Judge orders Albert Woodfox's release after decades in solitary confinement

(CNN)Albert Woodfox, who's spent more than four decades in solitary confinement for a crime he's long argued he didn't commit, might soon set foot outside prison.

U.S. District Judge James J. Brady ruled Monday that Woodfox, 68, should be released from prison and should not face a third trial due to "exceptional circumstances," including his age and poor health and the court's "lack of confidence in the state to provide a fair third trial."

Woodfox, 68, is the last imprisoned member of the so-called Angola 3, prisoners who were accused in the 1972 killing of guard Brent Miller at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

cnn

At one time I supported capital punishment, however as I get older and witness so many on death row released after DNA or other actions I no longer support giving the government the right to kill a citizen.

This is not a death row case however to convict someone and then to hold them in solitary confinement for decades is very much cruel and unusual punishment.

Our criminal justice system needs to be reformed. We need to transition away from conservative values of being hard on crime. The will to make criminals suffer is not the hallmark of a civilized society, and to make this guy or anyone spend 43 years in solitary confinement should be unconstitutional.

The lives of too many citizens have been robbed from them, almost daily we here about another poor soul being released after decades of unjust imprisonment and there is no telling how many we have killed based on false FBI hair samples.

When are we gonna demand this? When will we force our government for both criminal justice and prison reform? Or do you like how are system works?

a reply to: LDragonFire

Like I was saying in this other thread, the system is broke…

www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: LDragonFire

At one time I supported capital punishment, however as I get older and witness so many on death row released after DNA or other actions I no longer support giving the government the right to kill a citizen.

I've never liked the idea of capitol punishment, and like you, as I get older I realise just how many have been falsely convicted and then murdered.
I also agree that people should not be tortured when in prison, and four decades in solitary IS torture!
Prison should be used to protect the public by keeping DANGEROUS people off the streets, it should not be used for victimless crimes like smoking mj or being in debt.

a reply to: LDragonFire

3 square meals a day, roof over his head and no debts.

Apart from the solitary confinement he'd be as well staying in jail.

(Jk)

40 years in solitary....this guys been in isolation for longer than I've been alive.
That's a brutal punishment.

originally posted by: EA006
a reply to: LDragonFire


40 years in solitary....this guys been in isolation for longer than I've been alive.
That's a brutal punishment.

It's bloody disgusting and I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he's gone completely insane from it.

originally posted by: VoidHawk
a reply to: LDragonFire

At one time I supported capital punishment, however as I get older and witness so many on death row released after DNA or other actions I no longer support giving the government the right to kill a citizen.

victimless crimes like smoking mj or being in debt.

Your NWO application has been unsuccessful.
Attitude adjusters will be arriving with you momentarily.

originally posted by: SilentE

originally posted by: EA006
a reply to: LDragonFire


40 years in solitary....this guys been in isolation for longer than I've been alive.
That's a brutal punishment.

It's bloody disgusting and I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he's gone completely insane from it.

I was thinking the same, and why is he really in there?

originally posted by: EA006

Your NWO application has been unsuccessful.

Doh!

Attitude adjusters will be arriving with you momentarily.

Damn, I hope they grease the probe this time.

a reply to: VoidHawk

What probe? Its a .45 they use now.

I heard this on the radio (KPFK) new this morning. They went on to say that Mr. Woodfox had been tried twice on the murder of the prision worker and both times the case had been thrown out. The 'State' wants to try him again, finally the courts have said they could not hence his release.

originally posted by: EA006
a reply to: VoidHawk

What probe? Its a .45 they use now.

ok, then I hope they grease the barrel

originally posted by: FyreByrd
I heard this on the radio (KPFK) new this morning. They went on to say that Mr. Woodfox had been tried twice on the murder of the prision worker and both times the case had been thrown out. The 'State' wants to try him again, finally the courts have said they could not hence his release.

What type of nonsense is holding a person in jail for 40 years awaiting trial. Basically imprisoning someone without conviction.

a reply to: LDragonFire

The solution is death penalty for those who intentionally send a person to death for a crime they know he did not commit. Whatever the person's sentence is, the person who sends them to it falsely should receive the same.

I only feel sympathy if he's truly innocent. Otherwise, who the hell cares what happens to murderers...

originally posted by: Kromlech
I only feel sympathy if he's truly innocent. Otherwise, who the hell cares what happens to murderers...

That's what the trial is for. The state tried him, failed to make their case, violated double jeopardy and tried him again, but still couldn't make a case. Then they held him in prison, in what amounts to excruciating torture for 40 years. Even if released most of his life is gone and there is a good chance he isn't mentally stable which means he needs to be locked away in another facility for the rest of his life.

Besides that, even if guilty the purpose of prisons is to protect society, torturing prisoners doesn't protect us if anything it does the exact opposite because a guilty person will go to any means necessary to avoid capture.

a reply to: LDragonFire

The sad thing is, that no one cares because it doesn't effect them on a personal level. It's not them. It's not their mother or father. It's not their brother, sister, or uncle. So the general public just doesn't care.

Apathy is killing us as a society.

a reply to: LDragonFire

43 years in solitary ? , this story sent my jaw to the floor .... that is unbelievable , and to top it the murder conviction was subsequently twice thrown out of court but the state ignored that and tried to go for three times lucky.
They didn't even allow him to go to his mother's funeral , Wow.
Absolutely unbelievable , I'm shocked .... the land of the free ?


Does the American government know there is such thing as a bill of Human rights ?

They tried him twice and lost. But he still had to plead "no contest" to get out? WTH?

www.msn.com...

All of those years in solitary. My God. How is that not unusual punishment? What is he going to do with himself in the social media, always alone but never really alone world of 2016?