Albert Woodfox, Survivor of 42 Years in Solitary Confinement, Dies at 75
The New York Times, August 5, 2022: Albert Woodfox, Survivor of 42 Years in Solitary Confinement, Dies at 75
“Albert Woodfox, who spent 42 years in solitary confinement — possibly more time than any other prisoner in all of American history — yet emerged to win acclaim with a memoir that declared his spirit unbroken, died on Thursday in New Orleans. He was 75.
“His lead lawyer, George Kendall, said the cause was Covid-19. Mr. Kendall added that Mr. Woodfox also had a number of pre-existing organ conditions.
“Mr. Woodfox was placed in solitary confinement in 1972 after being accused of murdering Brent Miller, a 23-year-old corrections officer. A tangled legal ordeal ensued, including two convictions, both overturned, and three indictments stretching over four decades.
“The case struck most commentators as problematic. No forensic evidence linked Mr. Woodfox to the crime, so the authorities’ argument depended on witnesses, who over time were discredited or proved unreliable.
“‘The facts of the case were on his side,’ The New York Times editorial board wrote in a 2014 opinion piece about Mr. Woodfox.
“But Louisiana’s attorney general, Buddy Caldwell, saw things differently. ‘This is the most dangerous person on the planet,’ he told NPR in 2008.”
Additional reading:
Solitary: A Biography by Albert Woodfox on bookshop.org
NPR, March 2, 2019: Albert Woodfox On Serving More Than 40 Years In Solitary Confinement
University of Texas at Austin School of Law, 2019: The Only Panthers Left: An Intellectual History of the Angola 3
