WEBVTT

1
00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:18.110
From Pacifica, this is Democracy Now!

2
00:00:18.660 --> 00:00:20.410
I guess, you know,

3
00:00:20.410 --> 00:00:24.370
when we walked out there
in front of the detention center

4
00:00:24.370 --> 00:00:26.830
and I seen friends and family,

5
00:00:28.620 --> 00:00:32.250
it kind of hit me in
that I was free.

6
00:00:33.170 --> 00:00:35.380
Today, a Democracy Now!

7
00:00:35.380 --> 00:00:36.800
exclusive.

8
00:00:36.800 --> 00:00:40.790
After more than 43 years
in solitary confinement,

9
00:00:40.790 --> 00:00:43.630
Albert Woodfox is a free man.

10
00:00:43.630 --> 00:00:47.840
The former Black Panther spent
more time in solitary confinement

11
00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:50.150
than any man in U.S. history.

12
00:00:50.970 --> 00:00:54.690
He was released in Louisiana on Friday.

13
00:00:54.690 --> 00:00:57.530
In his first broadcast interview,

14
00:00:57.530 --> 00:01:00.600
Albert Woodfox joins us from New Orleans

15
00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:03.160
along with another former Black Panther

16
00:01:03.160 --> 00:01:07.270
who was imprisoned with him
in Angola prison, Robert King.

17
00:01:08.250 --> 00:01:10.260
We was cautiously optimistic,
as they say.

18
00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:13.720
But we wanted to wait and see
until he walked out of prison.

19
00:01:13.720 --> 00:01:15.570
And that’s what he did.
We saw him walk out.

20
00:01:15.570 --> 00:01:18.910
We were convinced that
he would eventually walk out the door,

21
00:01:18.910 --> 00:01:21.480
but we wanted to make sure
that he would be walking out the door,

22
00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:26.560
before we began to celebrate
within ourselves too much,

23
00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.080
because we had been
let down too many times.

24
00:01:29.080 --> 00:01:31.960
Robert King
and Albert Woodfox

25
00:01:31.960 --> 00:01:34.490
are two of the Angola 3.

26
00:01:34.490 --> 00:01:36.820
Herman Wallace died of cancer

27
00:01:36.820 --> 00:01:41.380
a few days after he was
released from prison in 2013.

28
00:01:41.380 --> 00:01:43.400
We’ll also speak with Billy Sothern,

29
00:01:43.400 --> 00:01:46.180
one of Albert Woodfox’s lawyers,

30
00:01:46.180 --> 00:01:48.340
about his path to freedom.

31
00:01:48.340 --> 00:01:50.020
All that and more, coming up.

32
00:01:55.360 --> 00:01:58.430
Welcome to Democracy
Now!, democracynow.org,

33
00:01:58.430 --> 00:01:59.820
The War and Peace Report.

34
00:01:59.820 --> 00:02:01.070
I’m Amy Goodman.

35
00:02:01.070 --> 00:02:02.280
Albert Woodfox,

36
00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:04.020
who spent more than 43 years

37
00:02:04.020 --> 00:02:06.520
in solitary confinement—more
than any one else

38
00:02:06.520 --> 00:02:10.760
in the United States—has been released
from prison in Louisiana.

39
00:02:10.760 --> 00:02:13.280
Woodfox walked free on Friday

40
00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:15.260
after he entered
a plea of no contest

41
00:02:15.260 --> 00:02:16.700
to charges of manslaughter

42
00:02:16.700 --> 00:02:18.850
and aggravated burglary
of a prison guard

43
00:02:18.850 --> 00:02:20.890
more than four decades ago.

44
00:02:20.890 --> 00:02:22.830
Prior to Friday’s settlement,

45
00:02:22.830 --> 00:02:25.770
his conviction had been
overturned three times.

46
00:02:25.770 --> 00:02:29.590
Woodfox and the late,
fellow Angola 3 member Herman Wallace

47
00:02:29.590 --> 00:02:33.790
were accused in 1972
of stabbing prison guard Brent Miller.

48
00:02:33.790 --> 00:02:35.620
They always maintained their innocence,

49
00:02:35.620 --> 00:02:37.770
saying they were targeted
because of their attempts

50
00:02:37.770 --> 00:02:40.110
to address horrific prison conditions

51
00:02:40.110 --> 00:02:43.300
by organizing a chapter
of the Black Panther Party.

52
00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:46.760
Herman Wallace was freed in 2013,

53
00:02:46.760 --> 00:02:49.490
just days before he died from cancer.

54
00:02:49.490 --> 00:02:51.940
We’ll be joined by Albert Woodfox

55
00:02:57.130 --> 00:03:01.330
in his first broadcast interview
after headlines.

56
00:03:01.330 --> 00:03:04.880
In Syria, bomb attacks
around the Syrian capital Damascus

57
00:03:04.880 --> 00:03:08.110
and in the city of Homs
have killed at least 150 people

58
00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:10.280
and wounded scores of others,

59
00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:12.390
marking one of the deadliest days

60
00:03:12.390 --> 00:03:14.440
in the nearly five-year-old conflict.

61
00:03:14.440 --> 00:03:17.760
ISIL has claimed responsibility
for Sunday’s attacks,

62
00:03:17.760 --> 00:03:19.270
which included a car bombing

63
00:03:19.270 --> 00:03:21.390
and two consecutive suicide attacks

64
00:03:21.390 --> 00:03:25.040
near a Shiite shrine
outside Damascus and two bomb attacks

65
00:03:25.040 --> 00:03:26.290
in the city of Homs.

66
00:03:26.290 --> 00:03:30.130
The blasts came the same day Secretary
of State John Kerry

67
00:03:30.130 --> 00:03:32.060
announced a "provisional agreement"

68
00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:35.830
between the United States
and Russia on a ceasefire in Syria.

69
00:03:36.600 --> 00:03:39.540
U.S. airstrikes
on a suspected ISIL training camp

70
00:03:39.540 --> 00:03:42.720
in Libya have killed
two Serbian hostages.

71
00:03:42.720 --> 00:03:45.310
The hostages were
a communications officer

72
00:03:45.310 --> 00:03:47.000
and a driver on staff

73
00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:48.490
at the Serbian Embassy

74
00:03:48.490 --> 00:03:50.460
who were taken hostage in November.

75
00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:52.270
They were among about 50 people

76
00:03:52.270 --> 00:03:54.600
killed in Friday’s U.S. airstrikes.

77
00:03:54.600 --> 00:03:57.900
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic

78
00:03:57.900 --> 00:03:59.440
said Serbia had been

79
00:03:59.440 --> 00:04:01.980
close to securing the hostages’ release.

80
00:04:04.640 --> 00:04:07.130
Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic: "This
is the first major hostage crisis

81
00:04:07.130 --> 00:04:09.460
that the Republic of Serbia has faced.

82
00:04:09.460 --> 00:04:13.310
Our state security acted
very professionally, very seriously.

83
00:04:13.310 --> 00:04:16.740
If they had not been killed
in allied—meaning U.S.—bombing,

84
00:04:16.740 --> 00:04:18.160
our people would have been freed,

85
00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:20.410
as we have said so many times before."

86
00:04:20.410 --> 00:04:22.750
The Pacific island of Fiji has been hit

87
00:04:22.750 --> 00:04:26.800
by the most powerful storm ever recorded
in the Southern Hemisphere.

88
00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:29.550
Cyclone Winston killed
at least 17 people

89
00:04:29.550 --> 00:04:31.560
and flattened entire villages.

90
00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:33.760
Thousands were forced to evacuate.

91
00:04:33.760 --> 00:04:36.630
Aid groups have warned
of a looming health crisis

92
00:04:36.630 --> 00:04:38.200
after supplies of fresh water

93
00:04:38.200 --> 00:04:41.050
were blocked in some areas.

94
00:04:41.050 --> 00:04:43.220
Former Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton

95
00:04:43.220 --> 00:04:45.530
has beat Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders

96
00:04:45.530 --> 00:04:46.850
in the Nevada caucuses,

97
00:04:46.850 --> 00:04:50.960
winning 53 percent versus Sanders’
47 percent.

98
00:04:50.960 --> 00:04:53.810
Clinton celebrated her victory
Saturday night.

99
00:04:54.320 --> 00:04:57.110
Hillary Clinton: "We need more
than a plan for the big banks.

100
00:04:57.110 --> 00:04:59.030
The middle class needs a raise,

101
00:04:59.030 --> 00:05:03.040
and we need more jobs.

102
00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:06.460
We need jobs that pay well
and can’t be outsourced,

103
00:05:06.460 --> 00:05:09.360
jobs that provide dignity and a future."

104
00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:14.090
Exit polls show Sanders again
dominated among young people,

105
00:05:14.090 --> 00:05:17.030
with 82 percent of under-30 voters.

106
00:05:17.030 --> 00:05:20.800
Clinton won strong support
among African-American voters,

107
00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:24.870
a bad sign for Sanders heading
into this week’s Democratic primary

108
00:05:24.870 --> 00:05:26.340
in South Carolina.

109
00:05:26.340 --> 00:05:30.560
Despite beating Clinton
in the earlier New Hampshire primary,

110
00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:31.850
a tally of delegates

111
00:05:31.850 --> 00:05:35.150
so far shows Sanders
has just 70 delegates

112
00:05:35.150 --> 00:05:37.530
while Clinton has 502.

113
00:05:37.530 --> 00:05:40.770
That’s in part thanks
to unelected superdelegates,

114
00:05:40.770 --> 00:05:43.680
often lobbyists or elected officials

115
00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:45.660
who represent the party elite

116
00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:48.840
and aren’t beholden to what voters want.

117
00:05:48.840 --> 00:05:52.770
Sanders vowed to continue his campaign
for the nomination.

118
00:05:53.320 --> 00:05:57.490
Sen. Bernie Sanders: "We have come
a very long way in nine months.

119
00:05:57.490 --> 00:05:59.220
It is clear to me—and, I think,

120
00:05:59.220 --> 00:06:01.840
most observers—that the wind

121
00:06:01.840 --> 00:06:04.700
is at our backs.

122
00:06:04.700 --> 00:06:06.610
We have the momentum.

123
00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:14.380
And I believe—I believe
that when Democrats

124
00:06:14.380 --> 00:06:18.140
assemble in Philadelphia in July

125
00:06:18.140 --> 00:06:19.310
at that convention,

126
00:06:19.810 --> 00:06:22.380
we are going to see the results

127
00:06:22.380 --> 00:06:24.830
of one of the great political upsets

128
00:06:24.830 --> 00:06:26.650
in the history of the United States."

129
00:06:27.170 --> 00:06:30.380
In South Carolina,
Republican candidate Donald Trump

130
00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:35.030
sealed his place as front-runner,

131
00:06:35.030 --> 00:06:38.760
winning the primary
with 32.5 percent of the vote.

132
00:06:38.760 --> 00:06:40.720
Florida Senator Marco Rubio

133
00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:44.530
closely beat Texas Senator Ted Cruz
for second place.

134
00:06:44.530 --> 00:06:47.770
Trump’s victory came
a day after he cited a story

135
00:06:47.770 --> 00:06:51.570
about a U.S. general
who supposedly executed Muslim prisoners

136
00:06:51.570 --> 00:06:52.780
a century ago

137
00:06:52.780 --> 00:06:55.580
using bullets dipped in pigs’ blood.

138
00:06:55.580 --> 00:06:57.710
There’s no evidence
the story Trump told

139
00:06:57.710 --> 00:06:59.780
about General John Pershing’s actions

140
00:06:59.780 --> 00:07:01.730
in the Philippines is actually true.

141
00:07:02.230 --> 00:07:04.350
Donald Trump: "And he took
the 50 terrorists,

142
00:07:04.350 --> 00:07:05.560
and he took 50 men,

143
00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:08.960
and he dipped 50 bullets in pig’s blood.

144
00:07:10.470 --> 00:07:14.350
You heard that, right?
He fit—he took 50 bullets,

145
00:07:15.430 --> 00:07:17.860
and he dipped them in pig’s blood.

146
00:07:19.100 --> 00:07:22.040
And he had his men load his rifles,

147
00:07:22.990 --> 00:07:25.810
and he lined up the 50 people,

148
00:07:25.810 --> 00:07:28.600
and they shot 49 of those people.

149
00:07:29.170 --> 00:07:31.120
And the 50th person,

150
00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:33.830
he said, 'You go back to your people,

151
00:07:34.580 --> 00:07:36.480
and you tell them what happened.'"

152
00:07:37.030 --> 00:07:40.520
Following a decisive loss
in the South Carolina primary,

153
00:07:40.520 --> 00:07:44.240
former Florida Republican Governor
Jeb Bush ended his bid

154
00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:47.850
for the 2016 Republican
presidential nomination.

155
00:07:48.930 --> 00:07:52.070
Jeb Bush: "I’m proud of the campaign
that we’ve run to unify our country

156
00:07:52.620 --> 00:07:55.130
and to advocate conservative solutions

157
00:07:55.130 --> 00:07:56.640
that would give more Americans

158
00:07:56.640 --> 00:08:00.130
the opportunity to rise up
and reach their God-given potential.

159
00:08:01.110 --> 00:08:02.900
But the people
of Iowa and New Hampshire

160
00:08:02.900 --> 00:08:04.680
and South Carolina have spoken,

161
00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:06.660
and I really respect their decision.

162
00:08:06.660 --> 00:08:09.000
So tonight I am suspending my campaign."

163
00:08:12.410 --> 00:08:15.830
In Kalamazoo, Michigan, officials
say six people were killed

164
00:08:15.830 --> 00:08:17.990
and two injured
when an Uber driver

165
00:08:17.990 --> 00:08:21.000
went on a four-hour-long
shooting rampage,

166
00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:24.860
opening fire on people
seemingly at random.

167
00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:27.780
Jason Brian Dalton allegedly shot people

168
00:08:27.780 --> 00:08:30.030
at three different locations:

169
00:08:30.030 --> 00:08:32.170
a woman outside an apartment complex,

170
00:08:32.170 --> 00:08:35.580
a father and a son looking at cars
at an auto dealership,

171
00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:39.040
and a group of women parked
at a Cracker Barrel restaurant.

172
00:08:39.670 --> 00:08:41.670
In Bolivia,
President Evo Morales

173
00:08:41.670 --> 00:08:43.370
appears to have narrowly lost

174
00:08:43.370 --> 00:08:45.900
a referendum allowing him
a fourth term in office.

175
00:08:45.900 --> 00:08:48.740
Morales’ current term ends in 2020;

176
00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:51.700
the referendum would have
amended the constitution

177
00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:54.870
to allow him to remain until 2025.

178
00:08:54.870 --> 00:08:57.530
In 2006, Morales took office

179
00:08:57.530 --> 00:09:00.000
as Bolivia’s first indigenous president.

180
00:09:00.770 --> 00:09:03.200
In Brussels,
Greenpeace activists

181
00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:05.440
have blocked the entrance
of a building

182
00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:07.780
to stop negotiators
from the United States

183
00:09:07.780 --> 00:09:09.020
and European Union

184
00:09:09.020 --> 00:09:10.880
from meeting behind closed doors

185
00:09:10.880 --> 00:09:13.210
to negotiate a massive trade deal.

186
00:09:13.210 --> 00:09:17.290
Opponents say the Transatlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership

187
00:09:17.290 --> 00:09:19.620
would expand corporate power

188
00:09:19.620 --> 00:09:22.100
at the expense of public health
and the environment.

189
00:09:22.100 --> 00:09:25.580
Saskia Richartz, deputy director
of Greenpeace Europe,

190
00:09:25.580 --> 00:09:27.060
announced the protest.

191
00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:30.690
Saskia Richartz: "Greenpeace has blocked
U.S. and EU negotiators

192
00:09:30.690 --> 00:09:33.180
from discussing a trade deal

193
00:09:33.180 --> 00:09:35.650
that threatens democracy,
our environment,

194
00:09:35.650 --> 00:09:37.880
social standards and working conditions.

195
00:09:37.880 --> 00:09:40.630
In fact, this trade deal
is not at all about trade.

196
00:09:40.630 --> 00:09:44.730
It’s about transferring powers
from the people to big business.

197
00:09:44.730 --> 00:09:48.120
What they call barriers to trade
are in fact the safeguards

198
00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:51.660
that protect our air and food
from being poisoned."

199
00:09:51.660 --> 00:09:54.730
In New York City, nearly 100 people
gathered in Harlem

200
00:09:54.730 --> 00:09:56.370
to mark the 51st anniversary

201
00:09:56.370 --> 00:09:58.370
of Malcolm X’s assassination

202
00:09:58.370 --> 00:10:01.650
and to demand justice
for residents of Flint, Michigan,

203
00:10:01.650 --> 00:10:04.510
over the lead poisoning
of the city’s drinking water.

204
00:10:04.510 --> 00:10:07.100
Peggy Shepard
with the Harlem-based group WE ACT

205
00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:08.340
spoke about the connections

206
00:10:08.340 --> 00:10:10.460
between the water crisis in Flint,

207
00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:13.350
which is a predominantly
African-American city,

208
00:10:13.350 --> 00:10:16.270
and high levels of pollution
in other African-American communities

209
00:10:16.270 --> 00:10:17.790
such as Harlem.

210
00:10:17.790 --> 00:10:22.050
Peggy Shepard: "We are here
to stand in solidarity with Flint,

211
00:10:22.050 --> 00:10:26.220
because this is a gross example
of environmental racism.

212
00:10:26.220 --> 00:10:28.090
We started here in Harlem

213
00:10:28.090 --> 00:10:31.020
because of the inordinate amount

214
00:10:31.020 --> 00:10:35.060
of pollution in this community
that’s been making people sick.

215
00:10:35.060 --> 00:10:38.490
And we work within the national
environmental justice movement

216
00:10:38.490 --> 00:10:39.850
to right these wrongs,

217
00:10:39.850 --> 00:10:42.410
because millions
of people in this country,

218
00:10:42.410 --> 00:10:44.170
predominantly people of color,

219
00:10:44.170 --> 00:10:46.070
do not have clean water,

220
00:10:46.070 --> 00:10:48.110
clean air and safe schools."

221
00:11:09.090 --> 00:11:12.080
In Texas, a health official
has been forced to retire

222
00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:15.780
after co-authoring a peer-reviewed study
on the negative effects

223
00:11:15.780 --> 00:11:19.850
of anti-choice state policies
on reproductive health.

224
00:11:19.850 --> 00:11:22.350
Rick Allgeyer,
director of research

225
00:11:22.350 --> 00:11:24.250
at the Texas Health
and Human Services Commission,

226
00:11:24.250 --> 00:11:26.550
co-authored a study
that documented a drop

227
00:11:26.550 --> 00:11:28.080
in birth control access

228
00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:30.290
after Texas banned Planned Parenthood

229
00:11:30.290 --> 00:11:32.950
from a state family planning program.

230
00:11:32.950 --> 00:11:34.680
Allgeyer stepped down

231
00:11:34.680 --> 00:11:38.020
after a Republican lawmaker
complained about the study.

232
00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:40.710
A judge has ordered pop star Kesha

233
00:11:40.710 --> 00:11:42.720
to remain in a contract

234
00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:46.140
that forces her to work
with the producer she says drugged

235
00:11:46.140 --> 00:11:48.230
and raped her when she was 18.

236
00:11:48.230 --> 00:11:50.440
Kesha was shown sobbing in court

237
00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:52.900
after a judge upheld the contract.

238
00:11:52.900 --> 00:11:56.910
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice
Shirley Kornreich said,

239
00:11:56.910 --> 00:12:00.180
"My instinct is to do
the commercially reasonable thing."

240
00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:06.210
The contract requires Kesha to record
six more albums with Sony,

241
00:12:06.210 --> 00:12:10.420
despite accusations of abuse
against producer Luke Gottwald.

242
00:12:10.940 --> 00:12:13.290
Harper Lee,
the Pulitzer Prize-winning author

243
00:12:13.290 --> 00:12:15.230
of the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird"

244
00:12:15.230 --> 00:12:17.220
about racial injustice in the South,

245
00:12:17.220 --> 00:12:19.320
has died
at the age of 89.

246
00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:21.280
Lee, who avoided the public spotlight,

247
00:12:21.280 --> 00:12:23.400
was the center
of media attention last year

248
00:12:23.400 --> 00:12:26.110
when her publisher announced
the release of "Go

249
00:12:26.110 --> 00:12:28.330
Set a Watchman," an early version

250
00:12:28.330 --> 00:12:29.530
of "To Kill a Mockingbird,"

251
00:12:29.530 --> 00:12:32.510
which Lee’s attorney said
she stumbled upon decades

252
00:12:32.510 --> 00:12:34.120
after it was written.

253
00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:35.700
Lee died in her sleep

254
00:12:35.700 --> 00:12:38.440
in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama,

255
00:12:38.440 --> 00:12:40.140
which the town of Maycomb

256
00:12:40.140 --> 00:12:42.560
in "To Kill a Mockingbird"
was modeled after.

257
00:12:42.560 --> 00:12:44.810
She was buried in a private ceremony.

258
00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:48.400
And the Italian scholar
and author Umberto Eco,

259
00:12:48.400 --> 00:12:51.300
best known
for his best-selling 1980 novel

260
00:12:51.300 --> 00:12:54.900
"The Name of the Rose,"
has died at his home in Milan.

261
00:12:54.900 --> 00:12:56.210
He was 84.

262
00:12:57.460 --> 00:12:58.800
And those are some of the headlines

263
00:12:58.800 --> 00:13:01.610
this is Democracy Now, Democracynow.org,

264
00:13:01.610 --> 00:13:03.260
the War and Peace Report.

265
00:13:03.260 --> 00:13:04.880
I’m Amy Goodman.

266
00:13:04.880 --> 00:13:07.510
AMY GOODMAN: Today, a Democracy
Now! exclusive.

267
00:13:07.510 --> 00:13:10.450
Joining me in hosting today’s broadcast

268
00:13:10.450 --> 00:13:14.360
is Democracy Now!’s criminal justice
correspondent, Renée Feltz.

269
00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:16.760
RENÉE FELTZ: Thanks so much, Amy.
It’s great to be here.

270
00:13:16.760 --> 00:13:19.230
And welcome to all of our listeners
and viewers around the country

271
00:13:19.230 --> 00:13:20.680
and around the world.

272
00:13:20.680 --> 00:13:24.390
After more than 43 years
in solitary confinement,

273
00:13:24.390 --> 00:13:26.680
Albert Woodfox is a free man.

274
00:13:26.680 --> 00:13:29.650
Woodfox has spent more time
in solitary confinement

275
00:13:29.650 --> 00:13:31.800
than anyone in the United States.

276
00:13:31.800 --> 00:13:35.200
He was released from prison
in Louisiana on Friday

277
00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:36.770
after four decades.

278
00:13:36.770 --> 00:13:40.410
The former Black Panther
was kept in a six-by-nine cell

279
00:13:40.410 --> 00:13:43.000
for 23 hours each day.

280
00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:47.070
Albert Woodfox was released Friday
after he entered a—a plea, I’m sorry—

281
00:13:47.070 --> 00:13:48.990
a plea
of no contest

282
00:13:48.990 --> 00:13:50.540
to charges of manslaughter

283
00:13:50.540 --> 00:13:53.330
and aggravated burglary
for a prison guard

284
00:13:53.330 --> 00:13:55.660
who was murdered
more than four decades ago.

285
00:13:55.660 --> 00:13:57.730
Prior to Friday’s settlement,
his conviction

286
00:13:57.730 --> 00:14:00.530
had been overturned three times.

287
00:14:00.530 --> 00:14:03.420
On Friday, Woodfox
left Feliciana Parish jail,

288
00:14:03.420 --> 00:14:05.280
where he been held pending his trial,

289
00:14:05.280 --> 00:14:07.350
and headed to his mother’s gravesite.

290
00:14:08.260 --> 00:14:09.950
ALBERT WOODFOX: I need to go say goodbye

291
00:14:09.950 --> 00:14:13.170
to my mother—I wasn’t allowed
to go to her funeral

292
00:14:13.170 --> 00:14:15.510
when I was in Angola—
and my sister,

293
00:14:15.510 --> 00:14:16.760
as well.

294
00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:21.530
RENÉE FELTZ: Albert Woodfox was serving
a five-year sentence for armed robbery

295
00:14:21.530 --> 00:14:24.750
at the Louisiana State
Penitentiary in Angola

296
00:14:24.750 --> 00:14:26.900
when he and fellow prisoner
Herman Wallace

297
00:14:26.900 --> 00:14:31.230
were accused in 1972
of stabbing prison guard Brent Miller.

298
00:14:31.230 --> 00:14:34.270
The two men have always
maintained their innocence,

299
00:14:34.270 --> 00:14:35.720
saying they were targeted

300
00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:37.360
because they had organized a chapter

301
00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:38.890
of the Black Panther Party

302
00:14:38.890 --> 00:14:41.930
to address horrific conditions
in Angola prison,

303
00:14:41.930 --> 00:14:44.590
a former cotton plantation.

304
00:14:44.590 --> 00:14:47.140
Woodfox, Wallace
and a third man, Robert King,

305
00:14:47.140 --> 00:14:49.970
became collectively known
as the Angola 3.

306
00:14:49.970 --> 00:14:52.540
For decades, Amnesty International
and other groups

307
00:14:52.540 --> 00:14:54.700
campaigned to free the three men.

308
00:14:54.700 --> 00:14:58.540
Woodfox was the last remaining member
of the group to be locked up.

309
00:14:58.540 --> 00:15:01.850
Robert King was freed in 2001
when his conviction,

310
00:15:01.850 --> 00:15:04.740
that he had killed
a fellow inmate, was overturned.

311
00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:07.570
Herman Wallace was freed in 2013,

312
00:15:07.570 --> 00:15:10.360
just days before he died from cancer.

313
00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:11.810
But the state of Louisiana

314
00:15:11.810 --> 00:15:14.540
refused to release Woodfox until now.

315
00:15:14.540 --> 00:15:18.770
AMY GOODMAN: After Albert Woodfox’s
first conviction was overturned,

316
00:15:18.770 --> 00:15:24.430
Louisiana successfully tried him
a second time in 1998.

317
00:15:24.430 --> 00:15:26.780
Then, in 2014, a federal judge

318
00:15:26.780 --> 00:15:29.190
ruled he should be set
free on the basis

319
00:15:29.190 --> 00:15:32.250
of racial discrimination in his retrial.

320
00:15:32.250 --> 00:15:36.510
When then-Louisiana Attorney
General Buddy Caldwell

321
00:15:36.510 --> 00:15:39.580
announced plans
to try Woodfox yet again,

322
00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:44.380
U.S. Middle District Court Judge
James Brady ordered his release based

323
00:15:44.380 --> 00:15:46.710
on five factors:
quote, "Mr.

324
00:15:46.710 --> 00:15:49.920
Woodfox’s age and poor health,
his limited ability

325
00:15:49.920 --> 00:15:51.690
to present a defense
at a third trial

326
00:15:51.690 --> 00:15:55.120
in light of the unavailability
of witnesses, this Court’s lack

327
00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:56.490
of confidence in the State

328
00:15:56.490 --> 00:15:58.970
to provide a fair third trial,

329
00:15:58.970 --> 00:16:01.440
the prejudice done onto Mr. Woodfox

330
00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.800
by spending over forty years
in solitary confinement,

331
00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:07.000
and finally the very fact
that Mr. Woodfox

332
00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:09.020
has already been tried twice

333
00:16:09.020 --> 00:16:11.770
and would otherwise face
his third trial for a crime

334
00:16:11.770 --> 00:16:14.880
that occurred over
forty years ago," unquote.

335
00:16:14.880 --> 00:16:19.320
But the U.S. Fifth Circuit then
approved Woodfox’s continued detention.

336
00:16:19.900 --> 00:16:22.330
Albert Woodfox was released on Friday

337
00:16:22.330 --> 00:16:25.000
after he entered a plea of no contest

338
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.470
to charges of manslaughter
and aggravated burglary.

339
00:16:28.470 --> 00:16:31.270
Well, joining us now
in a broadcast exclusive

340
00:16:31.270 --> 00:16:35.090
from New Orleans PBS station WLAE

341
00:16:35.090 --> 00:16:37.360
is Albert Woodfox himself,

342
00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:39.710
giving his first televised interview

343
00:16:39.710 --> 00:16:42.240
since his release on Friday.

344
00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:45.470
Also joining us there is Robert King,

345
00:16:45.470 --> 00:16:47.530
the other surviving member

346
00:16:47.530 --> 00:16:49.340
of the Angola 3.

347
00:16:49.340 --> 00:16:52.920
And Albert Woodfox’s attorney,
Billy Sothern,

348
00:16:52.920 --> 00:16:55.460
also joins us from New Orleans.

349
00:16:55.460 --> 00:16:57.990
We welcome you all to Democracy Now!

350
00:16:57.990 --> 00:16:59.380
Albert Woodfox,

351
00:16:59.380 --> 00:17:01.580
how does it feel to be free?

352
00:17:04.620 --> 00:17:06.460
ALBERT WOODFOX: I haven’t quite
figured it out yet,

353
00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:08.030
but it feels great.

354
00:17:09.630 --> 00:17:14.030
AMY GOODMAN: Well, can you talk about
what happened on Friday

355
00:17:14.030 --> 00:17:17.640
as you left the parish jail
in New Orleans?

356
00:17:17.640 --> 00:17:21.430
This was after 45 years in prison,

357
00:17:21.430 --> 00:17:25.050
43 years in solitary confinement.

358
00:17:25.050 --> 00:17:27.650
You’re the longest-standing prisoner

359
00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:31.060
in solitary confinement
in the United States.

360
00:17:36.170 --> 00:17:38.560
ALBERT WOODFOX: I guess, you know,

361
00:17:39.390 --> 00:17:42.000
for a moment there,
everything seemed surreal.

362
00:17:42.900 --> 00:17:45.860
And we had to sit around,

363
00:17:45.860 --> 00:17:47.100
about an hour and some,

364
00:17:47.100 --> 00:17:48.630
waiting on the final documents

365
00:17:48.630 --> 00:17:50.320
to be faxed

366
00:17:50.320 --> 00:17:53.470
to the West Feliciana detention center.

367
00:17:54.450 --> 00:17:57.010
And when that finally happened and,

368
00:17:58.190 --> 00:18:00.070
you know, my brother

369
00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:04.110
and my attorneys,
they walked out with me,

370
00:18:04.110 --> 00:18:06.860
and family and friends

371
00:18:06.860 --> 00:18:11.550
began to express joy and excitement.

372
00:18:11.550 --> 00:18:15.300
And we got in my brother’s car,

373
00:18:15.300 --> 00:18:16.540
and we slowly drove.

374
00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:20.590
And we answered a few questions,

375
00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:26.150
and then we proceeded to go
say goodbye to my mother.

376
00:18:27.630 --> 00:18:29.480
AMY GOODMAN: You visited
your mother’s grave?

377
00:18:30.590 --> 00:18:31.840
ALBERT WOODFOX: Yes, I did.

378
00:18:32.340 --> 00:18:33.870
Well, we weren’t able to see her

379
00:18:35.080 --> 00:18:38.780
because of the time involved.

380
00:18:38.780 --> 00:18:40.410
When me and my brother got there,

381
00:18:40.410 --> 00:18:43.430
the cemetery was closed.

382
00:18:43.430 --> 00:18:46.950
So we went to another cemetery
where I could say goodbye

383
00:18:46.950 --> 00:18:50.140
to my sister and my brother-in-law,

384
00:18:50.930 --> 00:18:54.100
who passed away while,

385
00:18:54.100 --> 00:18:55.660
you know, I was still in Angola.

386
00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:00.330
RENÉE FELTZ: Albert, it’s so great
to have you join us.

387
00:19:00.330 --> 00:19:03.050
Can you explain the significance

388
00:19:03.050 --> 00:19:05.750
of going to visit
your mother’s gravesite

389
00:19:05.750 --> 00:19:09.050
and why that was the first place
that you wanted to go?

390
00:19:11.100 --> 00:19:12.880
ALBERT WOODFOX: Well,
when my mom passed away,

391
00:19:14.290 --> 00:19:18.850
I had made a request
to go to her funeral

392
00:19:18.850 --> 00:19:21.790
and say my final goodbye.

393
00:19:24.360 --> 00:19:28.950
Warden Burl Cain denied that request.

394
00:19:28.950 --> 00:19:31.270
And the same thing
happened with my sister

395
00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:33.200
when she passed away.

396
00:19:34.180 --> 00:19:36.850
My family and friends
had made arrangements

397
00:19:37.430 --> 00:19:40.870
to allow me to go
and say goodbye.

398
00:19:40.870 --> 00:19:43.340
Again, Warden Burl Cain denied that.

399
00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:46.690
So, for some years now,

400
00:19:47.320 --> 00:19:49.470
there has always been this emptiness

401
00:19:50.020 --> 00:19:53.350
when it came to my mom
and my sister,

402
00:19:53.350 --> 00:19:56.230
because I never had a chance
to say a final goodbye.

403
00:19:57.370 --> 00:19:59.460
And so, that’s why it was important

404
00:20:01.380 --> 00:20:04.560
that one of my first acts
of being free

405
00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:08.340
was to relieve that burden
off of my soul.

406
00:20:11.970 --> 00:20:16.160
AMY GOODMAN: Albert,
you were in solitary confinement

407
00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:18.140
for more than four decades

408
00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:19.360
at Angola,

409
00:20:19.360 --> 00:20:22.300
this what’s known
as a plantation prison,

410
00:20:22.300 --> 00:20:24.880
known for the country in Africa

411
00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:26.580
where enslaved men

412
00:20:26.580 --> 00:20:30.770
and women were brought
from and serving at that plantation,

413
00:20:30.770 --> 00:20:32.460
enslaved at that plantation.

414
00:20:32.460 --> 00:20:34.640
Then it became a prison,
where thousands

415
00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:37.040
of mainly African-American prisoners
are held.

416
00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:41.720
Describe your cell, where you lived.

417
00:20:43.300 --> 00:20:46.090
ALBERT WOODFOX: Well,
I lived in a concrete cell

418
00:20:46.090 --> 00:20:48.630
with bars in the front of it.

419
00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:51.070
As you enter the cell,

420
00:20:51.070 --> 00:20:55.030
there is a metal bunk
attached to the wall,

421
00:20:55.660 --> 00:20:59.800
and there is also
a combination sink

422
00:20:59.800 --> 00:21:04.700
and toilet bowl against the back wall.

423
00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:12.930
AMY GOODMAN: And how did you
keep your sanity?

424
00:21:13.430 --> 00:21:17.490
Explain how many hours a day
you were kept in this cell.

425
00:21:18.510 --> 00:21:19.970
Were you ever allowed out?

426
00:21:21.540 --> 00:21:23.190
ALBERT WOODFOX: Well,
we got one hour a day.

427
00:21:26.430 --> 00:21:29.890
You know, when we were first put in CCR

428
00:21:29.890 --> 00:21:34.270
in ’72, myself,

429
00:21:34.270 --> 00:21:36.340
Herman Wallace and Robert King,

430
00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:39.250
we knew that if we had any chance

431
00:21:39.250 --> 00:21:42.140
of maintaining our sanity

432
00:21:42.140 --> 00:21:43.390
and,

433
00:21:45.490 --> 00:21:47.430
you know, not allowing the prison system

434
00:21:47.430 --> 00:21:48.880
to break us,

435
00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:55.400
that we had to keep
our focus on society

436
00:21:55.400 --> 00:21:58.790
and not become institutionalized

437
00:21:58.790 --> 00:22:01.530
where we were only concerned
with the things

438
00:22:01.530 --> 00:22:03.150
that were going on in the prison.

439
00:22:07.650 --> 00:22:09.120
AMY GOODMAN: When you say "we,"

440
00:22:09.120 --> 00:22:10.860
when you were allowed to go out,

441
00:22:10.860 --> 00:22:13.380
did you go out alone
or with other people

442
00:22:13.380 --> 00:22:14.580
for the hour a day?

443
00:22:14.580 --> 00:22:16.230
ALBERT WOODFOX: Yeah.

444
00:22:16.230 --> 00:22:18.870
Well, when we first
were put in CCR,

445
00:22:18.870 --> 00:22:20.170
they used to let everybody

446
00:22:21.100 --> 00:22:24.200
out who wanted
to shower on the tier,

447
00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:26.290
to take the hour together.

448
00:22:27.290 --> 00:22:30.380
But as time passed

449
00:22:30.380 --> 00:22:34.200
and some of the inmates

450
00:22:34.950 --> 00:22:37.700
started to protest
some of the things

451
00:22:37.700 --> 00:22:40.630
that were going on, then,

452
00:22:40.630 --> 00:22:45.100
in order to dilute unity,

453
00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:48.520
they started letting
us come out one at a time.

454
00:22:51.670 --> 00:22:53.640
AMY GOODMAN: Were you able
to read in your cell?

455
00:22:55.310 --> 00:22:59.170
ALBERT WOODFOX: Yes.
It was one of the tools

456
00:22:59.170 --> 00:23:02.820
we used to remain focused

457
00:23:03.800 --> 00:23:06.610
and to stay connected
to the outside world.

458
00:23:07.300 --> 00:23:08.550
AMY GOODMAN: What did you read?

459
00:23:10.970 --> 00:23:14.140
ALBERT WOODFOX: History books, books
on Malcolm X,

460
00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:16.890
Dr. Martin Luther King,

461
00:23:18.870 --> 00:23:21.580
Frantz Fanon, James Baldwin—you know,

462
00:23:21.580 --> 00:23:23.070
just any kind

463
00:23:23.070 --> 00:23:24.390
of literature

464
00:23:24.390 --> 00:23:26.340
that I could basically get a hold of.

465
00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:31.650
AMY GOODMAN: And how often
were you allowed to see visitors?

466
00:23:34.950 --> 00:23:37.090
ALBERT WOODFOX: At that time,
the visiting system,

467
00:23:37.090 --> 00:23:39.880
you were allowed 10 people

468
00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:41.560
on your approved visiting list,

469
00:23:41.560 --> 00:23:44.650
and each person could visit
twice a month.

470
00:23:46.810 --> 00:23:50.270
But, you know,
because of the long distance

471
00:23:50.270 --> 00:23:52.330
and the economic situation,

472
00:23:53.930 --> 00:23:56.770
my family was not able
to come as much

473
00:23:56.770 --> 00:23:58.040
as they would have liked to.

474
00:23:58.840 --> 00:24:01.260
So, they tried to come
at least once a month.

475
00:24:02.020 --> 00:24:04.680
AMY GOODMAN: You were imprisoned—you
were sentenced to five years,

476
00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:06.010
when you first went to prison.

477
00:24:06.510 --> 00:24:08.220
But then, when we come back from break,

478
00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:11.590
I want to talk about
what ultimately you were charged with,

479
00:24:11.590 --> 00:24:13.840
after you and a guest

480
00:24:13.840 --> 00:24:17.360
who we’ll be joined
by next, Robert King,

481
00:24:17.360 --> 00:24:19.610
as well as the late Herman Wallace

482
00:24:19.610 --> 00:24:22.460
formed a chapter
of the Black Panther Party

483
00:24:22.460 --> 00:24:24.410
in the Angola prison.

484
00:24:24.410 --> 00:24:26.740
We’re talking to Albert Woodfox.

485
00:24:26.740 --> 00:24:30.980
He is the person longest held

486
00:24:30.980 --> 00:24:34.190
in solitary confinement
in the United States.

487
00:24:34.190 --> 00:24:36.250
He was released on Friday

488
00:24:36.250 --> 00:24:38.180
after 45 years in prison,

489
00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:40.630
after 43 years in solitary.

490
00:24:40.630 --> 00:24:41.560
Stay with us.

491
00:24:41.560 --> 00:26:14.270
[break]

492
00:26:14.270 --> 00:26:18.240
AMY GOODMAN: "Yellow Ribbon,"
a song sung by Swedish artist Meja

493
00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:21.020
to support
Amnesty International’s campaign

494
00:26:21.020 --> 00:26:23.390
to free Albert Woodfox,

495
00:26:23.390 --> 00:26:26.180
who was just freed on Friday.

496
00:26:26.180 --> 00:26:28.990
This is Democracy Now!,
democracynow.org,

497
00:26:28.990 --> 00:26:30.350
The War and Peace Report.

498
00:26:30.350 --> 00:26:33.250
I’m Amy Goodman,
with Democracy Now!’s Renée Feltz,

499
00:26:33.250 --> 00:26:34.970
in this Democracy Now!

500
00:26:34.970 --> 00:26:37.000
exclusive hour,

501
00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:41.370
Albert Woodfox speaking out
in a television/radio broadcast

502
00:26:41.370 --> 00:26:43.390
for the first time
since his release

503
00:26:43.390 --> 00:26:46.890
from a parish jail in New Orleans

504
00:26:46.890 --> 00:26:49.730
on Friday, met
by his brother.

505
00:26:50.260 --> 00:26:53.260
The longest-standing
solitary confinement prisoner

506
00:26:53.260 --> 00:26:59.160
in the United States, Albert was—served
for 43 years in solitary.

507
00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:01.750
We are also joined by Robert King.

508
00:27:01.750 --> 00:27:04.040
Robert King is another member

509
00:27:04.040 --> 00:27:07.120
of what became known
as the Angola 3—

510
00:27:07.120 --> 00:27:08.460
Albert
Woodfox,

511
00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:11.720
Robert King and Herman Wallace.

512
00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:16.180
Robert King spent 29 years
in solitary confinement

513
00:27:16.180 --> 00:27:18.830
for a murder he did not commit.

514
00:27:18.830 --> 00:27:20.690
Billy Sothern is also with us,

515
00:27:20.690 --> 00:27:24.710
one of the trial attorneys
representing Albert Woodfox.

516
00:27:25.300 --> 00:27:27.780
Robert King,
you have traveled

517
00:27:27.780 --> 00:27:29.510
the country, the world,

518
00:27:29.510 --> 00:27:32.020
trying to have
the other members

519
00:27:32.020 --> 00:27:34.210
of the Angola 3—Herman Wallace,

520
00:27:34.210 --> 00:27:36.170
who died in 2013

521
00:27:36.700 --> 00:27:40.850
a few days after
he was released from Angola,

522
00:27:40.850 --> 00:27:42.090
died of cancer,

523
00:27:42.090 --> 00:27:45.600
and Albert Woodfox—freed,
telling their stories.

524
00:27:46.120 --> 00:27:50.240
Can you talk about what it means
for you to have Albert free?

525
00:27:52.490 --> 00:27:53.860
ROBERT KING: Yes. Thank you, Amy.

526
00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:56.800
Of course I can tell you.

527
00:27:56.800 --> 00:27:59.200
For us—for me, personally,

528
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:01.090
I think it was joyous.

529
00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:05.820
The jubilation in which—you know,

530
00:28:07.260 --> 00:28:09.760
that Albert may not have felt,

531
00:28:09.760 --> 00:28:11.030
the crowd felt it.

532
00:28:11.030 --> 00:28:13.840
We were overjoyed.
Not that he wasn’t.

533
00:28:13.840 --> 00:28:15.830
The clouds that perhaps,

534
00:28:15.830 --> 00:28:18.750
you know—the clouds

535
00:28:18.750 --> 00:28:21.840
that were over him probably
prevented the jubilation

536
00:28:21.840 --> 00:28:25.230
from being present,

537
00:28:25.230 --> 00:28:28.340
but it was there,
and the crowd showed it.

538
00:28:29.580 --> 00:28:31.940
So it was a good thing
for the crowd.

539
00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:33.430
It was a good thing for me personally.

540
00:28:33.430 --> 00:28:37.840
I think it was—it was
a victory for justice

541
00:28:37.840 --> 00:28:39.850
finally being rendered,

542
00:28:40.660 --> 00:28:42.300
if you want to call it justice.

543
00:28:42.300 --> 00:28:44.670
Justice delayed, of course,
they say, is justice denied.

544
00:28:44.670 --> 00:28:46.560
But nevertheless, it happened.

545
00:28:46.560 --> 00:28:47.810
And so, I was overjoyed

546
00:28:47.810 --> 00:28:50.530
that it had, quote, "finally" happened,

547
00:28:50.530 --> 00:28:52.780
because we had been here so many times

548
00:28:53.370 --> 00:28:57.110
and disappointed and let down so.

549
00:28:57.110 --> 00:29:00.260
But it was a joyous occasion,

550
00:29:00.260 --> 00:29:01.940
and Albert is here now,

551
00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:04.930
and he’s acclimating himself

552
00:29:04.930 --> 00:29:08.520
to his environment,
his new environment.

553
00:29:11.030 --> 00:29:13.170
RENÉE FELTZ: Thank you, King.
Now, I want to go back

554
00:29:13.170 --> 00:29:17.260
to 1972 and this original charge

555
00:29:17.980 --> 00:29:20.930
that Herman Wallace
and Albert Woodfox faced,

556
00:29:20.930 --> 00:29:23.830
that they murdered
a prison guard, Brent Miller.

557
00:29:23.830 --> 00:29:27.850
A key witness in the case
against them was a man named

558
00:29:27.850 --> 00:29:29.180
Hezekiah Brown,

559
00:29:29.180 --> 00:29:32.470
who said he witnessed
the murder of Brent Miller.

560
00:29:32.470 --> 00:29:35.890
But his credibility was later
called into question.

561
00:29:35.890 --> 00:29:37.780
I want to go to a clip
from the documentary,

562
00:29:37.780 --> 00:29:39.330
In the Land of the Free,

563
00:29:39.330 --> 00:29:42.320
where we hear from a lawyer
who represented the Angola 3

564
00:29:42.320 --> 00:29:46.350
and who describes Hezekiah Brown.

565
00:29:46.350 --> 00:29:49.170
Now, after this, you’re going to hear
from the narrator of the film,

566
00:29:49.170 --> 00:29:51.390
Samuel L. Jackson, the actor.

567
00:29:51.390 --> 00:29:53.400
This first, though, is Nick Trenticosta.

568
00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:58.170
NICK TRENTICOSTA: Hezekiah first
told the investigators at the prison

569
00:29:58.170 --> 00:29:59.650
that he was nowhere around,

570
00:29:59.650 --> 00:30:01.690
he didn’t know anything
about the murder.

571
00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:09.490
A few days later,
he’s dragged from his bed

572
00:30:09.490 --> 00:30:13.050
at midnight, put
under the bright lights of interrogation

573
00:30:13.050 --> 00:30:17.350
and told, "If you help
us crack the case,

574
00:30:17.350 --> 00:30:19.910
we will get you your freedom."

575
00:30:20.830 --> 00:30:25.060
At that point, he said
it was Wallace and Woodfox.

576
00:30:27.450 --> 00:30:29.770
SAMUEL L. JACKSON: And local author
Anne Butler’s research recordings

577
00:30:29.770 --> 00:30:33.570
provided evidence of just how
pliable Hezekiah Brown could be.

578
00:30:35.280 --> 00:30:38.610
ANNE BUTLER: Well, at the trial,
they called Hezekiah Brown, you know,

579
00:30:38.610 --> 00:30:42.090
and he said that he saw Woodfox
and three other black men.

580
00:30:42.930 --> 00:30:47.050
HILTON BUTLER: Hezekiah was one
you could put words in his mouth.

581
00:30:47.050 --> 00:30:49.210
RENÉE FELTZ: That last voice
was Hilton Butler,

582
00:30:49.210 --> 00:30:51.320
a former warden
at Angola prison,

583
00:30:51.320 --> 00:30:53.510
talking about Hezekiah Brown,

584
00:30:53.510 --> 00:30:55.010
a key witness
in the state’s case

585
00:30:55.010 --> 00:30:57.910
against Albert Woodfox
and Herman Wallace.

586
00:30:58.410 --> 00:31:03.630
Albert Woodfox, can you talk
about the allegations against you

587
00:31:03.630 --> 00:31:06.520
and who is and who was Hezekiah Brown?

588
00:31:09.370 --> 00:31:10.700
ALBERT WOODFOX: Yes.

589
00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:13.850
You know, at the time,
myself and Herman Wallace

590
00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:17.250
was very active
in the prison population,

591
00:31:17.860 --> 00:31:21.260
trying to organize resistance

592
00:31:21.260 --> 00:31:23.700
to some of the corruption

593
00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:26.120
that was going on,
the brutalities,

594
00:31:27.800 --> 00:31:31.700
guys being murdered almost every day

595
00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:33.800
or brutally beaten.

596
00:31:34.380 --> 00:31:37.250
And so we think

597
00:31:37.250 --> 00:31:40.580
that when Officer Miller was killed,

598
00:31:41.250 --> 00:31:46.620
we automatically became
public enemy number one

599
00:31:46.620 --> 00:31:49.390
as far as the security staff

600
00:31:49.390 --> 00:31:53.420
and the administration
at the Louisiana State Penitentiary.

601
00:31:54.280 --> 00:32:00.200
And it was—although it was a shock,

602
00:32:01.390 --> 00:32:04.230
it was not a surprise.

603
00:32:04.890 --> 00:32:10.360
I was the first one of the A3

604
00:32:11.050 --> 00:32:16.080
to be locked up in the dungeon

605
00:32:16.080 --> 00:32:18.800
for the Brent Miller killing.

606
00:32:19.770 --> 00:32:22.700
And the next day,
I was moved to CCR,

607
00:32:24.140 --> 00:32:27.780
where I remained until my freedom

608
00:32:27.780 --> 00:32:31.400
on my birthday, February 19.

609
00:32:32.680 --> 00:32:36.130
AMY GOODMAN: I mean, you were released
on your birthday, February 19?

610
00:32:37.260 --> 00:32:39.530
ALBERT WOODFOX: Yes,
quite a birthday gift.

611
00:32:40.150 --> 00:32:42.950
AMY GOODMAN: Well, on Friday,
as you were released,

612
00:32:42.950 --> 00:32:45.150
Louisiana state Attorney General Jeff

613
00:32:45.150 --> 00:32:47.610
Landry said in a statement—he thanked
the family

614
00:32:47.610 --> 00:32:49.340
of Brent Miller
and that, quote,

615
00:32:49.340 --> 00:32:53.940
"their support has been instrumental
in today’s very difficult decision."

616
00:32:53.940 --> 00:32:56.600
Miller’s sister, Wanda Callender,

617
00:32:56.600 --> 00:32:59.350
told The Advocate newspaper
she felt the plea deal,

618
00:32:59.350 --> 00:33:01.840
quote, "was slammed in our face."

619
00:33:01.840 --> 00:33:06.950
But Brent Miller’s widow
has long said she did not believe

620
00:33:06.950 --> 00:33:09.190
that prisoners Albert Woodfox

621
00:33:09.190 --> 00:33:11.550
and Herman Wallace killed her husband.

622
00:33:11.550 --> 00:33:14.060
She released a statement
last June saying,

623
00:33:14.060 --> 00:33:16.700
quote, "I think it’s time
the state stop acting

624
00:33:16.700 --> 00:33:18.050
like there is any evidence

625
00:33:18.050 --> 00:33:20.510
that Albert Woodfox killed Brent.

626
00:33:20.510 --> 00:33:22.690
... [A]fter a lot of years
looking at the evidence

627
00:33:22.690 --> 00:33:24.360
and soul-searching and praying,

628
00:33:24.360 --> 00:33:27.050
I realized
I could no longer just believe

629
00:33:27.050 --> 00:33:29.840
what I was told to believe by a state

630
00:33:29.840 --> 00:33:31.650
that did not take care of Brent

631
00:33:31.650 --> 00:33:33.290
when he was working at Angola

632
00:33:33.290 --> 00:33:36.750
and did not take care of me
when he was killed," unquote.

633
00:33:36.750 --> 00:33:40.210
So I want to go to a clip
of Teenie Rogers,

634
00:33:40.210 --> 00:33:41.920
who was just 17

635
00:33:41.920 --> 00:33:43.680
when her husband, Brent Miller,

636
00:33:43.680 --> 00:33:46.580
was stabbed to death in 1972.

637
00:33:46.580 --> 00:33:49.420
She was interviewed
in the 2010 documentary,

638
00:33:49.420 --> 00:33:50.890
In the Land of the Free.

639
00:33:51.570 --> 00:33:54.030
TEENIE VERRET: I’ve been
living this for 36 years.

640
00:33:54.920 --> 00:33:58.030
There’s not a year
that goes by that

641
00:33:58.030 --> 00:34:00.010
I don’t have to relive this.

642
00:34:00.010 --> 00:34:01.960
And it just keeps going and going.

643
00:34:01.960 --> 00:34:04.840
And then these men, I mean,

644
00:34:04.840 --> 00:34:08.310
if they did not do this—
and I believe

645
00:34:08.310 --> 00:34:11.970
that they didn’t—they have been
living a nightmare

646
00:34:11.970 --> 00:34:13.150
for 36 years.

647
00:34:14.890 --> 00:34:16.860
AMY GOODMAN: That was Teenie Rogers,

648
00:34:16.860 --> 00:34:18.670
who is also called Teenie Verret.

649
00:34:18.670 --> 00:34:21.010
Your response, Albert Woodfox,

650
00:34:21.010 --> 00:34:23.930
when you hear Officer Miller’s wife

651
00:34:23.930 --> 00:34:28.320
saying that she did not believe
that you were guilty?

652
00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:30.190
This, the reason

653
00:34:30.190 --> 00:34:33.840
you were put on—put
in solitary confinement

654
00:34:33.840 --> 00:34:36.080
and held there
for more than four decades.

655
00:34:38.390 --> 00:34:40.700
ALBERT WOODFOX: Well, you know,

656
00:34:40.700 --> 00:34:44.030
I was—you know, I guess,

657
00:34:44.030 --> 00:34:45.510
for lack of a better word,

658
00:34:45.510 --> 00:34:47.130
I was shocked

659
00:34:47.130 --> 00:34:49.180
when I learned

660
00:34:49.180 --> 00:34:52.610
that she had taken a position

661
00:34:52.610 --> 00:34:56.440
that, after looking at the evidence

662
00:34:56.440 --> 00:34:57.690
and,

663
00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:03.360
you know, just—I guess
it just never felt right to her

664
00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:04.950
that we were a part

665
00:35:04.950 --> 00:35:06.200
of

666
00:35:08.300 --> 00:35:09.820
whoever killed her husband.

667
00:35:10.790 --> 00:35:12.930
And I think it was very brave

668
00:35:13.820 --> 00:35:14.890
on her part

669
00:35:16.590 --> 00:35:20.400
to publicly state that.

670
00:35:23.160 --> 00:35:26.840
AMY GOODMAN: Now, Louisiana Attorney
General Jeff Landry issued a statement

671
00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:29.280
about the state’s plea
agreement with you,

672
00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:32.900
saying, quote, "After carefully
considering all of the facts

673
00:35:32.900 --> 00:35:36.380
and circumstances surrounding
this case and its procedural history,

674
00:35:36.380 --> 00:35:40.070
as it stands today—our team
of prosecutors

675
00:35:40.070 --> 00:35:43.650
believes this plea is
in the best interest of justice."

676
00:35:43.650 --> 00:35:48.790
Landry was recently elected to replace
the former Louisiana attorney general,

677
00:35:48.790 --> 00:35:50.010
Buddy Caldwell,

678
00:35:50.010 --> 00:35:54.650
who had successfully appealed to prevent
Albert Woodfox’s release last year

679
00:35:54.650 --> 00:35:57.450
after a federal judge ordered him freed.

680
00:35:57.450 --> 00:36:00.050
Another key figure no longer active here

681
00:36:00.050 --> 00:36:03.270
is longtime Angola Warden Burl Cain,

682
00:36:03.270 --> 00:36:05.880
who said he would keep Woodfox
in lockdown,

683
00:36:05.880 --> 00:36:08.030
regardless of his crimes,
since, quote,

684
00:36:08.030 --> 00:36:12.600
"I still know that he is still trying
to practice Black Pantherism," unquote.

685
00:36:13.740 --> 00:36:15.600
Cain resigned last year

686
00:36:15.600 --> 00:36:17.500
after he came under investigation

687
00:36:17.500 --> 00:36:19.300
for violating prison policy

688
00:36:19.300 --> 00:36:21.300
by entering into real estate deals

689
00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:24.410
with family members of Angola prisoners.

690
00:36:25.900 --> 00:36:27.580
I’m wondering if you can talk

691
00:36:27.580 --> 00:36:29.580
about the role
of Burl Cain

692
00:36:29.580 --> 00:36:31.410
and Buddy Caldwell

693
00:36:31.410 --> 00:36:33.650
in the Angola 3 case

694
00:36:33.650 --> 00:36:36.040
and these latest developments, Albert?

695
00:36:39.090 --> 00:36:40.600
ALBERT WOODFOX: Well, obviously,

696
00:36:40.600 --> 00:36:44.020
Burl Cain and Buddy Caldwell

697
00:36:45.670 --> 00:36:48.540
made this case personal,

698
00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:51.200
so personal to the point

699
00:36:51.200 --> 00:36:55.340
where they totally disregard
the Constitution,

700
00:36:55.340 --> 00:36:58.540
statutory law, due process,

701
00:36:58.540 --> 00:36:59.870
lack of evidence,

702
00:37:00.680 --> 00:37:04.070
and just decided that,

703
00:37:04.070 --> 00:37:07.280
you know, I was guilty,
Herman was guilty,

704
00:37:07.280 --> 00:37:11.430
and they would do everything
they could to keep us in jail

705
00:37:11.430 --> 00:37:13.200
until we both died.

706
00:37:14.790 --> 00:37:18.050
Unfortunately, they almost succeeded.

707
00:37:18.660 --> 00:37:21.610
But as tragic

708
00:37:21.610 --> 00:37:23.330
as it was to lose Herman,

709
00:37:24.470 --> 00:37:25.860
he died a free man.

710
00:37:29.570 --> 00:37:33.430
RENÉE FELTZ: Now, Albert,
can you clarify, please,

711
00:37:33.430 --> 00:37:35.610
this no contest plea

712
00:37:35.610 --> 00:37:37.480
that you entered on Friday?

713
00:37:37.480 --> 00:37:40.740
Talk about—you know,
we’ve come to this point

714
00:37:40.740 --> 00:37:42.080
after more than four decades

715
00:37:42.080 --> 00:37:45.500
where you were able to come
to this agreement with the state,

716
00:37:46.340 --> 00:37:48.430
after maintaining your innocence
this entire time.

717
00:37:48.430 --> 00:37:50.270
Now you have a no contest plea.

718
00:37:50.270 --> 00:37:52.700
But not everyone
understands what that means

719
00:37:52.700 --> 00:37:54.490
and maybe why you did that.

720
00:37:54.490 --> 00:37:56.620
So, can you explain that for us?

721
00:37:58.590 --> 00:38:01.470
ALBERT WOODFOX: Well,
the plea, nolo contendere,

722
00:38:01.470 --> 00:38:06.460
it’s a plea—for me, it was a plea
for my freedom,

723
00:38:07.760 --> 00:38:09.150
not a plea of guilt.

724
00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:13.210
And I had to factor in the fact

725
00:38:13.210 --> 00:38:15.200
of, you know, my age.

726
00:38:15.200 --> 00:38:17.240
I have some serious health issues,

727
00:38:17.960 --> 00:38:20.530
and I wasn’t getting
the proper treatment

728
00:38:21.380 --> 00:38:22.890
for these issues.

729
00:38:25.100 --> 00:38:27.510
I wanted to get back to my family.

730
00:38:28.460 --> 00:38:30.760
And, you know,

731
00:38:30.760 --> 00:38:32.260
my lawyers,
my attorneys,

732
00:38:32.260 --> 00:38:36.010
they worked so hard
to make this a reality.

733
00:38:36.640 --> 00:38:40.310
So, when this opportunity came up,

734
00:38:40.310 --> 00:38:43.490
as distasteful as it was,

735
00:38:43.490 --> 00:38:47.610
it gave me the opportunity
to reunite with my family

736
00:38:48.450 --> 00:38:51.980
and my—and, you know, just—

737
00:38:54.840 --> 00:38:56.230
AMY GOODMAN: Well, let me ask—
ALBERT WOODFOX: No, go ahead.

738
00:38:56.230 --> 00:38:58.690
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask
Billy Sothern, your lawyer,

739
00:38:58.690 --> 00:39:02.320
about the significance
of Buddy Caldwell—

740
00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:04.840
finally,
in Louisiana,

741
00:39:04.840 --> 00:39:08.230
he was defeated—and Jeff Landry,

742
00:39:08.230 --> 00:39:09.840
the new attorney general,

743
00:39:09.840 --> 00:39:11.860
coming into office.

744
00:39:11.860 --> 00:39:14.410
Billy Sothern, you’re one
of the trial attorneys

745
00:39:14.410 --> 00:39:16.510
who represented Albert Woodfox,

746
00:39:16.510 --> 00:39:18.190
one of the Angola 3.

747
00:39:19.030 --> 00:39:22.570
Talk about what that change
of attorney general

748
00:39:22.570 --> 00:39:24.360
meant and also

749
00:39:24.360 --> 00:39:29.230
what prison warden Cain
being forced out meant.

750
00:39:30.980 --> 00:39:33.850
BILLY SOTHERN: Attorney General
Caldwell, the former attorney general,

751
00:39:33.850 --> 00:39:37.450
had such a deeply—deep misconceptions

752
00:39:37.450 --> 00:39:39.300
about Albert and this case.

753
00:39:39.300 --> 00:39:41.710
He referred, fairly recently,

754
00:39:42.750 --> 00:39:44.230
to Mr. Woodfox

755
00:39:44.230 --> 00:39:48.120
as one of the most
dangerous men on the planet.

756
00:39:48.120 --> 00:39:50.440
So, this is someone whose

757
00:39:50.440 --> 00:39:54.120
appraisal of this case
has never made any sense.

758
00:39:54.120 --> 00:39:57.630
He also committed to refusing

759
00:39:58.330 --> 00:40:00.860
to test a bloody fingerprint

760
00:40:00.860 --> 00:40:02.490
that was found at the crime scene,

761
00:40:03.170 --> 00:40:04.630
that was never matched to anybody,

762
00:40:04.630 --> 00:40:06.930
that specifically did not match Albert,

763
00:40:06.930 --> 00:40:08.740
did not match his co-defendants,

764
00:40:08.740 --> 00:40:11.850
did not match anyone
that it had been tested against.

765
00:40:11.850 --> 00:40:13.700
But they had the fingerprints

766
00:40:13.700 --> 00:40:16.090
of all of the inmates at Angola

767
00:40:16.090 --> 00:40:18.220
on that day in 1972

768
00:40:18.220 --> 00:40:20.550
and steadfastly refused

769
00:40:20.550 --> 00:40:23.050
to compare that fingerprint
against other inmates,

770
00:40:23.050 --> 00:40:26.130
which of course could have
identified the real killer.

771
00:40:26.670 --> 00:40:28.600
Buddy Caldwell’s words
on that were, "Well,

772
00:40:28.600 --> 00:40:30.620
we won’t be fooled
by those fingerprints."

773
00:40:30.620 --> 00:40:35.170
So this is someone who had
such misconceptions about this case

774
00:40:35.170 --> 00:40:38.120
that really any sober-minded person

775
00:40:38.120 --> 00:40:40.160
replacing him and making

776
00:40:40.160 --> 00:40:43.640
an honest assessment
of the case was going to come to it

777
00:40:43.640 --> 00:40:45.430
without all of his biases

778
00:40:45.430 --> 00:40:50.010
and prejudice and come
to different conclusions.

779
00:40:50.010 --> 00:40:52.380
And we really believe that that’s part
of what happened,

780
00:40:52.380 --> 00:40:56.030
is that a more reasonable assessment

781
00:40:56.030 --> 00:40:57.610
was made about the case,

782
00:40:57.610 --> 00:41:01.200
a more reasonable assessment
was made about Albert,

783
00:41:01.200 --> 00:41:03.100
because, frankly, no one

784
00:41:03.100 --> 00:41:06.220
could have been more unreasonable
than Buddy Caldwell.

785
00:41:07.020 --> 00:41:11.220
AMY GOODMAN: And Burl Cain,
the significance of the warden,

786
00:41:11.220 --> 00:41:14.400
and the conditions that Albert Woodfox

787
00:41:14.400 --> 00:41:15.800
and Herman Wallace,

788
00:41:15.800 --> 00:41:18.460
and before that, as well,

789
00:41:19.330 --> 00:41:21.160
Robert King, were held in?

790
00:41:23.160 --> 00:41:24.890
BILLY SOTHERN: Obviously, you know,

791
00:41:25.430 --> 00:41:29.080
for 43 years—for 46 years, Albert

792
00:41:29.080 --> 00:41:32.650
has been incarcerated there at Angola.

793
00:41:32.650 --> 00:41:35.690
And he has struggled
and Robert has struggled

794
00:41:35.690 --> 00:41:38.350
and others have struggled
to improve things.

795
00:41:38.350 --> 00:41:40.720
And it’s a testament to these men

796
00:41:40.720 --> 00:41:45.560
that they essentially
outlasted some of the very,

797
00:41:47.790 --> 00:41:49.750
in many ways, mean-spirited people

798
00:41:49.750 --> 00:41:53.310
who were very dedicated to seeing

799
00:41:53.310 --> 00:41:55.710
that their circumstances never changed.

800
00:41:55.710 --> 00:41:58.400
So, advocating on their own behalf,

801
00:41:59.300 --> 00:42:02.590
developing followers
all around the world,

802
00:42:03.490 --> 00:42:07.040
you know, Albert, Robert, others

803
00:42:07.040 --> 00:42:10.400
have been able to outlast,

804
00:42:11.110 --> 00:42:12.830
in a very improbable way,

805
00:42:12.830 --> 00:42:16.080
even figures like Burl Cain
and Buddy Caldwell,

806
00:42:16.080 --> 00:42:17.830
who seemed so entrenched here.

807
00:42:17.830 --> 00:42:19.900
AMY GOODMAN: And what nolo
contendere means,

808
00:42:19.900 --> 00:42:22.200
as a lawyer, explain.

809
00:42:23.000 --> 00:42:24.560
You have Albert Woodfox,

810
00:42:24.560 --> 00:42:27.510
who has served 45 years in prison,

811
00:42:27.510 --> 00:42:30.780
43 of those years
in solitary confinement.

812
00:42:31.770 --> 00:42:35.740
What it means now to plead
no contest, nolo contendere,

813
00:42:35.740 --> 00:42:37.470
to manslaughter

814
00:42:37.470 --> 00:42:41.260
and aggravated—what was it—burglary?

815
00:42:42.030 --> 00:42:43.410
BILLY SOTHERN: 
Aggravated burglary, yeah.

816
00:42:43.410 --> 00:42:45.090
So, essentially what it means

817
00:42:45.090 --> 00:42:48.260
is that Albert gets freed.

818
00:42:48.260 --> 00:42:51.630
And the legal proposition is essentially

819
00:42:53.340 --> 00:42:55.570
that Albert can maintain his innocence,

820
00:42:55.570 --> 00:42:58.340
that he—and he has maintained
his innocence,

821
00:42:59.030 --> 00:43:02.110
as he has consistently
for 43 years,

822
00:43:02.840 --> 00:43:07.800
but that it’s an acknowledgment
that the—that there is evidence

823
00:43:08.720 --> 00:43:10.430
that could support a conviction.

824
00:43:10.430 --> 00:43:14.210
And, of course, Albert
has been wrongfully convicted two times

825
00:43:14.210 --> 00:43:16.540
by an array of witnesses

826
00:43:16.540 --> 00:43:20.160
who lied to secure his conviction.

827
00:43:20.160 --> 00:43:24.280
We litigated everything incredibly
strenuously in this case,

828
00:43:24.280 --> 00:43:26.610
and we were very dedicated to make sure

829
00:43:26.610 --> 00:43:27.820
that the injustice

830
00:43:27.820 --> 00:43:30.130
that had previously occurred
in Albert’s case twice,

831
00:43:30.130 --> 00:43:31.160
with two convictions,

832
00:43:31.980 --> 00:43:33.160
did not repeat itself.

833
00:43:33.790 --> 00:43:37.720
And we litigated issues like excluding
the prior witness testimony

834
00:43:37.720 --> 00:43:40.730
of Hezekiah Brown, other witnesses,

835
00:43:40.730 --> 00:43:44.240
and they wanted to just bring in
these transcripts of these witnesses.

836
00:43:44.240 --> 00:43:46.450
But, in fact, these witnesses had lied,

837
00:43:46.450 --> 00:43:47.660
and, in fact,
the government

838
00:43:47.660 --> 00:43:49.960
had suppressed evidence
that would have allowed

839
00:43:49.960 --> 00:43:52.290
Albert to impeach these witnesses

840
00:43:52.290 --> 00:43:53.630
at their earlier trials.

841
00:43:54.320 --> 00:43:57.100
And you will not be
surprised to find out

842
00:43:57.100 --> 00:43:59.830
that notwithstanding very aggressive
and competent litigation

843
00:43:59.830 --> 00:44:01.080
on that point

844
00:44:01.930 --> 00:44:04.860
by myself and Robert McDuff,

845
00:44:04.860 --> 00:44:06.480
Albert’s other trial attorney,

846
00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:09.890
we lost those issues
at the trial court just recently.

847
00:44:09.890 --> 00:44:12.120
We appealed those,
and it was our intention

848
00:44:12.120 --> 00:44:14.960
to appeal those all the way
to the Louisiana Supreme Court,

849
00:44:14.960 --> 00:44:17.640
but we lost that appeal on those issues

850
00:44:17.640 --> 00:44:21.080
to the—in the First Circuit Court
of Appeals.

851
00:44:21.080 --> 00:44:23.290
So, those testimonies were coming in.

852
00:44:24.050 --> 00:44:27.060
And I’ve been practicing in Louisiana

853
00:44:27.060 --> 00:44:28.430
long enough to know

854
00:44:29.240 --> 00:44:31.390
that I need to make
a realistic assessment

855
00:44:31.390 --> 00:44:33.850
of the courts
here and that the injustices

856
00:44:33.850 --> 00:44:36.640
that had previously occurred
in Albert’s case,

857
00:44:36.640 --> 00:44:39.890
we could not be guaranteed
that those would not occur again,

858
00:44:39.890 --> 00:44:43.760
because this is
a West Feliciana Parish jury

859
00:44:43.760 --> 00:44:45.990
in the heart of Louisiana.

860
00:44:45.990 --> 00:44:47.600
We litigated, for instance,

861
00:44:47.600 --> 00:44:49.360
that the venue needed to be changed,

862
00:44:49.360 --> 00:44:51.910
because, of course, Albert
could not get a fair trial

863
00:44:51.910 --> 00:44:53.800
in a community
where he is infamous

864
00:44:53.800 --> 00:44:56.120
and where there’s prison guards

865
00:44:56.120 --> 00:44:57.730
and associates

866
00:44:57.730 --> 00:45:00.340
of the prison in almost every home.

867
00:45:00.340 --> 00:45:02.800
We did a 43-year survey

868
00:45:02.800 --> 00:45:06.070
of the incredibly damning
media portrayal of Albert.

869
00:45:06.070 --> 00:45:07.350
And we lost that motion.

870
00:45:08.220 --> 00:45:10.940
So the trial was going to be
back in West Feliciana Parish.

871
00:45:11.660 --> 00:45:14.090
This bogus testimony
was going to come back in.

872
00:45:14.920 --> 00:45:17.500
And in addition
to all of that,

873
00:45:17.500 --> 00:45:19.020
we have Albert’s health problems,

874
00:45:19.020 --> 00:45:20.440
and we have his long struggle,

875
00:45:21.040 --> 00:45:23.300
and he had an opportunity for freedom.

876
00:45:23.300 --> 00:45:25.790
And that was absolutely the choice

877
00:45:25.790 --> 00:45:27.800
that we advised him to take,

878
00:45:27.800 --> 00:45:29.330
because, for us,

879
00:45:29.330 --> 00:45:32.680
Albert’s—the incredible things

880
00:45:32.680 --> 00:45:33.710
that he’s done in prison

881
00:45:35.070 --> 00:45:38.310
will only be greater now
that he’s out.

882
00:45:38.310 --> 00:45:40.690
And he deserved
the opportunity to be out,

883
00:45:40.690 --> 00:45:42.210
and he deserved the opportunity

884
00:45:42.740 --> 00:45:47.220
not to have to trust
a Louisiana jury

885
00:45:48.120 --> 00:45:49.990
to make the right choice in this case,

886
00:45:49.990 --> 00:45:52.560
when they’ve done the wrong thing
two previous times.

887
00:45:52.560 --> 00:45:55.060
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to break,
then come back to this discussion.

888
00:45:55.060 --> 00:45:56.890
And I want to ask Albert Woodfox

889
00:45:56.890 --> 00:45:58.390
what it was like,

890
00:45:58.390 --> 00:46:00.270
chained and shackled,

891
00:46:00.270 --> 00:46:02.970
to see Herman Wallace
for the last time,

892
00:46:02.970 --> 00:46:04.940
when you got to say goodbye to him,

893
00:46:04.940 --> 00:46:06.550
along with Robert King,

894
00:46:06.550 --> 00:46:09.290
the three of you together
for a final time

895
00:46:09.290 --> 00:46:12.830
as Herman lay dying
in the prison,

896
00:46:12.830 --> 00:46:16.670
but a judge demanding
of the prison warden

897
00:46:16.670 --> 00:46:19.420
that Herman Wallace be freed,

898
00:46:19.420 --> 00:46:22.800
or else the warden would go to jail.

899
00:46:22.800 --> 00:46:25.140
We’re talking to Albert Woodfox,

900
00:46:25.140 --> 00:46:27.520
the longest-standing
solitary confinement prisoner

901
00:46:27.520 --> 00:46:29.010
in the United States;

902
00:46:29.010 --> 00:46:30.640
Billy Sothern,
his attorney;

903
00:46:30.640 --> 00:46:33.690
and Robert King, also
a member of the Angola 3,

904
00:46:33.690 --> 00:46:36.890
who spent 29 years
in solitary confinement.

905
00:46:36.890 --> 00:46:39.030
This is Democracy Now!
We’ll be back in a minute.

906
00:46:39.030 --> 00:48:12.360
[break]

907
00:48:12.360 --> 00:48:17.230
AMY GOODMAN: "Almost Free"
by Sarah Quintana, a New Orleans artist

908
00:48:17.230 --> 00:48:19.480
who was a pen pal
with the late Herman Wallace,

909
00:48:19.480 --> 00:48:20.770
a member of the Angola 3

910
00:48:20.770 --> 00:48:23.700
who was held in solitary confinement
for more than 40 years.

911
00:48:23.700 --> 00:48:25.290
He died in 2013,

912
00:48:25.290 --> 00:48:29.330
three days after his release from prison
in Louisiana last October.

913
00:48:29.330 --> 00:48:31.830
This is Democracy Now!,
democracynow.org,

914
00:48:31.830 --> 00:48:33.690
The War and Peace Report.
I’m Amy Goodman,

915
00:48:33.690 --> 00:48:36.630
with Democracy Now!’s Renée Feltz.

916
00:48:36.630 --> 00:48:39.470
And we are bringing you a Democracy Now!

917
00:48:39.470 --> 00:48:42.150
special today,
an exclusive hour

918
00:48:42.150 --> 00:48:44.370
with two of the Angola 3.

919
00:48:44.370 --> 00:48:49.400
Albert Woodfox, the longest-standing
solitary confinement prisoner

920
00:48:49.400 --> 00:48:52.270
in the United States,
was freed on Friday.

921
00:48:52.270 --> 00:48:55.730
This is his first
extended television/radio interview.

922
00:48:55.730 --> 00:48:59.180
Robert King is also
in the New Orleans studio

923
00:48:59.180 --> 00:49:02.540
at public television station WLAE,

924
00:49:02.540 --> 00:49:04.080
a member of the Angola 3,

925
00:49:04.080 --> 00:49:06.860
held for 29 years
in solitary confinement,

926
00:49:06.860 --> 00:49:09.680
and Billy Sothern,
one of the trial attorneys

927
00:49:09.680 --> 00:49:12.040
representing Albert Woodfox.

928
00:49:12.980 --> 00:49:15.200
Albert, I want to go to a clip

929
00:49:15.200 --> 00:49:17.860
of Herman Wallace,
in his own words,

930
00:49:17.860 --> 00:49:21.160
describing the impact
of solitary confinement on his body.

931
00:49:21.160 --> 00:49:23.630
He spoke in phone calls from the prison,

932
00:49:23.630 --> 00:49:25.400
that was featured
in the documentary,

933
00:49:25.400 --> 00:49:26.400
Herman’s House.

934
00:49:28.700 --> 00:49:30.790
HERMAN WALLACE: Being in a cage

935
00:49:31.440 --> 00:49:33.510
for such an extended period of time,

936
00:49:35.720 --> 00:49:37.130
it has its downfalls.

937
00:49:38.420 --> 00:49:41.250
I mean, you may not feel it,
you may not know it,

938
00:49:41.250 --> 00:49:43.860
you may think
that you’re OK,

939
00:49:43.860 --> 00:49:47.100
and you just perfunctorily move about,
you know.

940
00:49:47.100 --> 00:49:50.400
However, when you was removed

941
00:49:50.400 --> 00:49:52.280
from out of that type of situation

942
00:49:52.980 --> 00:49:56.060
and placed in an open environment where,

943
00:49:56.060 --> 00:49:59.640
you know, you’re even
breathing that oxygen

944
00:49:59.640 --> 00:50:01.180
and it’s getting
into your lungs

945
00:50:01.180 --> 00:50:05.310
and you’re feeling
something growing within you,

946
00:50:05.310 --> 00:50:09.740
and—you begin to develop
a different mode within your body.

947
00:50:10.660 --> 00:50:12.060
I even watched my body.

948
00:50:12.060 --> 00:50:15.130
I’ve looked in the mirror,
and I’ve seen muscles

949
00:50:15.130 --> 00:50:17.340
and [bleep] begin to pop out there.

950
00:50:17.340 --> 00:50:19.910
I began to run even faster and [bleep].

951
00:50:19.910 --> 00:50:22.970
And I’m saying, "Whoa,
what the hell is going on here?"

952
00:50:22.970 --> 00:50:24.570
Much was preserved.

953
00:50:25.270 --> 00:50:29.260
But then I got locked up again
after eight months.

954
00:50:30.210 --> 00:50:33.110
And being locked up like that,

955
00:50:34.930 --> 00:50:37.460
the whole body just got confused.

956
00:50:37.460 --> 00:50:41.610
AMY GOODMAN: That was Herman Wallace
describing solitary confinement.

957
00:50:42.150 --> 00:50:46.860
In 2013, as he lay dying in Angola,

958
00:50:46.860 --> 00:50:48.780
in prison, dying of cancer,

959
00:50:48.780 --> 00:50:52.220
a judge ruled that he should
be released immediately.

960
00:50:52.220 --> 00:50:55.440
The prison warden said

961
00:50:55.440 --> 00:50:58.920
he wouldn’t be coming back
to the prison immediately,

962
00:50:58.920 --> 00:51:02.850
and the judge said if he didn’t release
Herman Wallace—an ambulance

963
00:51:02.850 --> 00:51:04.700
had pulled up
to the prison—

964
00:51:04.700 --> 00:51:05.470
that

965
00:51:05.470 --> 00:51:07.690
the warden himself would be imprisoned.

966
00:51:07.690 --> 00:51:10.110
But before he left that prison,

967
00:51:10.110 --> 00:51:11.980
Albert Woodfox
and Robert King

968
00:51:11.980 --> 00:51:13.560
got to say goodbye.

969
00:51:13.560 --> 00:51:15.290
Albert, what was it like?

970
00:51:15.290 --> 00:51:19.580
Because as you came to see Herman,

971
00:51:19.580 --> 00:51:23.300
you and Robert King
learned that Herman would be freed,

972
00:51:23.300 --> 00:51:27.270
and you were the ones
to deliver that news to Herman Wallace.

973
00:51:28.140 --> 00:51:29.860
You were shackled at the time?

974
00:51:31.900 --> 00:51:33.150
ALBERT WOODFOX: Yes.

975
00:51:33.770 --> 00:51:38.730
You know, because the Attorney
General’s Office

976
00:51:38.730 --> 00:51:41.730
would not allow Herman, Robert

977
00:51:41.730 --> 00:51:46.700
and myself to have a conference
with our attorneys,

978
00:51:47.400 --> 00:51:50.820
we had to ask the court to intervene.

979
00:51:51.440 --> 00:51:56.090
So, they were under court instructions

980
00:51:56.090 --> 00:51:57.560
to, at least once a month,

981
00:51:58.640 --> 00:52:00.790
to allow us,
all three of us,

982
00:52:00.790 --> 00:52:02.860
to meet together with our attorneys.

983
00:52:03.970 --> 00:52:07.230
These visits were taking place
at Hunt’s,

984
00:52:07.230 --> 00:52:09.600
because, at the time, Herman

985
00:52:09.600 --> 00:52:11.080
was battling cancer.

986
00:52:11.900 --> 00:52:14.520
Robert was free,
and I was being held

987
00:52:14.520 --> 00:52:18.490
in the David Wade
correctional institution.

988
00:52:19.510 --> 00:52:21.130
So they had to transport me.

989
00:52:21.130 --> 00:52:24.170
But on this particular visit,

990
00:52:24.760 --> 00:52:27.460
Herman was very ill,

991
00:52:28.360 --> 00:52:31.740
and they didn’t expect him to live
beyond the weekend,

992
00:52:31.740 --> 00:52:33.740
but somehow he did.

993
00:52:33.740 --> 00:52:38.090
And the DOC wanted to cancel the visit.

994
00:52:39.160 --> 00:52:41.380
So I was desperate to see Herman,

995
00:52:41.380 --> 00:52:43.870
because I knew how sick he was.

996
00:52:44.640 --> 00:52:49.760
So a suggestion was made

997
00:52:49.760 --> 00:52:52.830
that they would let the visits go,

998
00:52:52.830 --> 00:52:56.160
if I would agree
to keep my restraints on.

999
00:52:57.250 --> 00:53:00.360
And one of the restraints on
is called a black box.

1000
00:53:01.200 --> 00:53:04.330
It’s supposed to be
used for travel only.

1001
00:53:05.160 --> 00:53:09.140
It kind of locks your hands

1002
00:53:10.310 --> 00:53:13.360
in a very uncomfortable
and painful position.

1003
00:53:15.560 --> 00:53:19.490
But, you know, nothing short of death

1004
00:53:19.490 --> 00:53:23.030
would have stopped me
from going to see Herman

1005
00:53:23.610 --> 00:53:25.050
that one last time.

1006
00:53:25.670 --> 00:53:27.670
And so,
when I got there,

1007
00:53:27.670 --> 00:53:29.180
Robert and two of the attorneys

1008
00:53:29.180 --> 00:53:31.670
was in the hospital room with him.

1009
00:53:31.670 --> 00:53:33.950
And you could see,

1010
00:53:33.950 --> 00:53:36.290
you know, that he was battling.

1011
00:53:38.320 --> 00:53:43.970
And I kind of felt
like he knew he was dying,

1012
00:53:43.970 --> 00:53:48.100
and—but he was determined to last

1013
00:53:48.100 --> 00:53:50.340
for that one last visit, you know.

1014
00:53:50.340 --> 00:53:54.750
And during—you know, he
was laying in the bed,

1015
00:53:54.750 --> 00:53:55.810
and King and I

1016
00:53:56.400 --> 00:53:58.420
and the lawyers, you know,

1017
00:53:58.420 --> 00:54:00.430
we were just talking amongst ourselves,

1018
00:54:00.430 --> 00:54:03.730
talking to him, trying to find
some way to comfort him,

1019
00:54:03.730 --> 00:54:05.090
as well as ourselves.

1020
00:54:05.640 --> 00:54:07.940
And one of the attorneys
was called away,

1021
00:54:07.940 --> 00:54:09.360
Ms. Carine Williams,

1022
00:54:09.970 --> 00:54:13.450
and she had a conversation

1023
00:54:13.450 --> 00:54:15.140
with George Kendall,

1024
00:54:15.680 --> 00:54:17.250
who was our lead attorney,

1025
00:54:17.880 --> 00:54:20.760
that Herman’s conviction
had been overturned,

1026
00:54:20.760 --> 00:54:23.970
and he had been ordered
released immediately.

1027
00:54:24.720 --> 00:54:28.230
And, you know, I was—you know,

1028
00:54:28.230 --> 00:54:32.350
all of us, we were just
shocked, stunned, elated.

1029
00:54:33.060 --> 00:54:35.440
And, you know, we just
didn’t know what to do.

1030
00:54:36.050 --> 00:54:39.160
So we just tried to comfort him

1031
00:54:39.160 --> 00:54:43.150
and talk to him and try to get
him to understand what had happened.

1032
00:54:43.900 --> 00:54:47.940
And for me, I had to leave at 3:00,

1033
00:54:47.940 --> 00:54:51.590
so I didn’t get a chance
to see him actually leave.

1034
00:54:52.350 --> 00:54:56.400
But, you know, it was just a great,

1035
00:54:56.400 --> 00:54:57.990
great moment.

1036
00:54:57.990 --> 00:55:01.020
It kind of made up for all the pain

1037
00:55:01.020 --> 00:55:02.250
and suffering

1038
00:55:02.250 --> 00:55:04.100
that all three of us went

1039
00:55:04.100 --> 00:55:08.880
through being locked
in solitary confinement.

1040
00:55:10.790 --> 00:55:13.160
RENÉE FELTZ: Albert,
you and King

1041
00:55:13.160 --> 00:55:16.410
are still pursuing
a civil rights lawsuit.

1042
00:55:16.410 --> 00:55:18.110
And your attorney, George Kendall,

1043
00:55:18.110 --> 00:55:20.200
who’s handling this civil case,

1044
00:55:20.200 --> 00:55:21.760
said Friday,
in a statement, quote,

1045
00:55:22.260 --> 00:55:26.010
"Although we are overjoyed
that Albert Woodfox is finally free,

1046
00:55:26.010 --> 00:55:27.530
it is indefensible

1047
00:55:27.530 --> 00:55:29.380
he was forced to endure decade

1048
00:55:29.380 --> 00:55:32.220
after decade in harsh
solitary confinement conditions,

1049
00:55:32.220 --> 00:55:35.170
longer than any prisoner in the history
of the United States.

1050
00:55:35.170 --> 00:55:38.380
Albert survived the extreme
and cruel punishment of 40 [plus]

1051
00:55:38.380 --> 00:55:40.150
years in solitary confinement

1052
00:55:40.150 --> 00:55:44.790
only because of his extraordinary
strength and character.

1053
00:55:44.790 --> 00:55:47.370
These inhumane practices must stop.

1054
00:55:47.370 --> 00:55:49.790
We hope the Louisiana Department
of Corrections

1055
00:55:49.790 --> 00:55:53.280
will reform and greatly limit
its use of solitary confinement

1056
00:55:53.280 --> 00:55:57.060
as have an increasing number
of jurisdictions around the country."

1057
00:55:57.060 --> 00:55:59.070
Now, of course, this has happened
both at the local level

1058
00:55:59.070 --> 00:56:00.550
as well as federally,

1059
00:56:00.550 --> 00:56:03.970
with President Obama
announcing solitary reforms

1060
00:56:03.970 --> 00:56:06.050
in an executive order

1061
00:56:06.050 --> 00:56:08.270
and recently announcing in an op-ed

1062
00:56:08.270 --> 00:56:11.270
that he wanted to reduce
solitary confinement for juveniles.

1063
00:56:11.270 --> 00:56:13.190
Now, I wanted to get your take

1064
00:56:13.190 --> 00:56:14.640
on this reason

1065
00:56:14.640 --> 00:56:17.140
that you’re pursuing
a civil lawsuit still

1066
00:56:17.140 --> 00:56:18.600
and your response

1067
00:56:18.600 --> 00:56:20.380
to some of these reform measures

1068
00:56:20.380 --> 00:56:21.530
that have been announced.

1069
00:56:23.890 --> 00:56:27.630
ALBERT WOODFOX: You know, Herman,
Robert and myself,

1070
00:56:29.630 --> 00:56:31.060
we had been transferred

1071
00:56:31.060 --> 00:56:33.050
to a punishment camp in Angola

1072
00:56:33.050 --> 00:56:35.430
called Camp J,

1073
00:56:35.430 --> 00:56:39.270
because we had participated
in a hunger strike

1074
00:56:40.110 --> 00:56:43.750
to force the administration

1075
00:56:44.660 --> 00:56:47.450
to give us,
you know,

1076
00:56:47.450 --> 00:56:51.550
some humane treatment

1077
00:56:51.550 --> 00:56:54.710
and provide us with an avenue

1078
00:56:54.710 --> 00:56:58.110
in which we could help ourselves,

1079
00:56:58.110 --> 00:56:59.410
improve ourselves.

1080
00:56:59.410 --> 00:57:01.390
So, you know,

1081
00:57:01.390 --> 00:57:06.620
we had always—this was not
the first suit

1082
00:57:06.620 --> 00:57:09.730
we had to file
about long-term cell confinement.

1083
00:57:10.520 --> 00:57:12.230
And, you know,

1084
00:57:12.230 --> 00:57:15.720
when we was released from Camp J,

1085
00:57:16.330 --> 00:57:20.790
we decided that we need to try
to challenge this again,

1086
00:57:20.790 --> 00:57:24.810
we need to try to change
this barbaric treatment

1087
00:57:24.810 --> 00:57:26.430
of locking a man in a cell

1088
00:57:26.430 --> 00:57:29.000
for 23 hours a day for decades.

1089
00:57:29.750 --> 00:57:32.170
And for us, it was about that,

1090
00:57:33.300 --> 00:57:35.770
and it continues to be about that.

1091
00:57:36.720 --> 00:57:39.040
RENÉE FELTZ: And what do you think
of the reforms

1092
00:57:39.040 --> 00:57:42.460
that have been announced by
President Obama and other jurisdictions

1093
00:57:42.460 --> 00:57:45.020
that are taking steps
to reduce solitary confinement?

1094
00:57:45.020 --> 00:57:47.240
I know you follow the news a little bit.

1095
00:57:47.240 --> 00:57:48.870
What’s your response to these?
Are they far enough?

1096
00:57:48.870 --> 00:57:50.090
And what would you like to see happen?

1097
00:57:52.830 --> 00:57:55.660
ALBERT WOODFOX: Well, you know, I think,

1098
00:57:55.660 --> 00:57:57.410
as a result of our suit,

1099
00:57:57.410 --> 00:58:02.350
and thanks
to the International Coalition

1100
00:58:02.350 --> 00:58:06.430
to Free the Angola 3
and Amnesty International

1101
00:58:06.430 --> 00:58:08.540
and other groups

1102
00:58:08.540 --> 00:58:11.420
around the country
and around the world,

1103
00:58:11.920 --> 00:58:14.610
we inspired other guys

1104
00:58:14.610 --> 00:58:17.370
in solitary confinement in other states,

1105
00:58:17.370 --> 00:58:18.970
in other prisons,

1106
00:58:18.970 --> 00:58:21.070
to try to do something
about these conditions.

1107
00:58:21.070 --> 00:58:26.130
So, we’ve put
this solitary confinement issue

1108
00:58:26.130 --> 00:58:28.530
before American people,

1109
00:58:28.530 --> 00:58:31.170
before the people of the world,

1110
00:58:31.670 --> 00:58:35.180
and it just started building, you know,

1111
00:58:35.180 --> 00:58:36.620
and it got to the point

1112
00:58:36.620 --> 00:58:39.960
where it wasn’t
just about the Angola 3,

1113
00:58:39.960 --> 00:58:42.290
but it was about solitary confinement.

1114
00:58:42.290 --> 00:58:43.590
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to have to—
ALBERT WOODFOX: And—

1115
00:58:43.590 --> 00:58:45.060
AMY GOODMAN: Albert, we’re going
to have to leave it there,

1116
00:58:45.060 --> 00:58:47.920
but we’re going to continue
our discussion and post it online.

1117
00:58:47.920 --> 00:58:51.270
Albert Woodfox, the longest-standing
solitary confinement prisoner

1118
00:58:51.270 --> 00:58:53.400
in the United States,
released on Friday.

1119
00:58:53.400 --> 00:58:55.310
And thanks to Robert King
and Billy Sothern.

1120
00:58:55.310 --> 00:58:56.790
I’m Amy Goodman,
with Renée Feltz.

1121
00:58:56.790 --> 00:58:58.140
Thanks so much for joining us.