"It’s been forty years—since April 17, 1972, or 14,600 days ago—that Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox have been held in solitary confinement in Louisiana. The state says they were guilty of murdering a guard at Angola Prison, but Wallace, Woodfox and their network of supporters say they were framed for their political activism as members of the Black Panthers. Woodfox and Wallace founded the Angola chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1971. A third prisoner, Robert King, joined them a year later. The three campaigned for better working conditions and racial solidarity between inmates, as well as an end to rape and sexual slavery. Today (April 17th), to mark the 40th anniversary of their placement in solitary confinement, Amnesty USA says it will deliver a petition to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal that bears the signatures of tens of thousands of people from 125 countries. We speak to Robert King, who was released in 2001 when his conviction was overturned and he pleaded guilty to a lesser offense."— Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
Buy Robert King's Book: From the Bottom of the Heap
