The good news is that Herman Wallace (pictured left in the 1970s), a member of the famed “Angola 3” who had been serving a record 42 years in solitary confinement, was finally released from the Angola Prison (Louisiana State Penitentiary) on Tuesday and will now get to live out the rest of his days as a free man. The bad news is that the rest of his days are limited. Wallace, who is the main focus of Herman’s House (and the activist art project it’s about) as well as one of the subjects of In the Land of the Free and Angola 3: Black Panthers and the Last Slave Plantation, was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer back in June. Since then, Amnesty International had been calling for his release so that he can be cared for by his family in peace. A federal judge granted the request only this week.
Sadly, he has been sent directly to a hospice in New Orleans and not a dream home he designed with artist Jackie Sumell (aka The House That Herman Built, as seen in Herman’s House) — and not just because the home remains only an installation. Read more on the story, including an interview with fellow Angola 3 member Robert King, at Democracy Now!
Herman’s House is actually about to hit iTunes, VOD and other digital platforms on October 8, via Cinedigm.
In the Land of the Free is only available on DVD yet also doesn’t seem to be in print at the moment, while Angola 3: Black Panthers and the Last Slave Plantation can be streamed on Amazon.
