Subject

In 1972 a prison guard was murdered in Angola Prison, Louisiana, USA, where Herman Wallace, Robert King, and Albert Woodfox were prisoners.  Wallace and Woodfox were convicted of the murder; King was said to be connected to the murder but was not charged.  All three were placed in solitary confinement and were forgotten until 1997 when a law student began investigating their case.  King was released after 29 years in solitary confinement.  Apart from a brief spell in 2008 in a maximum security dormitory, Wallace and Woodfox have been in solitary confinement since 1972. The story is more complicated than this brief summary and it continues.  The three men are known as "The Angola 3” and "Who is Herman Wallace" is/was the publicity campaign.

Herman Wallace was born in New Orleans but has spent most of his life in (a very small bit of) Angola Prison.

Update: Wallace had been diagnosed with cancer and was in a prison hospital. On 1 October his conviction was overturned and he was released. He died 3 days later.

Update June 2015: A federal court ordered the immediate release of Woodfox but the Louisiana authorities want to keep him in solitary confinement so the legal wranglings continue. Unbelievable.