added.
The Louisiana Attorney General' office is now seeking an emergency stay from the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which it hopes, Sadler says, will "make sure this murderer stays in prison and remains fully accountable for his actions," The Times-Picayune reported.
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