A Tale of Two Political Prisoners – and You Can Help Both of Them | Black Agenda Report

A Tale of Two Political Prisoners – and You Can Help Both of Them

20 Mar 2013

🖨️ Print Article

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford

Two heroic political prisoners need your urgent help. Albert Woodfox, of the Angola 3, has spent four decades in solitary confinement. Lynne Stewart, the people’s lawyer, is fighting cancer in a Texas prison cell. “Lynne’s family and legions of supporters are asking that she be given compassionate release from prison so that she can at least have a chance at survival.”

A Tale of Two Political Prisoners – and You Can Help Both of Them

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford

“Woodfox has had his conviction overturned twice.”

There are two people who deserve your attention, today – right now. One has been held in solitary confinement for most of the past 41 years. The other has been fighting most of her life in defense of political prisoners – and has become one, herself. Albert Woodfox, of the Angola 3, is 66 years old. Lynne Stewart, the famed human rights lawyer, is 73, and suffering from Stage 4 breast cancer.

Albert Woodfox and two other Black men at Louisiana’s notorious Angola prison were convicted in the death of a prison guard in 1972, a case that became a cause célèbre for a variety of reasons, including the lack of physical evidence. The three had formed a unit of the Black Panther Party in the prison, in 1971. When the guard was killed, they were immediately put in solitary confinement, where two of them, Woodfox and Herman Wallace, remained for most of the intervening years under a sentence of life imprisonment. The third member of the Angola 3, Robert Hillary King, was released after 29 years of solitary confinement when his conviction was overturned and he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. King has travelled the world speaking out for his imprisoned comrades and for the release of all political prisoners. The Angola 3 have been the subject of three films, one narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.

Woodfox has had his conviction overturned twice, most recently this past February, when a federal court found evidence of intentional racial discrimination in jury selection at Woodfox’s second trial, in 1998.

Amnesty International is asking the Louisiana attorney general not to appeal the judges ruling, so that Woodfox can be released or given a new trial. They’ve organized a “Take Action” letter writing campaign, which you can join by going to Angola3news.blogspot.com or takeaction.amnestyusa.org.

“Lynne Stewart’s breast cancer was found to be spreading.”

Lynne Stewart is a people’s lawyer, who has put her own freedom on the line in the struggle to preserve all of our rights. In 2009, she was sentenced to 28 months in prison for having vigorously defended one of her clients, the so-called “Blind Sheik” Omar Abdel-Rahman, in the World Trade Center bombing case. When she appealed, Stewart’s sentence was increased to 10 years in federal prison – the system’s twisted revenge. At a prison near Fort Worth, Texas, Lynne Stewart’s breast cancer was found to be spreading. Her husband and longtime political partner, Ralph Poynter, says 10 years is a virtual death sentence. Lynne’s family and legions of supporters are asking that she be given compassionate release from prison so that she can at least have a chance at survival.

There is no time to waste. To join in asking for Lynne Stewart’s compassionate release, go to the International Action Center’s website, and sign the petition. That’s iacenter.org. You can also write directly to Lynne from the same address: iacenter.org.

For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to BlackAgendaReport.com.

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.

listen

http://traffic.libsyn.com/blackagendareport/20130320_gf_StewartAndWoodfox.mp3

More Stories

Julia Wright
Behind French uprising: Impact of de-colonialization in Global South
21 Oct 2026
The 2026 French uprising is a continuation of the anti-colonial struggle, rooted in the 1961 Paris massacre of Algerians and the ongoing neocolonial relationship between France and its former…
Edward Rhymes
What Changes For Palestine?
21 Oct 2026
Disregard for Palestinian rights is a feature of Israeli politics rather than a bug. The upcoming Knesset election will change nothing for Palestinians, because every candidate across the political…
Orinoco Tribune
Colombia’s First National Strike Against De la Espriella Met With Police Crackdown
21 Oct 2026
Thousands of people took to the streets across Colombia on Wednesday in the first national strike against President Abelardo de la Espriella’s administration, as police used tear gas, rubber bullets…
Issa G Shivji
Positioning Pan-Africanism In The Geopolitical Turmoil
21 Oct 2026
As we are experiencing a world order in disorder, with war and conflagrations and a shifting balance of power, Issa Shivji calls for a Sovereign Pan-African Project. The analyses recap the…
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Report October 16, 2026
16 Oct 2026
In this week’s segment, we see through supposed disagreements between the US and Canada and recognize their partnership in settler colonialism, enslavement, and imperialism. But we begin with a…