A 71 year old former Louisiana state prison inmate dies of cancer three days after being released - his family states "he was just turning his life around."
In 1970, Black Panther Herman Wallace was serving a 50 year sentence for armed robbery when he and two other men were convicted of killing a prison guard.
*yawn*
In 1970, Black Panther Herman Wallace was serving a 50 year sentence for armed robbery when he and two other men were convicted of killing a prison guard.
A 71-year-old man who spent 41 years in solitary confinement died today, just days after being freed. Herman Wallace, who had liver cancer, died at a supporter's home in New Orleans, his attorneys said. 'One of the final things that Herman said to us was, "I am free. I am free",' they said.Yep, Martin Luther King would be so proud. Let's name a street after him.
Baton Rouge Judge Brian Jackson had ordered Wallace released from prison on Tuesday after granting him a new trial. Jackson ruled women were unconstitutionally excluded from the grand jury that indicted Wallace in the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old prison guard Brent Miller.
A West Feliciana Parish grand jury re-indicted Wallace on charges connected to Miller's death on Thursday. District Attorney Sam D'Aquilla told The Advocate newspaper that Jackson ordered a new trial because he 'perceived a flaw in the indictment - not his murder conviction'. Wallace and two other inmates held in solitary confinement for years came to be known as the 'Angola 3'.The judge released Wallace on a procedural issue, not on any evidential question surrounding his conviction. If Wallace had died in prison he still would not have finished his original 50 year prison term.
*yawn*
4 comments:
Too bad they couldn't keep him in solitary for another 30 04 40 years.
Dead three days after his release? That was three days where the general public was less safe.
I don't know. It seems an extremely, if purely serendipitous, little joy. Free to die, plus, no tax money went into putting dirt on that particular hellbound soul's body. Plus, he might just have had some hope that he had gotten away with something. Nothing like seeing the damned try to claw out of hell.
I understand the other side of things. Proof that our justice system is rotten. It's why I want the death penalty to remain, become much more robust and quick. And, yes, get me to that range and I'll send the bullet, pull the cord, push the button. I will do that and happily.
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