Inmate seeks to block third trial in guard’s 1972 death
by maya lau| mlau@theadvocate.com
Albert Woodfox, the high-profile accused murderer from New
Orleans who’s fueled a national debate over solitary
confinement, is taking his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
One of Woodfox’s attorneys, George Kendall, said Tuesday he plans to file a request to the nation’s high court to hear the case, nearly a month after a federal appeals court ruled the inmate can be tried a third time in the slaying of a prison guard. Woodfox’s request will join the 10,000 petitions the Supreme Court receives each year, some 80 of which are heard.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals filed the necessary paperwork to finalize its Nov. 9 decision that overturned a lower court judge’s sweeping ruling in June that sought to free Woodfox and bar him from being retried.
Woodfox, 68, was twice convicted in the 1972 stabbing death of Brent Miller, a guard at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Both convictions, in 1973 and 1998, were thrown out, first due to Woodfox’s ineffective counsel and the next time, because of racial disparities in the grand jury.
Woodfox has become a lightning rod in the controversy surrounding solitary confinement, a practice opponents say is a form of unconstitutional imprisonment generally defined as being held alone in a cell for at least 23 hours a day. Having served four decades, Woodfox is believed to be the longest-jailed inmate in solitary in the U.S.
One of Woodfox’s attorneys, George Kendall, said Tuesday he plans to file a request to the nation’s high court to hear the case, nearly a month after a federal appeals court ruled the inmate can be tried a third time in the slaying of a prison guard. Woodfox’s request will join the 10,000 petitions the Supreme Court receives each year, some 80 of which are heard.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals filed the necessary paperwork to finalize its Nov. 9 decision that overturned a lower court judge’s sweeping ruling in June that sought to free Woodfox and bar him from being retried.
Woodfox, 68, was twice convicted in the 1972 stabbing death of Brent Miller, a guard at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Both convictions, in 1973 and 1998, were thrown out, first due to Woodfox’s ineffective counsel and the next time, because of racial disparities in the grand jury.
Woodfox has become a lightning rod in the controversy surrounding solitary confinement, a practice opponents say is a form of unconstitutional imprisonment generally defined as being held alone in a cell for at least 23 hours a day. Having served four decades, Woodfox is believed to be the longest-jailed inmate in solitary in the U.S.
State officials have previously
challenged the description of Woodfox’s imprisonment as
solitary confinement, citing his access to television and
ability to converse with other inmates despite only being
allowed to leave his cell one hour a day.
Aaron Sadler, a spokesman for State Attorney General James
“Buddy” Caldwell, who is prosecuting Woodfox, said Tuesday he
can’t discuss the issue of solitary confinement because it’s the
subject of ongoing litigation.
In Woodfox’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, attorneys are
expected to argue that U.S. Middle District Court Judge James J.
Brady had appropriate authority when he ruled in June that the
inmate’s situation was so exceptional that a fair trial would be
impossible.
The unusual elements to Woodfox’s case include his advanced
age, faltering health, and the fact that many of the witnesses
to the killing for which he’s accused are dead, Brady found.
“The American trial assumes that a certain number of critical
witnesses are going to show up at the courthouse, raise their
right hands, testify and be subject to cross examination.
There’s no dispute anymore. That can’t happen in this case,”
Kendall said.
“The central, important role the jury plays is to look at the
witnesses ... and say, ‘Who do we believe and who do we not
believe?’ ” he said, adding that critical testimony should not
be delivered by actors reading a script in court.
Sadler said the state agrees with the 5th Circuit’s ruling last
month, which found the problem of dead witnesses would be best
addressed at retrial by a state court.
“This case,” wrote 5th Circuit Judge Carolyn King in the 2-1
decision with Judge Priscilla Owen, “does not present a
constitutional defect that cannot be cured at retrial.”
Fifth Circuit Judge James L. Dennis dissented, aligning himself
with Brady.
Woodfox is the last remaining member of the “Angola 3,” a group
so named for the members’ long terms in what they’ve argued is
solitary confinement.
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