"Reform," Bobby Jindal Style

We may be on the brink of inaugurating a Black president, but the miscarriage of justice unfolding in Louisiana with the case of the Angola 3 tells a different story about race, power and accountability in our criminal justice system. At the top of the food chain is self-styled reformer and the GOP's supposed answer to Obama, Governor Bobby Jindal.

Albert Woodfox has spent the last 36 years in solitary confinement -- 23 out of 24 hours each day in a 6×9 cell -- for the murder of a white prison guard, a crime he didn't commit.

Despite increasing evidence of Woodfox's innocence, the State of Louisiana is digging in its heels. They've pushed back against a federal judge who has overturned Woodfox's conviction and ordered his release. The reason is becoming crystal clear: It's not because they believe that Woodfox or the other two people referred to as the "Angola 3" murdered anyone. It's because the three men were organizing within the prison for better conditions, an end to sexual abuses, and the fair treatment of inmates. Apparently, in Louisiana, seeking justice means you deserve to be framed for murder and locked away forever.

James "Buddy" Caldwell, the state's Attorney General, has led the state's fight and Burl Cain, the warden at Angola, is acting as Caldwell's henchman. Ultimately, it's Governor Bobby Jindal who is giving them cover despite being presented with all the facts and being asked repeatedly to intervene. So much for the promise of Jindal and his self-description as a "reformer."

A look at recent proceedings shows that the desire to keep Woodfox behind bars has nothing to do with whether Woodfox is guilty or innocent. Cain has made it clear that he doesn't care. Cain wants him behind bars for no reason other than the fact that Woodfox has been a force for reform from within the prison walls. Says Cain, "The thing about him is that he wants to demonstrate. He wants to organize. He wants to be defiant." Cain has said that even if he knew Woodfox hadn't killed the guard, he would still want the man isolated. "I still would not want him walking around my prison because he would organize the young new inmates," Cain said. It's not that Woodfox is dangerous. It's that he is unrepentant in organizing inmates to achieve a basic sense of decency and livable conditions.

Several months before Judge James Brady overturned Woodfox's conviction, more than 25,000 ColorOfChange.org members appealed to Governor Jindal to get involved. The head of the state legislature's judiciary committee, Cedric Richmond, delivered the petitions to Governor Jindal and requested he intervene. Around the same time, Congressman John Conyers, chair of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, met with both Woodfox and Herman Wallace (one of the other Angola 3) and has publicly called for intervention. Jindal's response has been utter silence.

In recent weeks, as pressure has mounted for Woodfox to be released, Caldwell, the Attorney General, has gone deeper in attempting to demonize Woodfox. He has taken to publicly referring to Woodfox as a "serial rapist," a completely unsubstantiated claim. Once bail was ordered and it was expected that Woodfox would be released, Caldwell's office clandestinely contacted members of the gated community where Woodfox was supposed to live, telling them that a murderer would soon be living among them. Woodfox had been planning to live with his niece. She and her family have now been subject to harassment, and the option of Woodfox living with her has been made virtually impossible.

We've seen unequal and unfair justice before in Louisiana. We can just look back at the case of the Jena 6 a year and a half ago. In that case, six black boys were charged with attempted murder at the hands of a District Attorney who threatened that he could "take away [the students'] lives with a stroke of [his] pen." The threat followed black students protesting the hanging of a noose above a "white tree" at their school, with the charges coming after a racially-charged fight characterized by some as a school-yard fight, where the victim was white.

In the case of the Jena 6, there was an outcry from across the country, culminating in a march of more than 20,000 in the town of Jena. While leaders across the country decried the injustice in Jena, surprisingly, Jindal called those protesting "outside agitators" -- a phrase that echoed racist Southerners' response to Civil Rights-era organizing efforts.

While Governor Jindal claims to be a reformer and has his eyes on the White House, his silence in the Angola 3 case and his language around the case of the Jena 6 tell a different story. His idea of "reform" seems more like an empty slogan and catchy rhetoric than something he's willing to put into practice. Perhaps it's time to confront Jindal and ask him what his idea of reform looks like.

Comments

[CatPower]

"despite increasing evidence of Woodfox's innocence" ??? Once someone is convicted it needs a bit more than 'increasing evidence' - and even then it is a poor exuce for a hitjob on JIndal. I guess some people are afraid of him becoming the R nominee in 2012. At least he will have some sort of record to comment on if or when that time comes-unlike Mr Emptysuit 2008.

[RedKnuckles]

The republicans are undersophisticated mor.ons. They saw all the votes Hillary got, and chose Palin, ignoring the fact that Hillary got all those votes based on experience and substance. Now they seem poised to nominate Jindal for the same reason: They saw Obama get a lot of votes and mistakenly think that it's just as simple as picking a nominee close to the same color.

[Apov]

Liberty and justice for all.......what B S.

[thepeoplechoose]

I see no possibility whatsoever of republicans nominating Jindal for president. He is too overtly conservative in ways that would assure a loss in a national election. There is nothing subtle about Jindals brand of conservatism. It would be impossible to sell it to voters. Or if they actually tried it, the lies that would necessarily have to be told would doom a political campaign to failure. Jindal couldn't withstand the scrutiny of a campaign like the one we just had. Translating his policies as governor of Louisiana onto the national stage would be an absolute non-starter for voters.

[gaebolgaes]

bobbie jindal! the man comes from a country where the caste system has been the law of the land for more than 10,000 years. give me a break.

[luziannagirl]

Louisiana does have a ways to go improving many areas, but please don't think it's the only place in the nation with such challenges, or that positive things aren't happening in Louisiana.

I was in rural western New York recently, and spotted more than one Confederate stars and bars flag flying, and plenty of McCain/Palin signs. Just weeks earlier, Louisiana's capitol city, conservative, white Republican majority Baton Rouge, re-elected with a whopping 71% of the vote, its first black mayor, a moderate Democrat, without a run-off. The same parish(county) went for Obama for President. So, things are changing here, though not fast enough for many of us.

Unquestionably, there is a nationwide problem with inherent equities in the criminal justice system. Eye-witness testimony in general, has been proven to be unreliable, even when it's the same race. Prisons are packed with non-violent offenders and the wrongfully convicted, who then get into more trouble while incarcerated. The US has more per capita prisoners than any other Western nation, and Louisiana has more per capita in prison than any other state. And, we have more poverty and more violent crime per capita than many other states.

And, yes, there is a racial component to all of this, but it's not the only aspect of the problem.

Please continue to encourage those Louisianians who are working to do better.

[j.gold]

Jindal is a joke and has done nothing for us in Louisiana. Well except trying to push creationism into out schools.

[seatech1]

I'm not a conservative, but I have to say that I liked the way Jindal handled the aftermath of the hurricanes this year. He took charge and accomplished quite a bit. Of course, that doesn't mean he's perfect, and I'm not happy with these other issues surrounding him. It's a shame that he can't take that same pragmatism and apply it to all the issues.

[amanwhocares]

I have been in a place like that of Albert and Herman. I was accused of child sexual abuse and I had a temporary hearing in front of a judge who was about to announce his candidacy for reelection just when the Harris County Texas Family Court was under seige by Mary "Froggy" Simons. Judge Squier was not about to go down for supporting the perpetration upon me and my daughter. So he took my precious daughter from me and gave her back to her abusive, lying, criminal mother.

We must shout louder to get these politicians free of their paranoia so that they will allow Albert (and Herman) to be released. Then we must reject them form their alleged public service!
Robert Gartner

[btanner]

Who says that the GOP is not racially diverse? Of course they welcome anyone, as long as they're conservative, anti-abortion, and believe in everything that would keep the human spirit free.

[BayAreaResident]

Such as free from any form wider social responsibility, that is for sure... but in other respects i do agree with what you say.

[jdmba]

Please, someone post a petition or the name and address of Jindal.

I feel angry and helpless.

[balatro]

You are angry and helpless.

[indy girl]

Here's a contact form on his webpage:
http://www.gov.la.gov/index.cfm?md=form&tmp=email_governor

[indy girl]

Department Mailing Address:
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004

[ImWithThatOne]

Unfortunately, I still live in Louisiana, which just may be one of the four or five reddest states in the union, so red that it went for McCain by 25 percentage points. It is also one of the most deeply racist, at its core. The author is right, for every Jena 6 that gets national attention, there are 10 more of these type cases where injustices abound in the prison system. On a personal note, I have a family member who was beaten in jail by a prison guard, and nothing happened to the guard.

[majii]

It's the same here in GA where I live. The racism here is palpable.

[lungfish]

"We may be on the brink of inaugurating a Black president, but "


Last I heard President Elect Obama is half-White.....

[gaebolgaes]

20 years into the system of slavery..50 percent of blacks in the southern united states... were half white.most blacks born in the the south have at least one grandparent or great grandparent who was fathered by some nasty old goatsmelling slave master.

[Lafemme1]

Thank you, gaebolgaes for your comment and for so effectively countering those manipulating, hypocritical beings who once again are attempting to rewrite history for their benefit and egos.

[guajiro]

I am very claustrophobic and cannot understand how state officials can confine someone to such heinous torturous conditions as a 6 x 9 cell. To be in a position where one's body simply screams to allow it to move around and to not be able to is barbaric. Thankfully it appears he has kept his mind focused outside his cell and kept his nerves under control. I have to say that the tide has turned. Despite the efforts by the wealthy to keep the lower class out of the halls of power, I don't think Obama will be the only one of the minorities and or/lower class people of this country to make it to the halls of power such as the Senate, and so I think Albert Woodfox and Leonard Peltier will have persevered after all.

[trisha08]

Well, what goes around, will come around for ol' Bobby. Do you think that racist repbulicans will vote for a man of color will an unusual name like Jindal?

[CatPower]

The question is will you vote for him- and what's 'color' got to do with this case- those that suspect racism are usually racist themselves.

[PatA]

I used to work in a prison and racism is alive and very well where I worked.
Out of every 100,000 citizens, 1479 blacks are incarcerated, 1270 mexicans are in prison and 479 whites are locked up.
American is addicted to prisons. The "officers" are TRAINED to antagonize and bully the offenders and when an offender makes a mistake, he/she is "written" up. After a few of thoset you are sent to administrative segregation (sp? i have a headache) and frequently they are
then sent back to Huntsville. Seg usually lasts from 4 days to 14.
The private prisons can say that they are over
crowded and they get to build a new prison, which incidentally Bush promotes, and make millions. Geo made $869,000,000 in 2006 and spent $69,000,000 on offender services. Food is now down to fifty cents a meal. The "milk" in the cereal looks like water..it is powdered and watered to be so weak that it has no taste. And they don't serve enough food, so the offenders are always hungry.
If an offender chooses to work at the private industry that is housed in the prison, ($1.00 a year rent)they are paid around $9.00 hourly. Child support and such is taken out and they then have to pay for "room and board". An offender ends up with $1.34 an hour! That is put in the prison owned commissary fund and guess who is making money by selling the offenders food?