Biography
Albert Woodfox was a Black Panther and one of the Angola Three. Imprisoned in Louisiana, he spent decades in solitary confinement while challenging his conviction in the killing of prison guard Brent Miller. He was released on February 19, 2016, following a no-contest plea to reduced charges, and died on August 4, 2022. The Innocence Project reports 44 years and 10 months of incarceration. He maintained his innocence and became an advocate against solitary confinement.
Defenestrator’s April 2009 Angola Three coverage described Woodfox and Wallace’s Black Panther organizing, decades in solitary confinement and their continuing legal challenges. It reported their March 2008 move to a maximum-security dormitory and return to solitary eight months later. The article quoted Warden Burl Cain’s October 22, 2008 deposition on political beliefs. These transfers did not end imprisonment. Defenestrator, issue 44, April 2009, original PDF page 11. Source: https://we.riseup.net/assets/6831/versions/2/def44.pdf#page=11
Workers World describes the Angola Three solidarity campaign in September 2006. Its collective description of the 1972 guard-murder prosecution should not be used to attribute that charge to Robert Hillary King; the men’s distinct cases and release histories require individual evidence. Workers World, October 5, 2006, vol.48 no.39, original PDF page 3. Source: https://www.workers.org/pdf/2006/ww100506.pdf#page=3
Custody research — September 2026
The Innocence Project reports 44 years and 10 months of incarceration. Release was February 19, 2016; the former February 18 date was incorrect. This source-reported duration does not invent an exact admission day.
Admission precision reviewed October 12, 2026: The federal court's August 13, 2007 ruling, case 3:00-cv-00304, document 233, page 2, records Woodfox's arrival at Louisiana State Penitentiary in 1971. This institution-admission year is now recorded at year precision; January 1 is storage, not an asserted day. April 18, 1972 was placement in extended lockdown, not his original prison admission. Earlier arrest and pre-Angola detention remain separately unresolved. Unsupported exact day/month duration totals are cleared; no exact arrest day is inferred.
The 2007 civil-rights report and recommendation recounts Woodfox’s transfer to the Amite city jail on March 26, 1996, his move to its general population after six months, and his stay there until March 15, 1999. This qualifies accounts of uninterrupted solitary confinement without changing his total imprisonment or later release. Magistrate Judge Docia Dalby signed the recommendation on August 11; it was filed August 13. It recommended dismissing the claims against Richard Stalder and denying the other summary-judgment requests, rather than issuing a final liability judgment or release order.
