Two men held in solitary confinement in Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola since the 1970s were moved into a maximum-security dormitory with other inmates Monday, Assistant Warden Angie Norwood said today.
Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, part of a group known as the Angola 3, have sued the state, claiming they are victims of cruel and unusual punishment for the years they spent in isolation. The two were convicted of killing a prison guard, though their attorneys argue they didn’t commit the crime.
Their move out of solitary confinement came as lawyers for the prisoners and the state are negotiating a settlement in the lawsuit, which is pending in federal court in Baton Rouge.
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Mumia Abu Jamal Legal Update
This is an update on the case of my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been on Pennsylvania’s death row for over a quarter of a century.
We continue to await the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Pennsylvania. I am in contact with the court, and will alert everyone immediately upon the issuance of a ruling. Oral argument was on May 17, 2007, thus people ask why the court is taking so long. This is a highly complex case involving issues of great constitutional significance and a voluminous amount of material. In three decades of successfully defending people in numerous murder cases involving the death penalty, I have not seen one more complicated.
It is impossible to know how the federal court will rule, but the briefing and arguments could not have gone better even though there have been problems due to mistakes by prior counsel. If the federal court follows the mandate of the U.S. Constitution, the decision should be favorable.
However, Mumia remains in jeopardy because courts are so unpredictable.
Robert Bryan
San Francisco CA
Robert Bryan is lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal.
We continue to await the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Pennsylvania. I am in contact with the court, and will alert everyone immediately upon the issuance of a ruling. Oral argument was on May 17, 2007, thus people ask why the court is taking so long. This is a highly complex case involving issues of great constitutional significance and a voluminous amount of material. In three decades of successfully defending people in numerous murder cases involving the death penalty, I have not seen one more complicated.
It is impossible to know how the federal court will rule, but the briefing and arguments could not have gone better even though there have been problems due to mistakes by prior counsel. If the federal court follows the mandate of the U.S. Constitution, the decision should be favorable.
However, Mumia remains in jeopardy because courts are so unpredictable.
Robert Bryan
San Francisco CA
Robert Bryan is lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal.
New Jersey: Activist fights for jail term closer to home
Human rights activist Edwin Lewinson demanded to be sent to prison following his arrest last year during a protest against a controversial school that trains Latin American troops at Fort Benning, Ga.
But the blind 78-year-old retired professor is not happy to serve his three-month sentence at the Elkton Federal Correctional Institution, which is 413 miles from his home in Newark.
"It's going to make it difficult for my friends to come visit me," Lewinson said Wednesday during a small rally in his honor in front of the Peter Rodino Federal Building in Newark.
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But the blind 78-year-old retired professor is not happy to serve his three-month sentence at the Elkton Federal Correctional Institution, which is 413 miles from his home in Newark.
"It's going to make it difficult for my friends to come visit me," Lewinson said Wednesday during a small rally in his honor in front of the Peter Rodino Federal Building in Newark.
Source and full story
Olympia SDSer Arrested
On Tuesday, March 18, local activist Forrest Student and member of SDS at The Evergreen State College in Olympia was targeted by Officer Perez of the Evergreen Police. Perez has a history of harassing and abusing students and other people on campus. When Perez approached him and started questioning him, the person said he had the right to have an attorney present and because of that, Perez arrested him for obstruction. Forrest continued in his refusal, demanding an attorney while in jail and at his arraignment. In response his charges were increased to misdemeanor criminal mischief. The judge refused to set bail and Forrest is still sitting in jail.
Source and full story
Source and full story
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