POLITICAL PRISONER UPDATES
By
LeiLani Dowell
Published Jul 9, 2008 10:39 PM
Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox
spent 30 years in solidarity confinement
for a crime they did’t commit.
|
Albert Woodfox conviction overturned!
A victory has been won in the case of the Angola Three, political prisoners and
former Black Panthers who were convicted on trumped-up charges in the death of
a prison guard. On July 8, a federal judge overturned the conviction of Albert
Woodfox, one of the two still remaining in prison.
Woodfox spent more than three decades in solitary confinement in the Louisiana
State Penitentiary in Angola, La.—a notorious plantation where Black
prisoners are made to work like slaves. In March, however, he and Herman
Wallace were moved to a maximum-security dormitory with other prisoners after
Rep. John Conyers, chairperson of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, visited
the prison to investigate the case.
Woodfox’s conviction was overturned on the grounds that two of his
lawyers failed to raise objections to questionable prosecutor testimony. He now
faces the possibility that prosecutors will ask for a retrial.
Meanwhile, Wallace continues to appeal his conviction. The third member of the
Angola Three, Robert King Wilkerson, was freed in 2001 after his conviction was
overturned.
Demand effective medical treatment for Peltier
The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee is requesting that Peltier
supporters contact prison officials to demand that Peltier, who has diabetes,
be allowed to have his own diabetes kit so that he can accurately monitor and
control his condition.
Peltier, a participant in the American Indian Movement, was wrongfully
convicted in 1976 of the death of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in
a shoot-out at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He has been imprisoned ever
since, despite revelations of coerced testimonies, fabricated and suppressed
evidence, and federal officials stating that it is unknown who fired the shots
or what role Peltier may have played.
The infirmary at Lewisburg Penitentiary, where Peltier is being imprisoned, has
a general diabetes kit for all prisoners. The committee has raised concerns
that due to the embedded memory in the device, Peltier could be receiving false
readings. Furthermore, Peltier has reported that there are often no medical
personnel on hand when he goes to the infirmary, and he must return over and
over until someone is there to assist him.
In addition, all the prisoners at Lewisburg had been on lockdown for five days
as of July 7. For Peltier, this means no access to the infirmary, making it all
the more important he have access to a diabetes testing kit at the pharmacy; as
his committee has requested.
Supporters are asked to contact: Warden Bledsoe, USP Lewisburg, 2400 Robert F.
Miller Dr., Lewisburg, PA 17837; phone 570-523-1251; fax 570-522-7745, e-mail
lew/[email protected].
For more information, visit www.whoisleonardpeltier.info.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email:
[email protected]
Subscribe
[email protected]
Support independent news
DONATE