Man finally freed from record 43-years of solitary confinement

Is sentence of 43 years solitary confinement grounds for prison reform?

On Friday, February 19, Albert Woodfox stepped out from the prison that held him in solitary confinement for a record 43 years.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Woodfox was incarcerated in Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison, in 1972 along with Robert King and Herman Wallace for armed robbery. 

The men, known as the Angola 3, were sent to Angola prison, where Woodfox and Wallace were convicted for the murder of 23-year-old prison guard Brent Miller. 

Unfortunately for both Woodfox and Wallace, there was no forensic evidence tying them to Miller's murder.

They were sent into solitary confinement and Wallace was released in 2013 after forty-one years. 
Woodfox stated, "He died three days later. But he died a free man."

In an effort to leave prison for his 69th birthday, Woodfox plead "no contest" to two lesser-crimes, which is not an admission of guild. His lawyers clarified that in pleading no contest, Woodfox "does not contest that the State would present evidence at a new trial from witnesses who said he committed this crime." 

During an interview with the New York Times, Woodfox admitted, "I don't think I ever felt that I would die in prison. As the years passed, it became more difficult to feel that way.

Woodfox was allowed to leave his 6-foot-by-eight-or-nine-foot cell one hour each day. The rest of his 43-year sentence was spent in seclusion from the general population, as well as all other prisoners.

"I've seen grown men turn into babies - you know, they just lay in their bed in a fetal position and don't talk," Woodfox recalled. "I've seen guys who can't stop talking. I've seen guys that scream all day. You play this game: 'I'm Superman, there's nothing you can do to hurt me.'

"Then at night time when the lights are out and everybody's sleeping, you sit down and cry or whatever and you realize, 'I'll survive another day.'"

Between 2011-12, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported nearly 20 percent of prison and jail inmates are sent into segregated or solitary confinement.

The mental strain solitary puts on prisoners has since launched several campaigns to put an end to the inhumane practice. 

The American Civil Liberties Union has been fighting solitary confinement for the past twenty years and insists it is "fundamentally inhumane and wastes taxpayer dollars."

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) has been calling for signatures to urge government officials to put an end to prolonged solitary confinement.

Once individual states reach 500 signatures, an official statement and the list of endorsers will be "sent to that state's governor and top corrections official, along with every member of that state's legislature."

Should 1,000 signatures be reached for a single state, the list will be redistributed.

Meanwhile, Woodfox admitted he felt enlightened and discovered what it meant to be free after reading stories of "brave men."

"When I began to understand who I was, I considered myself free. No matter how much concrete they use to hold me in a particular place they couldn't stop my mind."

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