“ALBERT WOODFOX, HERMAN WALLACE and Robert Wilkerson are worth my efforts and the efforts of all who believe that you must !ght injustice where you !nd it.” DAME ANITA RODDICK Founder of The Body Shop and human rights activist “THE RELENTLESS PROSECUTION OF THE Angola 3 in the infamous Penitentiary at Angola…is another in a long line of cases in this country involving egregious prosecuto- rial misconduct. The interests of justice can only be served by ending the prosecution and dropping the charges against them, and setting them free.” RAMSEY CLARK Former U.S. Attorney General “FRIENDSHIPS ARE FORGED IN STRANGE places. My friendship with Robert King, and the other two Angola 3 men Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, is based on respect. These men, as Robert reveals in this stunning account of his life, have fought tirelessly to redress injustice, not only for themselves, but for others. Since his release in 2001 Robert has been engaged in the !ght to rescue these men from a cruel and repressive administration that colludes in deliberate lying and obfuscation to keep them locked up. This is a battle Robert is determined to win, and we are determined to help him.” G ORDON RODDICK Co-founder of The Body Shop and human rights activist “THIS BOOK IS A SEARING INDICTMENT OF the contemporary USA, a rich and commanding nation, which still crushes the hopes and aspirations of so many poor black Americans and criminalizes their young. Robert Hillary King’s account of his horrifying 29 years in prison for a crime he did not commit should shame all of us who believe that justice has to be at the heart of any democracy worthy of that name.” (BARONESS) HELENA KENNEDY QC Member of the House of Lords, Chair of Justice, UK “WHEN THERE IS A TRAIN WRECK, THERE IS a public inquiry, to try to avoid it recurring. Robert King’s con- viction was a train wreck, and this book is perhaps the only way the world will get to understand why. There are more than 3,000 people serving life without the possibility of parole in Angola today, some as young as 14 when they were sent there, and many of them innocent but without the lawyer to prove it. We owe it to them, and others in a similar plight around the world, to read this book. And Robert King wears a mighty !ne hat!” CLIVE STAFFORD SMITH Director, Reprieve “AS A BRUSH WITH DEATH SHARPENS LIFE, a lifetime of con!nement can broaden the vision…” AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN “…DISTURBED BY EVIDENCE SUGGESTING that their long term isolation may have been based, at least in part, on their past activism and association with the Black Panther Party…the prisoners’ prolonged isolation breached international treaties which the USA has rati!ed…The relevant treaties have found that prolonged solitary con!nement can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL on "The Angola 3” 2007 “THEIR ADHERENCE TO THE BLACK PANTHER ideology has given them the strength, courage and spirit to !ght the prison system” DAVID HILLIARD Former Black Panther Party Chief of Staff “…THERE IS POWERFUL EVIDENCE THAT they were framed…despite the compelling evidence of a terrible miscarriage of justice, Woodfox and Wallace remain locked up….” INDEPENDENT TELEVISION NEWS UK “THEY ENDURED AND SURVIVED OVER all these years with very little help from the outside. They are the kind of unsung heroes who we must come forward to help because they never asked for anything from us in exchange for what they have suffered.” GERONIMO JI JAGA Former Minister of Defense Black Panther Party and former U.S. political prisoner “FACED WITH LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE IN solitary, it is past time for people to organize for their life in freedom. They are political prisoners of the highest caliber who deserve your support.” MUMIA ABU-JAMAL Former Black Panther, and U.S. Political Prisoner on Death Row “THESE KINDS OF WARRIORS MUST NEVER be forgotten. They have been at the front line of the struggle, !ghting against the worst kind of brutalities and humiliations.” YURI KOCHIYAMA Human Rights Activist “I RECENTLY BECAME AWARE OF EVIDENCE that suggests these men were wrongly convicted. I urge a swift and just resolution of the matter.” JOHN CONYERS U.S. Ranking Congressmen and Chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee “WE KNOW FROM GUANTÁNAMO BAY AND other notorious prisons that keeping detainees in solitary con!ne- ment for extended periods of time can be extremely damaging and it is truly shocking that the Louisiana state authorities saw !t to in"ict decades of solitary on ‘The Angola 3’. Robert King’s book is a timely expose of past injustice as well as a call to action. It deserves to be read by anyone with even a passing interest in the United States, justice and human rights”. KATE ALLEN Amnesty International UK director ”TO LOSE ONES FREEDOM IS A TERRIBLE punishment in itself. To be innocent and incarcerated for 29 years is almost beyond belief. Robert King survived this expe- rience with his dignity intact and with a renewed passion for justice. An amazing story”. TERRY WAITE CBE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE HEAP The Autobiography of Black Panther Robert Hillary King PM PRESS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE HEAP The AutOBiogrAphy oF blAck Panther Robert HiŁl a r y K i n G FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE HEAP: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BLACK PANTHER ROBERT HILLARY KING By Robert HiŁlary King Copyright © 2009 Robert Hillary King This edition copyright © 2009 PM Press All Rights Reserved Published by: PM Press PO Box 23912 Oakland, CA 94623 www.pmpress.org Cover photograph by Ann Harkness Angola 3 illustration by Rigo 23 Robert King illustration by Emory Douglas Designed by Courtney Utt ISBN: 978-1-60486-039-9 Library Of Congress Control Number: 2008931839 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the USA on recycled paper. #$#%&'($# () Anita Roddick: activist, humanitarian, benefactor, and friend; 1942-2007. acknowledgements REVOLUTIONARY LOVE AND REGARDS TO Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, who have kept the com- mitment to truth throughout these years and have continued to pay for it by being held in solitary for over 36 years. Your freedom is inevitable. Special thanks to Rigo 23, a friend and ardent support of The Angola 3, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier and other politi- cal prisoners for many years. Rigo chooses anonymity, but his artwork and activism denies his wishes to remain anonymous. Special thanks to scott crow, Co-founder of Common Ground Collective, and many other visionary grassroots projects. His urgent persistence, hard work and enthusiasm was the inspira- tion I needed in a time of crisis to continue this work. My deepest gratitude and recognition to: Ann Harkness, my sister in struggle, for working behind the scenes on my candy business and all the things you do. You’re a warrior. Marina Drummer, the ’navigator’ for keeping up with all the details year in and year out. NPR’s The Kitchen Sisters: Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva, for keeping my candy business and the story of the A3 alive. Gordon Roddick and Samantha Roddick, for keeping alive the legacy of your wife and mother Anita Roddick. Marion Brown, Co-founder of A3 Support 11 ROBERT HILLA RY KI N G Committee, my longtime comrade, for not forgetting. Malik Rahim, Co-founder of A3 Support Committee and Common Ground Collective, for not giving up the !ght for justice all these years in New Orleans. Gail Shaw and Billy X, Co-founders of the A3 Support Committee and It’s about Time, Althea Francois, Co-founder of A3 Support Committee. My heartfelt appreciation and thanks to many long time friends and comrades who shared so much and have never given up. Bruce Allen, Orissa Arend, Brackin ‘Firecracker’ Camp, Col. Nyati Bolt, Scott Fleming, James Clark, Shana Grif!n, Anne Pruden, Jackie Sumell, Brice White, Chris Aberley, Brandon Darby, Millie Barnet, Brooke Biggs, Linda Carmichael, Tristesse Casimer, Geronimo Ji Jaga and the Kuji Foundation, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Anja DeGraff, Leslie George, Noelle Hanrahan and Prison Radio, Pam Holbrook, Erin Howley, Elizabeth Jef- fers, Mwalimu Johnson, M.T. Karthik, Anake Konig, Mark and Anna Chiat, Anna Kraakman, Laurie Lazer, Cesar Maxit, Billie Mizell, Sarah Myers, Carrie Reichardt, Wanda Sabir, Kalil Shayid, Dave Strano, Tajiri (Truth Universal), Luis ‘Bato’ Talamantez and California Prison Focus, Ron Chisom and The Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond, Akeilah, Khadijah and Jamilla,of the Community Defender, Garilla Ballard, Violetta Thompson (now an ancestor), Anita Yesho, Yasmine, Raul Sali- nas (now an ancestor). Thanks to all of our supporters overseas in the UK, Portugal, Belgium, and many other countries I have visited during my travels. Special thanks to Chuck and all on our ‘A3 Team’ for your work behind the scenes Thanks to David Martinez, for your presence to welcome me as I !rst walked free, and your beautiful photographs. 12 F ROM THE BOTTO M OF THE H EAP Thanks to PM Press: Ramsey Kanaan, Andrea Gibbons, my editor, for being succinct and keeping the story and details alive through this, Terry Bisson for the editing of the words, and to everyone working behind the scenes at PM to bring this to life. My indebtedness to all the readers and advisers of this book who gave feedback over the years, thank you for your input, patience and work to see it through. It has been a long time coming. Thanks to the people who transcribed my original manuscript, typed on an old manual typewriter that was largely written while I was in solitary at Angola Prison: Charlene Rose, Clancy Rose, Evan St.