A judge in the US state of Louisiana
has ordered the release of an
inmate who has been in solitary
confinement for more than 40 years.Judge James Brady also banned prosecutors from trying Albert Woodfox, 68, for a third time.
Following Brady's orders, Woodfox could be released from jail within days.
He has been in solitary confinement since April 1972, after he was blamed for the death of a guard during a prison riot.
Woodfox was tried twice for the guard's death, but both convictions were later overturned. He denies all the charges.
He was confined for 23 hours a day, with an hour outside his cell to "walk alone along the tier on which his cell is located", according to court documents from a case challenging his prison conditions.
Exercise was permitted three times a week and there were restrictions on "personal property, reading materials, access to legal resources, work, and visitation rights".
Originally convicted and imprisoned for armed robbery, he was found guilty of murder after the riot in which prison officer Brent Miller was stabbed to death with a lawnmower blade.
On Monday, Judge Brady ordered the unconditional release of Woodfox and said a third trial could not be fair.
But a spokesman for the Louisiana attorney general said prosecutors would appeal "to make sure this murderer stays in prison and remains fully accountable for his actions".
Solitary confinement in the US
- 80,000 prisoners estimated to be in solitary confinement in the US
- Held in 44 states, 25,000 in super-maximum security ("supermax") jails
- Conditions vary, but can include up to 23 hours a day confined alone
- Psychologists warn of negative reactions, such as isolation panic
- UN torture rapporteur wants global ban in all but exceptional circumstances
- Proponents say needed to protect other prisoners and staff
- Source:BBC
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