The longest-standing solitary confinement prisoner in America has been released from a Louisiana jail after 43 years held in isolation.
Albert Woodfox was kept in solitary following the murder of a prison guard, according to the Guardian. He had always professed his innocence regarding the crime.
He was held in a cell for 23 hours a day with one hour allowed to go to the exercise yard, but was also alone there.
His lawyers released a statement from him saying he would now use his freedom to end solitary confinement as a practice around the world. I can now direct all my efforts to ending the barbarous use of solitary confinement and will continue my work on that issue here in the free world.”
He was looking forward to contesting the charges but will not be proving his innocence at a new trial due to his age and health concerns.
He was a member of the Black Panther movement, and many of his supporters contest that he was framed for the murder of prison guard Brent Miller because of his political affiliations.
His murder conviction had been overturned twice, and with many of the original witnesses now deceased, a third trial would have made little sense.
The White House praised this result: “Scientists tell us that prolonged incarceration in solitary confinement can have a debilitating and long-term impact on an individual’s mental health. If our ultimate goal in the criminal justice system is to give people a second chance after they’ve paid their debt to society we are basically setting them up to fail.”
