Albert Woodfox has spent 40 years in solitary confinement, locked up alone in a tiny cell with little natural light for 23 hours a day. The UN says his treatment amounts to torture.
His conviction has been overturned 3 times, despite this the Attorney General won't let him go free.
Albert maintains his innocence, believing his 1973 conviction for the murder of a prison guard was politically motivated as he was a member of the Black Panther Party.
No physical evidence linked him to the crime.
In June 2015, a federal judge ordered his release, but his freedom has been blocked by Louisiana's Attorney General, who is waging a campaign of vengeance against him.
"They might bend me a little bit," says Albert. "They might cause me a lot of pain. They may even take my life. But they will never be able to break me."
Justice is long overdue. Call on the Attorney General to release Albert now.
Dear Attorney General, (Louisiana, USA)
I am very concerned for Louisiana prisoner Albert Woodfox, who has spent more than 40 years in solitary confinement for a crime he has always maintained he did not commit.
These decades of isolation and deprivation – described as torture by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture – have taken an appalling toll on his health.
The legal process was so flawed that his conviction has been overturned three times and yet his release continues to be blocked.
[Your comments here]
As Attorney General of Louisiana, you have the power to end this injustice. Following decades of cruel and inhumane conditions in solitary confinement, I call on you to allow Albert Woodfox's release from prison immediately.
In hope,
[Your name here]
