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Amnesty International: Louisiana Put Prisoner Herman Wallace Through 'Hell'

10-4-2013 • http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-releases/amne

Amnesty International USA issued the following comments today from Steven Hawkins, executive director, upon learning of the death of Herman Wallace in Louisiana: 'Today is a very sad day for the family and friends of Herman Wallace and for those who spent so many years working toward his freedom. We at Amnesty International offer our condolences to his loved ones. Herman died three days after a judge overturned his conviction and the state of Louisiana released him to hospice care, as he suffered from liver cancer. The state put this man through hell. While he died knowing he was free, this did not mitigate the unjustifiable decades he endured of cruel and inhuman solitary confinement. From a flawed conviction in 1974, through more than 41 years of confinement in degrading conditions, to a belated terminal diagnosis, Wallace’s treatment at the hands of the state was marked at every turn by a fundamental disregard for his human rights.