Release Angola 3 political prisoner Herman Wallace

By Workers World staff posted on July 16, 2013

Taken from a July 10 statement from the Angola 3 news blog. Go to http://tinyurl.com/ou2fg3m to read the original statement.

Herman Wallace

Today, in response to the tragic news that Herman Wallace is terminally ill with cancer, Amnesty International has launched a campaign calling for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to immediately release Herman on humanitarian grounds.

Following his initial diagnosis on June 14, Herman continues to be held in isolation at Hunt Correctional Center’s prison infirmary. Reflecting on his confinement while battling cancer, Herman says, “My own body has now become a tool of torture against me.”

“After decades of cruel conditions and a conviction that continues to be challenged by the courts, he should be released immediately to his family so that he can be cared for humanely during his last months,” says Tessa Murphy, USA campaigner, about Herman Wallace.

Amnesty International has long criticized the legal process and lack of evidence that has resulted in both Herman and Albert Woodfox’s original murder convictions. In confronting Herman and Albert’s continued cruel confinement in solitary for over 40 years, Amnesty has declared it to be in violation of international human rights law, as well as the U.S. Constitution itself.

In its statement, Amnesty declares that in the decades of Herman and Albert’s confinement, the “prison authorities have broken their own policies to justify their continued incarceration in harsh and inhumane conditions.” Amnesty also states that they are “extremely concerned about the worsening conditions of confinement” for Albert in David Wade Correctional Center.

Creating public pressure for Herman is now more important than ever. We need Governor Jindal to get hundreds of thousands of emails demanding Herman’s immediate release, so go to http://tinyurl.com/q37mgzk and help spread the word by posting on Facebook and forwarding it to your friends.

Write to Albert Woodfox #72148, David Wade Correctional Center, N1 A3, 670 Bell Hill Road, Homer, LA 71040; and Herman Wallace #76759, Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, CCR D #2, PO Box 174, St. Gabriel, LA 70776.