Breaking News! Herman Wallace's (Angola 3) conviction has been overturned!

[Le Libérer]

This thread is an update to the more concise thread on the Angola 3 here. (http://www.revleft.com/vb/petition-gov-jindal-t181923/index.html)

Judge Jackson has overturned Black Panther, Angola 3, Herman Wallace's conviction, granting him full habeas relief based on the systematic exclusion of women from the jury in violation of the 14th Amendment.

Even more astonishingly, the Judge clearly orders that "the State immediately release Mr. Wallace from custody." No application for bail is required, and the State is given 30 days to notify Herman if they plan to re-indict him.
The State will no doubt contest this decision, this is what Herman has been struggling for - and at the end of his life, he's won! A hearing will be held tomorrow in Baton Rouge, Louisiana tomorrow to determine the consequences of this decision. If the state decides not to appeal this decision, then Herman will be able to go home and join his family and supporters a free and innocent man.

Albert Woodfox and Robert King the other 2 members of the Angola 3, met at the prison this morning to say their farewells due to advanced liver cancer, but instead have given Herman this amazing news.

Here is the latest article on his release. Those of us who have worked to his release hope he will spend the last days of his life comfortably with family and friends.

Source (http://hermanshouse.org/herman_may_walk_free/)

Herman Wallace’s legal team said today:
"With today’s ruling, at long last, Herman Wallace has been afforded some measure of justice after a lifetime of injustice. We ask that the Department of Corrections honor Judge Jackson’s order and immediately release Herman Wallace so that he can spend his final days as a free man."

“In addition, litigation challenging Mr. Wallace’s unconstitutional confinement in solitary confinement for four decades will continue in his name. It is Mr. Wallace’s hope that this litigation will help ensure that others, including his lifelong friend and fellow 'Angola 3' member, Albert Woodfox, do not continue to suffer such cruel and unusual confinement even after Mr. Wallace is gone."

Additional Source (http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2013/10/1/breaking_federal_judge_orders_immediate_release_of _herman_wallace_held_in_solitary_for_40_years)

[Sasha]

Damn, i heard he was going to be released but i just asumed it was a compasionate release. But this is a lot better, even if he dies soon he will do so knowing he "won"

[blake 3:17]

So it is a victory. Good.

[Le Libérer]

He did win! Interesting side note, Sentinel, Eneme, Praxis, and myself, met Marina Drummer of Solitary Watch (http://solitarywatch.com/about/) and Community Futures Collective (http://www.communityfuturescollective.org/) to whom I have been working with on solitary issue here in La. while we in California. She has been working for over 20 years to get Herman's case overturned. She just sent an reply email saying, "Yes too little too late! If the state backs off he may come out on a stretcher but we'll see. The struggle continues!"

And the Angola 3 have been instrumental in shining the light on the horrors of solitary. We still have Albert Woodfox to be released. For the 3rd time his case has been overrules as well, but Buddy Caldwell - La. Attorney General has refused to release him.

Melissa Harris Perry recently appealed to him on national TV to let them go.
http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/03/30/buddy-caldwell-lay-off-the-angola-3-already/

[Le Libérer]

There is a lot of hope here at play because Albert Woodfox's case has been reversed for the 3rd time, and the attorney general Buddy Caldwell would prefer these innocent men tortured their whole lives and die alone, than to be wrong.


Tuesday, the same federal judge that ordered Woodfox’s release in 2008 again ruled Woodfox should be set free on the basis of racial discrimination in his retrial. It was the third time Woodfox’s conviction has been overturned, but prosecutors successfully reversed the two previous victories. The state is expected to appeal once again to keep Woodfox behind bars.

From Robert King in this interview


ROBERT KING: Yes. Thank you, Amy. I would like to speak on the significance of the ruling. The ruling indicates that, as has been pointed out, this case has been overturned three times, two times by a federal judge and by Brady, Judge Brady, and once by the state. And the significance is that there was a flawed conviction. The courts feel this, both state and federal. And as a result of this, you see this replication of his case being overturned by different judges at different times. And the significance at this time, hopefully, is that this is after—actually, it’s going on 41 years. April 17 will be 41 years. And we’re hoping that this will be the end of this harassment by the state of Louisiana with regards to Herman and Albert, especially Albert Woodfox, in this case.

Source (http://www.democracynow.org/2013/2/28/after_40_years_in_solitary_in)

[Le Libérer]

Herman Wallace has left the prison and is in the ambulance taking him to hospice where family, friends, and supporters will give him love and care for the rest of his days. :wub:

[Hampton]

Beautiful.

[cyu]

I too dream of being imprisoned for most of my life, only to be vindicated a few days before I die.

Still, better than nothing. :glare:

[Le Libérer]

I too dream of being imprisoned for most of my life, only to be vindicated a few days before I die.

Still, better than nothing. :glare:
I agree, it is too little, too late, he is being taken to LSU hospital because of his declining health instead of hospice. And Albert Woodfox is still in solitary confinement at Wade Correctional an hour away from me.

There are 100s of black men who have been falsely imprisoned and in solitary in Louisiana. We invented the school to prison pipeline. I recently argued a saggy pants ordinance here will fast track more innocent young men who would never have a record will now, and innocent young men thrown into jails with harden criminals over how they wear their pants!

It is disgusting and heartbreaking.

[Le Libérer]

Yet another update, seeing the crisis element to Herman's story:

http://angola3news.blogspot.com/2013/10/free-at-last-herman-wallace-has-finally.html

A3 Coalition statement:

After a long, dramatic day, we are humbled to report that the indomitable, irrepressible Herman Wallace has just been released after spending over 4 decades in solitary confinement.

Even after Judge Jackson's late evening ruling denying the State's attempt at a stay and again ordering his immediate release, the State continued to stall. Once notified of the continued delay, Judge Jackson stoically refused to leave his quarters until Herman was released, and just minutes ago, Herman was driven away from the prison a free man, awake and able to revel in this miraculous turn of events.

The State will likely still appeal to the 5th Circuit and attempt to have the order reversed, and may even re-indict him, but it seems that Herman, against all odds, has won.

Despite all the exciting drama of the day, this is obviously a deeply bittersweet moment for all those involved in the campaign as we know Herman may not have much longer amongst us, but thanks to the unwavering commitment to justice that those on this list have demonstrated over the years on A3's behalf, he will not die in prison behind solitary bars.

Now we must resolve collectively to harness this rediscovered energy and excitement and dedicate ourselves to getting Albert the same result without delay.

If you happen to be in New Orleans, supporters are holding a vigil tonight starting in just a few moments at 8pm. Everyone is welcome to come and celebrate this incredible news. Coliseum Square was the original location, but it has been changed to LSU, outside the hospital emergency room, at 2021 Perdido St New Orleans, LA 70112.

With awe, bewilderment, and a renewed optimism, we will keep supporters updated.

[Le Libérer]

There is a vigil outside Herman's hospital room, here is the first image conrades have sent me.

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1208752_212103058965526_1140732130_n.jpg

[Le Libérer]

First picture of Herman leaving prison.

http://america.aljazeera.com/content/ajam/articles/2013/10/1/louisiana-inmatefreedafter41yearsofsolitary/jcr:content/mainpar/adaptiveimage/src.adapt.960.high.1380692195454.jpg

[cyu]

I recently argued a saggy pants ordinance here will fast track more innocent young men who would never have a record will now, and innocent young men thrown into jails over how they wear their pants!

To a for-profit prison corporation, everyone has the potential to be profit.

http://vinayvasan.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/duracell_matrix.jpg

[Fred]

Congratulations to everyone fighting for his release! This is a wonderful victory! Too little, too late, but really great!

[Le Libérer]

Power to the People! We still have to get Albert released and the 100s of other young men who are being held under false charges/ solitary confinement! And while we are at it, all the non-violent criminals need to come home too!

We will see the end of plantation justice. I just know it. We may be so old we can't get around, but we will see it! Herman's story is a victory to all who have been held in solitary confinement.

[Le Libérer]

This extensive post prison release story on Herman, it outlines the events from Herman's order to leave the prison until this morning. I started crying at the point where the vigil Jackie organized to meet his ambulance, to King talking about he and Albert going to visit Herman, not to say good bye but that he was about to be released and how Herman said he would hold on until he was out, to Herman's dream from Herman's House where he leaves, and the fanfair that actually came true. If you have to miss any updates, this one shouldn't be it.

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/2/after_4_decades_in_solitary_dying

[Hrafn]

Wow, this is good. Very good. Nice to see him get out to spend his last days with family.

[Aleister Granger]

The Stormfront asshats are really pissed.

In other words: My morning is very very swell.

[Le Libérer]

Louisiana state level Attorney General has re-indicted Herman.

New Orleans resident Herman J. Wallace, released from a life sentence Tuesday by a federal court order, was reindicted Thursday by a West Feliciana Parish grand jury in the 1972 murder of a prison security officer.

“I say he is a murderer, and he is not innocent,” said District Attorney SamuelC. D’Aquilla. “The conviction was overturned because the federal judge perceived a flaw in the indictment — not his murder conviction.”

D’Aquilla said Wallace attorney Nicholas J. Trenticosta, of New Orleans, was wrong when he said Tuesday that Wallace is “a free man, and he’s innocent.”

Wallace, 71, was taken to a hospice center Tuesday night by his attorneys after his release from Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel. Those attorneys said Wallace has terminal liver cancer.

Wallace was convicted in 1974 in the stabbing murder two years earlier of 23-year-old Security Officer Brent Miller at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. At the time of the murder, Wallace already was serving a 50-year prison term for armed robbery.

Carine M. Williams, a New York attorney for Wallace, said of the new indictment Thursday: “I’m shocked to hear this.”

Williams added: “I don’t see how he (D’Aquilla) could do this (obtain a new indictment) because the state court does not have jurisdiction over this case. They cannot act on this indictment.”

D’Aquilla said he will proceed with the state’s case, but will not immediately seek Wallace’s return to prison.

“We will set a court date by the end of the year for him to appear and answer the charges,” D’Aquilla said.

The one-page indictment alleges that Wallace “committed murder upon the person of Brent Miller” on April 17, 1972.

On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson, of Baton Rouge, ordered Wallace’s immediate release. Jackson said women were unconstitutionally excluded from the West Feliciana Parish grand jury that indicted Wallace in 1973.

D’Aquilla said Thursday six women and four men were on the grand jury that returned the latest indictment. The district attorney added that a woman served as the panel’s foreperson.

Jackson noted in his ruling Tuesday that the Louisiana Constitution and some state laws exempted women from service on grand juries unless they filed a written notice that they wished to serve.

Exemptions that have the effect of excluding people by gender or race from grand jury service violate the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees for equal protection under the law, Jackson added.

“There is no dispute that up to and including the grand jury that indicted Mr. Wallace on Sept. 14, 1973, no woman had ever served as a grand juror in West Feliciana Parish,” the judge added.

In a separate trial, Albert Woodfox also was convicted in the murder of Brent Miller and sentenced to life in prison. The 68-year-old Woodfox, who also was serving a 50-year prison term for armed robbery at the time of Miller’s murder, remains incarcerated at David Wade Correctional Center near Homer in Claiborne Parish.

Until Wallace’s release Tuesday, both men had served more than 40 years under lockdown — meaning they were allowed out of their cells only one hour per day. During that one hour outside the cell, such inmates remain isolated from the general prison population.

Baton Rouge resident Hardy Miller, Brent Miller’s younger brother, said Thursday he was grateful for the new indictment in West Feliciana Parish against Wallace.

“I’m glad they did this,” Miller, 62, said of D’Aquilla and the West Feliciana Parish grand jury.

“They were found guilty, and they are guilty,” Miller said of Wallace and Woodfox. “They need to serve their time.”

Added Miller: “Brent was just such a great guy, I always looked up to him. This should never have happened to him. It shouldn’t happen to anybody.”

Source (http://http://theadvocate.com/home/7227350-125/grand-jury-indicts-herman-wallace)

What a waste of fucking money! How the hell is Herman going to come in and answer to anything? He can only say one word if any at all. Hell, he certinaly cannot walk into a court room!! :mad:

And how the hell are there still laws on the books in La. where women are excluded in trial cases? Did Judge Jackson have the foresight to understand that point would be argued before they can bring Herman back in for re-indictment?

[Hrafn]

... oh for god's fucking sake.

[Le Libérer]

This morning we lost without a doubt the biggest, bravest, and brashest personality in the political prisoner world. It is with great sadness that we write with the news of Herman Wallace's passing.


Herman never did anything half way. He embraced his many quests and adventures in life with a tenacious gusto and fearless determination that will absolutely never be rivaled. He was exceptionally loyal and loving to those he considered friends, and always went out of his way to stand up for those causes and individuals in need of a strong voice or fierce advocate, no matter the consequences.


Anyone lucky enough to have spent any time with Herman knows that his indomitable spirit will live on through his work and the example he left behind. May each of us aspire to be as dedicated to something as Herman was to life, and to justice.


Below is a short obituary/press statement for those who didn't know him well in case you wish to circulate something. Tributes from those who were closest to Herman and more information on how to help preserve his legacy by keeping his struggle alive will soon follow.
------------------


On October 4th, 2013, Herman Wallace, an icon of the modern prison reform movement and an innocent man, died a free man after spending an unimaginable 41 years in solitary confinement.


Herman spent the last four decades of his life fighting against all that is unjust in the criminal justice system, making international the inhuman plight that is long term solitary confinement, and struggling to prove that he was an innocent man. Just 3 days before his passing, he succeeded, his conviction was overturned, and he was released (http://angola3news.blogspot.com/2013/10/free-at-last-herman-wallace-has-finally.html) to spend his final hours surrounded by loved ones. Despite his brief moments of freedom, his case will now forever serve as a tragic example that justice delayed is justice denied.


Herman Wallace's early life in New Orleans during the heyday of an unforgiving and unjust Jim Crow south often found him on the wrong side of the law and eventually he was sent to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for armed robbery. While there, he was introduced to the Black Panther's powerful message of self determination and collective community action and quickly became one of its most persuasive and ardent practitioners.


Not long after he began to organize hunger and work strikes to protest the continued segregation, endemic corruption, and horrific abuse rampant at the prison, he and his fellow panther comrades Albert Woodfox and Robert King were charged with murders they did not commit and thrown in solitary. Robert was released in 2001 after 29 years in solitary but Herman remained there for an unprecedented 41 years, and Albert is still in a 6x9 solitary cell.


Herman's criminal case ended with his passing, but his legacy will live on through a civil lawsuit he filed jointly with Robert and Albert that seeks to define and abolish long term solitary confinement as cruel and unusual punishment, and through his comrade Albert Woodfox's still active and promising bid for freedom (http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/03/30/buddy-caldwell-lay-off-the-angola-3-already/) from the wrongful conviction they both shared.


Herman was only 9 days shy of 72 years old.


Services will be held in New Orleans. The date and location will be forthcoming.
For more information visit www.angola3.org (http://www.angola3.org/) and http://angola3news.blogspot.com/ (http://angola3news.blogspot.com/).

[MarxSchmarx]

RIP comrade.

Given the circumstances, I am closing this thread; please discuss his legacy here:

http://www.revleft.com/vb/herman-wallace-angola-t183709/index.html