HLS 15RS-4673 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 208
BY REPRESENTATIVE SMITH
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Requests the attorney general to withdraw the appeal of Judge
James Brady's ruling to release and bar further prosecution of Albert Woodfox
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the attorney general to withdraw the appeal to the United States Fifth
3 Circuit Court of Appeals of Judge James Brady's ruling to release Albert Woodfox
4 and bar further prosecution of Mr. Woodfox for the killing of an Angola prison
5 guard.
6 WHEREAS, Mr. Woodfox first arrived at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola
7in the early 1970s and during his incarceration, he has served 43 years in solitary
8confinement, which is believed to be the longest period of time in United States history and
9a practice that in recent years has come upon much criticism as "cruel and unusual
10punishment"; and
11 WHEREAS, Mr. Woodfox, along with two other former inmates at the state
12penitentiary who were released in 2001 and 2013, was accused of killing a prison guard in
131972; and
14 WHEREAS, Mr. Woodfox was convicted of the murder in 1973; however, in 1992,
15the Louisiana 18
th
Judicial District Court found that Mr. Woodfox was "denied his
16constitutional right of effective assistance of counsel" and his 1973 conviction was reversed
17on the grounds that the "conviction was obtained on the basis of an unconstitutional
18indictment" (Albert Woodfox v. Burl Cain, Warden of the La. State Penitentiary, et al., Civil
19Action No. 06-789-JJB-RLB (M.D. La. June 8, 2015)); and
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HR NO. 208
1 WHEREAS, in 1993, Mr. Woodfox was indicted a second time and tried and
2convicted in 1998; however, on Monday, June 8, 2015, a U.S. District Judge for the Middle
3District of Louisiana, Judge James Brady, signed an order releasing Mr. Woodfox,
4overturning the second conviction against him, and barring a third trial for the 1972 killing
5from taking place (Id.); and
6 WHEREAS, on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked
7the decision to release Albert Woodfox, the last of the "Angola 3" prisoners who is still
8incarcerated after decades in solitary confinement; and
9 WHEREAS, in support of its ruling, the court cites the following five factors
10justifying the release and barring retrial of Mr. Woodfox: (1) Mr. Woodfox's "age and poor
11health", (2) Mr. Woodfox's "limited ability to present a defense at a third trial in light of the
12unavailability of witnesses", (3) the court's "lack of confidence in the state to provide a fair
13third trial", (4) the "prejudice done onto Mr. Woodfox by spending over forty-years in
14solitary confinement", and (5) the fact that Mr. Woodfox has already been tried twice and
15would otherwise face his third trial for a crime that occurred over forty years ago.
16 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
17Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the attorney general to withdraw the
18appeal to the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals of Judge James Brady's ruling to
19release Albert Woodfox and bar further prosecution of Mr. Woodfox for this offense.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 208 Original 2015 Regular Session Smith
Requests the attorney general to withdraw the appeal to the U.S. 5
th
Circuit Court of Appeals
of Judge James Brady's ruling to release Albert Woodfox and bar further prosecution of Mr.
Woodfox.
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