source:
Sky News
Last Of 'Angola Three' Inmates Released
Albert Woodfox, the last of three inmates whose confinement drew worldwide condemnation, is freed after more than four decades.
The last of the "Angola Three" inmates, who was held in solitary confinement for more than 40 years, has been released from prison.
Albert Woodfox was freed on Friday after pleading no contest to manslaughter and a lesser offence in the 1972 death of a prison guard.
The 69-year-old was the last of three black inmates whose lengthy stays in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola drew international condemnation.
Albert Woodfox speaks with the media after being released from prison
The prison farm is commonly known as the Angola prison and is Louisiana's only maximum-security prison.
Woodfox was serving time at the facility for armed robbery and assault.
The Angola prison is Louisiana's only maximum-security facility
He was placed in solitary confinement in 1972 after he and fellow inmate Herman Wallace were charged over the death of prison guard Brent Miller.
Woodfox and Wallace - both members of the Black Panther Party - claimed they were singled out because of their political activism.
Woodfox, who maintained his innocence in the guard's killing, was tried and convicted twice over the death, but both verdicts were later quashed.
A judge ordered his release in June 2015, but the ruling was blocked on appeal.
Woodfox was awaiting a third trial in the guard's killing when he was released on Friday.
Wallace died in 2014 just days after a judge freed him and granted him a new trial.
The third inmate, Robert King, was released in 2001 after his conviction in the death of a fellow inmate in 1973 was overturned.