• Press Release

Amnesty International USA Reacts to Albert Woodfox Court Decision

November 10, 2015

CONTACT: Mandy Simon, [email protected]

(WASHINGTON) – In response to a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decision overturning a previous decision to release Albert Woodfox immediately from prison, Amnesty International USA released the following statement. It is attributable to Jasmine Heiss, Senior Campaigner:

“Today's decision means that Louisiana prisoner Albert Woodfox will be forced to stand trial a third time for a crime that occurred 43 years ago. He remains trapped in a nightmare – both by conditions of solitary confinement and by a deeply flawed legal process that has spanned four decades.

“Woodfox should have walked free before U.S. District Judge James Brady ordered his unconditional release in June of this year. But Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell continues to relentlessly pursue vengeance over justice and has succeeded in prolonging Woodfox's legal nightmare.

“Woodfox has endured the unthinkable for over four decades in state custody. It's long past time for the courts and state officials to finally provide some measure of justice and let Woodfox walk free."

Woodfox’s case is being highlighted in Amnesty International’s 2015 Write for Rights campaign. To learn more Woodfox’s case and participate, go to: www.writeforrights.org and http://write.amnestyusa.org/case/albert/

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning global movement of more than 7 million people in over 190 countries who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.