*In Honor Of Our Class-War Prisoners- Free All The Class-War Prisoners Present And Former!-The Angola Three’s Albert Woodfox Free At Last!

*In Honor Of Our Class-War Prisoners- Free All The Class-War Prisoners Present And Former!-The Angola Three’s Albert Woodfox Free At Last! 

 

http://www.thejerichomovement.com/prisoners.html

 

A link above to more information about the class-war prisoner honored in this entry.

Make June Class-War Prisoners Freedom Month

Markin comment (reposted from 2010)

In “surfing” the National Jericho Movement Website recently in order to find out more, if possible, about class- war prisoner and 1960s radical, Marilyn Buck, whom I had read about in a The Rag Blog post I linked to the Jericho list of class war prisoners. I found Marilyn Buck listed there but also others, some of whose cases, like that of the “voice of the voiceless” Pennsylvania death row prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal, are well-known and others who seemingly have languished in obscurity. All of the cases, at least from the information that I could glean from the site, seemed compelling. And all seemed worthy of far more publicity and of a more public fight for their freedom.

That last notion set me to the task at hand. Readers of this space know that I am a longtime supporter of the Partisan Defense Committee, a class struggle, non-sectarian legal and social defense organization which supports class war prisoners as part of the process of advancing the international working class’ struggle for socialism. In that spirit I am honoring the class war prisoners on the National Jericho Movement list this June as the start of what I hope will be an on-going attempt by all serious leftist militants to do their duty- fighting for freedom for these brothers and sisters. We will fight out our political differences and disagreements as a separate matter. What matters here and now is the old Wobblie (IWW) slogan - An injury to one is an injury to all.

Note: This list, right now, is composed of class-war prisoners held in American detention. If others are likewise incarcerated that are not listed here feel free to leave information on their cases in the comment section. Likewise any cases, internationally, that come to your attention. I am sure there are many, many such cases out there. Make this June, and every June, a Class-War Prisoners Freedom Month- Free All Class-War Prisoners Now!

Workers Vanguard No. 1084	26 February 2016

Albert Woodfox Free at Last

On February 19, his 69th birthday, Albert Woodfox finally walked out of a Louisiana prison a free man after spending nearly 44 years in solitary confinement—the longest such stint of any U.S. prisoner. The Spartacist League and Partisan Defense Committee salute this courageous man, and we join his many supporters in hailing his release from prison.

Woodfox entered the infamous Angola prison in 1971 and later founded a Black Panther Party chapter with fellow prisoners Herman Wallace and Robert King, who became known as the Angola Three. They were directly targeted by their jailers for organizing work stoppages and protests denouncing prison conditions. Shortly after his release, in a Guardian (20 February) interview Woodfox described the vendetta against the Angola Three: “Our political activities marked us and that’s why they locked us up in solitary confinement, where I remained until yesterday.”

When an Angola prison guard was fatally stabbed in 1972, Woodfox and Wallace were convicted of murder without a shred of physical evidence. King was later framed up for the killing of a fellow inmate. The Angola Three fought their convictions for decades. King was released in 2001 and Wallace was finally freed in 2013, only to die of liver cancer three days after his release. It is an absolute outrage that Woodfox and his comrades were robbed of decades of their lives for their political activities.

Woodfox’s conviction had been overturned twice, but his jailers were hell-bent on seeing him die in prison despite his clear innocence. The state was preparing to try him for the murder a third time. On the day of his release, Woodfox, whose serious health concerns were exacerbated by his incarceration, pleaded no contest to lesser charges of manslaughter and aggravated burglary. He was sentenced to 45 years and released for time served—mostly “served” in a six-by-nine-foot box.

The capitalist state’s treatment of Woodfox was always intended to be a chilling example for all those who stand up against the horrible conditions in prison hellholes. Woodfox maintained his strength and dignity in the face of horrific torment. In his Guardian interview, Woodfox stated: “I promised myself that I would not let them break me, not let them drive me insane.” A free man now, Woodfox plans to spend time with family, get much-needed medical care and speak out for others still languishing in solitary confinement.

Co-founder of Black Panther Party inside