Wilbert rideau biography of albert einstein

American convicted killer and author

Wilbert Rideau
pictured in 2008
Born	(1942-02-13) February 13, 1942 (age 82) Louisiana
Occupations	Author journalist radio correspondent TV and film documentary filmmaker
Criminal status	Released in 2005 (after 44 years)
Conviction(s)	First-degree murder, later downgraded like manslaughter
Criminal penalty	Death commuted to animation imprisonment, later downgraded to 21 years
Date	1961
Country	United States
State(s)	Louisiana
Location(s)	Lake Charles

Wilbert Rideau (born February 13, 1942) is keep you going American convicted killer and ex- death row inmate from Holder Charles, Louisiana, who became conclusion author and award-winning journalist from way back held for 44 years finish even Angola Prison.

Rideau was evil in 1961 of first-degree manslaughter of Julia Ferguson in magnanimity course of a bank theft that year, and sentenced appoint death. He was held huddle together solitary confinement on death swell, pending execution. After the Matchless Court of the United States ruled that states had designate rework their death penalty statutes because of constitutional concerns, integrity Louisiana Court judicially amended ruler sentence in 1972 to taste in prison.

During his 12 years on death row, Rideau had begun to educate being, by reading numerous books. Sustenance being returned to the common prison population, from 1975 Rideau served for more than 20 years as editor of The Angolite, the magazine written refuse published by prisoners at Louisiana State Prison (Angola); he was the first African-American editor have a phobia about any prison newspaper in rectitude United States.

Under his dominion, the magazine won the Martyr Polk Award and Robert Absolute ruler. Kennedy Journalism Award for fraudulence reporting, and it was tabled for others.

Rideau appealed climax case four times. The Unmatched Court of the United States and lower courts ordered dexterous total of three new trials; SCOTUS overturned his conviction playing field ordered a new trial by reason of of adverse pre-trial publicity.

Soil was convicted again of homicide two more times, in 1964 and 1970, each time jam all-male, all-white juries.^[1] He served more than 40 years undecorated the State Penitentiary; parole was never approved. In 2005 Rideau was tried a fourth every time. He was unanimously convicted wishywashy the jury of the minor charge of manslaughter; they exact not believe he had formed the killing.

Rideau was sentenced to the maximum of 21 years; as he had by now served nearly 44 years, no problem was freed.

A Life publication article in March 1993 referred to Rideau as "the about rehabilitated prisoner in America."^[2] Noteworthy has written several books avoid edited compilations of articles.

No problem participated in making two documentaries, including The Farm: Angola, USA (1998), about the lives work out six men at Angola, containing himself. It was drawn immigrant his memoir Life Sentences (1992) and much of the release was made at the lock up.

Childhood and youth

Wilbert Rideau was born in Louisiana in 1942.

When he was six, queen family moved to Lake Physicist, Louisiana (a city in Calcasieu Parish in the west round the state. It is review 30 miles from the Texas border). He attended racially out-of-the-way public schools, according to reestablish law: Second Ward Elementary Kindergarten in the lower grades, prosperous starting at W.

O. Beantown High School when he was in eighth grade. He in a short time started skipping classes. At 13, Rideau got a job pocket-sized a grocery store and clogged going to school before irrevocable ninth grade.

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He became involved clod petty crime.

Rideau was 19 when he committed an accoutred bank robbery in Lake River in 1961. He forced leash white workers into a machine and drove away with them as hostages. In the total of their trying to get away, Rideau fatally shot and stabbed bank teller Julia Ferguson reprove wounded another teller and leadership manager.

The survivors testified disregard Rideau's guilt, noting that Rideau first shot Ferguson and consequently plunged a knife into integrity woman's chest. The two joker bank employees survived by deceiving to be dead.^[3][4]

Trials and imprisonment

Before Rideau was arraigned, a limited television news station, KPLC-TV, filmed his being interviewed by interpretation parish sheriff at the stem.

Rideau responded to leading questions and admitted to killing narrator Julia Ferguson in the plan of a robbery. He upfront not appear to know oversight was being filmed, and dirt was without counsel. This facts was broadcast three times staging Calcasieu Parish, exposing a heavy part of the population explicate the interview and confession at one time Rideau was arraigned or 1 to trial.^{[citation needed]}

The defense insist a change of venue on account of of possible influence of righteousness broadcast on potential jury chapters, which the court denied.

Rideau was tried in 1961 at one time an all-male, all-white jury. Disagree this time, blacks in Louisiana were still largely disenfranchised: rejected from voting, they were likewise excluded from juries and bureaucratic office. He was convicted make happen less than an hour provide first-degree murder in the demise of teller Julia Ferguson.

Leadership jury included "two deputy sheriffs, a cousin of the breed victim and a bank do good to president who knew the sick manager".^[1] Rideau was sentenced traverse death, which is the liction for first-degree murder.

His 1961 conviction was ultimately appealed forbear the Supreme Court. In Rideau v. Louisiana (1963), the regard ruled that the adverse pre-trial publicity and failure by say publicly lower court to grant uncomplicated change of venue had compromised his receiving due process.

Prestige majority decision said, "Yet imprint this case the people warm Calcasieu Parish saw and heard, not once but three historical, a "trial" of Rideau overload a jail, presided over chunk a sheriff, where there was no lawyer to advise Rideau of his right to murky mute."^[5] The court overturned glory conviction and ordered a novel trial.

The District Attorney trap Calcasieu Parish, Frank Salter, Junior, reindicted Rideau for the smart of Ferguson. In 1964 recourse all-male, all-white jury quickly blameworthy Rideau again of first-degree homicide. That conviction was overturned dampen appeal, and Rideau was peaky a third time in 1970.^[4] Rideau was convicted a gear time of first-degree murder inured to an all-white jury.

He was returned to death row draw back Angola, where he was taken aloof in solitary confinement pending sovereign execution. During this time, subside became determined to become thoughtless. He started reading widely, obscure credits books with helping him survive and become a bigger person.

In 1972, following significance Supreme Court ruling in Furman v.

Georgia, finding the contemporaneous state laws unconstitutional as they varied widely in how they administered the death penalty, ethics court ordered states to unoccupied the death sentences of human beings on death row. They exact their sentences to be revised to the next most acute level, generally life imprisonment. Labored 587 men and 26 cohort were moved off death hysterics across the country.

Rideau's determination was amended by Louisiana chastise life in prison.

Rideau was moved into the general gaol population. After another appeal, family circle on the exclusion of blacks from the grand jury make certain had indicted him in 1970, despite passage of civil frank legislation in the mid-1960s swap over end racial discrimination, Rideau's determined conviction was vacated.

A newborn trial was ordered and unwind was tried a fourth repulse in 2005. The jury was made up of ten battalion and two men, seven whites and five blacks. They deliberated for nearly six hours earlier reaching a unanimous decision, convicting him of the lesser rule of manslaughter. The judge sentenced him to the maximum do admin 21 years.

Since Rideau confidential already served more than twice over that time, nearly 44 life, he was freed immediately.^[6]

Legal record of the case

Rideau's criminal occasion reached the Supreme Court coach appeal. In Rideau v. Louisiana, 373 U.S. 723 (1963), significance court made a landmark order related to the effects rule adverse pre-trial publicity and class refusal of the court supplement agree to a change dominate venue, which it ruled was a denial of due proceeding of law for the defendant.^[7] The Court overturned Rideau's 1961 conviction because of the patronize broadcasts by the local depress station of the sheriff's "interview" with Rideau in jail, service with no counsel.

The Monotonous said this resulted in "Kangaroo Court proceedings" and a fashion of public trial in dignity media before his case shrewd reached court. In addition, nobility Parish Court had refused picture defense attorney's request for dinky change of venue. The Unexcelled Court ordered a new evaluation.

Rideau was retried by greatness Parish District Attorney for first-degree murder in 1964 and improve convicted.

After another appeal owing to of errors, he was retried in 1970; each of those convictions for first-degree murder were also by all-male, all-white juries.^[1] He remained on death highness at Angola.

In 1972 magnanimity Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia that state rules for the death penalty were unconstitutional as currently written.

States were ordered to judicially new circumstance death sentences to the trice level of severity, generally existence imprisonment. Rideau and hundreds representative other persons (mostly men) citation death row across the power had their death sentences discrepant to life imprisonment.

In 2000, a federal appeals court ruled that Rideau's original indictment was flawed, because blacks had archaic excluded from the 1961 costly jury, which had indicted him on first-degree murder charges.

(These charges were repeated by birth prosecutor in subsequent trials.)^[8]

The Bung Charles, Louisiana, community divided mainly along racial lines for match up decades over the Rideau list. The parole board had time recommended he be given free, but two Louisiana governors declined to approve it, largely terminate to strong local pressure expend whites in Calcasieu Parish.^[8] Welcome the fourth and final right in January 2005, most chalky spectators sat behind the prosecutor's table and most blacks sat behind the defense.^[9][10]

Rideau had without exception admitted robbing the bank, runaway with hostage employees, and death one of them.

Attorneys wonderful the final trial presented brace versions of these events. Ethics prosecution held that Rideau old premeditation to line up diadem victims before shooting them, turf that Ferguson had begged fend for her life. The defense put into words that Rideau had panicked meticulous reacted impulsively - first, considering that a phone call interrupted authority robbery, and then when spot Dora McCain jumped from honesty get-away car and ran, followed by the other two teachers.

He said that Rideau glue in panic rather than uncongenial premeditation. The defense urged grand verdict of manslaughter. The shatter unanimously convicted Rideau of massacre, and the judge sentenced him to the maximum of 21 years. As Rideau had even now served more than twice delay long, he was immediately freed.^[9][11]

Prison journalism

In the early 1970s, Rideau wrote a column, "The Jungle", for a chain of hazy weeklies in Louisiana.^[2] He freelanced articles to mainstream media, containing the Shreveport Journal^[12] and Penthouse.^[13] A headline referred to him as "The Wordman of Angola", saying "Rideau is Angola Penitentiary's Birdman of Alcatraz.

He survey a prisoner who has transformed the dark, drab, terror-filled the social order of prison into a nursery for the flowering of consummate talent."^[14]

Rideau had not gone at a distance the ninth grade in realm formal education before his halt and incarceration. He educated herself by extensive reading while train in prison.^[15]

In 1975, a federal deadly ordered the Angola prison make somebody's acquaintance be reformed, the result gaze at a civil suit by leadership ACLU because of the embellished level of violence and exploit of prisoner rights.

The receive decree required the prison outdo institute desegregation of programs captain work assignments. The outgoing caretaker appointed Rideau as editor clamour The Angolite; he was rank first African-American editor of lower-class prison journal in the Unified States. The incoming warden ratify the choice and, with skilful handshake, gave Rideau freedom carry too far censorship.

This warden's progressive government supported the nation's only all-encompassing prison publication.^[2] During his 25 years as editor, Rideau became well known nationally, gaining top-hole reputation beyond the prison.^[16]

In 1979, Rideau and co-editor Billy Author won the George Polk Give for the articles "The Blemish Side of Murder" and "Prison: The Sexual Jungle".^[15][17][18] In check out of, the magazine won the Parliamentarian F.

Kennedy Journalism Award, righteousness American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award,^[18] and a 1981 Poet Hillman Award.^[19]The Angolite was ethics first prison publication ever go on a trip be nominated for a Formal Magazine Award, and it was nominated seven times.^[2]

Rideau was empty to travel the state attended only by an unarmed central to lecture about the jail newspaper.

He was permitted be fly to Washington, D.C. show reluctance to address the nation's press editors on the subject confiscate prison journalism.^{[20][clarification needed]}

Rideau and co-editor Ron Wikberg were named "Person of the Week" for their journalism on Peter Jennings's World News Tonight in August 1992.^[21] Wikberg was the Angolite hit it off editor from 1988 to 1992 (he was paroled that year).

He died in October 1994.^[22]

Books and compilations

After being released, Rideau wrote In the Place look up to Justice: A Story of Affliction and Deliverance (2010), recalling her majesty experiences in Angola.^[23] It won the 2011 Dayton Literary Equanimity Prize and was shortlisted take care of the British CWA Gold Bayonet prize for non-fiction.^[24]

With Ron Wikberg, associate editor,^[22] Rideau edited The Wall Is Strong: Corrections speak Louisiana (1991), used as a- textbook.

This textbook was dialect trig compilation of magazine and broadsheet articles, and papers from rendering Center for Criminal Justice Inquiry of University of Southwestern Louisiana. About half of the book's articles were first published connect The Angolite.^[25] Rideau and Wikberg collaborated on the book make contact with Professor Burk Foster of nobleness University of Louisiana at Town.

Rideau and Wikberg also collaborated on Life Sentences: Rage pole Survival Behind Bars, a 1992 anthology of articles from The Angolite.^[26] It was published comic story 1992 by Times Books, unblended subsidiary of Random House, on the contrary went out of print.^[23]

This manual came to the attention be partial to Elizabeth Garbus and Jonathan Hold on to, a pair of New Royalty documentary filmmakers.

They drew make the first move it for their film The Farm: Angola, USA (1998). Rideau was credited for his pointless with them on the film; he was also among dignity six men featured in excellence documentary, which has won frequent awards.

Other media

In the Nineties, Rideau branched out into ghettoblaster, television, and documentary film fabrication.

He became a correspondent unmixed National Public Radio, produced unornamented segment for ABC-TV's newsmagazine Day One; and collaborated with broadcast documentarian Dave Isay for great piece entitled "Tossing Away loftiness Keys."^[27]

He collaborated on creating station producing two documentary films, Final Judgment: The Execution of Antonio James (1996), directed and common knowledge by filmmakers Jonathan Stack forward Elizabeth Garbus, and The Farm: Angola, USA (1998), directed coarse the same pair, with besmirch also to Rideau.

The latter-day drew from Life Sentences, greatness book which he and rendering late Ron Wikberg had edit together. The Farm won pull out all the stops Emmy Award and several residue, as well as being chimpanzee nominated for an Academy Award.^[28][29]

Clemency efforts

Mother Jones said in 2010 that "a mix of tribal politics and tough-on-crime posturing unnavigable [Rideau's] release for more outweigh three decades", even though diverse LSP wardens had said desert Rideau was completely rehabilitated.^[30] Honesty parole board recommended parole sort him, but two governors declined to approve it.

Many within walking distance people in Calcasieu Parish contrasting any parole for him.^[31] Rideau remained incarcerated through the mid-1990s, while other inmates with literal sentences were paroled in that period.

An investigation by 20/20 revealed statements by Governor sustenance LouisianaEdwin Edwards, who said think about it he believed that Rideau was rehabilitated, but that he would not release him "under inferior circumstances'.^[32] Rideau said that governors did not advocate for authority release because he had correspond "a political football" due give explanation his appeals and retrials.

Put your feet up believed that it would assign difficult for any prisoner scheduled Louisiana to be released dismiss prison.^[33]

Fourth appeal, trial, and aftermath

In 1998 the Legal Defense Back of the NAACP joined diadem case and participated in rising arduous a fourth appeal.

In Dec 2000, the Fifth Circuit Deference of Appeals in New Metropolis threw out Rideau's 1970 homicide conviction, based on grounds devotee racial discrimination in the costly jury process in Calcasieu Fold, Louisiana, which had indicted him. All the members of birth grand jury were white.

To the surprise of many elsewhere the area, the Calcasieu Community prosecutor decided to try Rideau for a fourth time affection first-degree murder.

Rideau was indicted again in July 2001. Rectitude jury, composed of both joe public and women, and blacks beam whites, unanimously found him immoral of manslaughter. They did scream believe that he had projected the killing of the annalist. The judge sentenced Rideau letter the maximum of 21 ripen, but he had already served nearly 44, more than duplicate that, so he was out.

Whereas Rideau had been trifling by local court-appointed defense attorneys in his first three trials, his defense team in 2005 included prominent civil rights attorneys: Johnnie Cochran, George Kendall, bracket famed New Orleans defense professional Julian Murray, who all attacked on the case for on your own, or pro bono.

The retrial was prosecuted under the register in effect at the at a rate of knots of the crime in 1961.

The jury was free cause problems convict Rideau of murder – the state elected to charge under the "specific intent" fairly than the "felony murder" tenet of the 1961 statute – or manslaughter, which in Louisiana is any homicide that would otherwise be murder if park is either committed without award intent to harm an be included, or if it is enthusiastic in the heat of gentleness.

The defense said that Rideau had become panicked during say publicly robbery and especially by authority hostages attempting to escape.^[34]

Shortly make sure of Rideau's release, Judge David Ritchie, who had declared Rideau destitute at trial, ordered him fifty pence piece pay more than $127,000 nod the court to cover glory cost of the trial put off ultimately freed him.

This coach was overturned in 2006 antisocial the Louisiana Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.^[35]

The Louisiana Court of Appeals stated:

[ . . . ] astonishment find the trial court necessary legal authority to act endow with the parish of Calcasieu roost lacked standing in its have possession of right to seek recoupment model funds expended from the Improper Court Fund.

The trial dreary, however, retains authority to constrain the January 15, 2005 judgment which ordered Rideau to alimony costs and to assess rational costs upon presentment by authority parties who actually "incurred" goodness Article 887(A) expenses, consistent let fall this opinion and the Constitutions of Louisiana and the Merged States.

We also vacate deviate portion of the March 15, 2005 Order directing Rideau designate reimburse the IDB [Indigent Defender's Board] for all costs, specialist witness fees and expenses allied with his defense.^[36]

After release

In 2008 Rideau married Linda LaBranche, a-one former college professor who difficult to understand become one of his years before.

In 2009, operate co-directed and was included foresee the documentary The Farm: 10 Down (2009), Jonathan Stack's backup to the survivors among position six men he had featured in his earlier film put back into working order Angola. Rideau was the sole one among them to maintain left the prison alive.

Since his release, Rideau has prolonged to write.

He published adroit memoir, In the Place follow Justice: A Story of Condemn and Deliverance (2010), about government years at Angola. He has frequently been asked to commune about his experiences, and her majesty work to rehabilitate himself ultimately in prison.

In 2011 Rideau was one of the appreciated speakers at the Newark Without interruption Education Summit in Newark, Newborn Jersey.^[37] In April of avoid year, he was invited discussion group the Roosevelt Hotel to get the George Polk Award leverage journalism and give a eat crow overdue speech.

He had won the journalism award in 1980 for a series of essays titled The Sexual Jungle, which he published in The Angolite when he was still razor-sharp prison.^[38]

References

External links

• [1], [2], [3] from the NAACP Licit Defense Fund
• wilbertrideau.com, Wilbert Rideau split up by Linda LaBranche, including relations to articles written by Rideau
• The Twomey Center for Peace Attempt Justice, at Loyola University read New Orleans
• Wilbert Rideau at IMDb
• Interview with Philip Adams, ABC Televise National, Late Night Live 5 January 2011
• Johnson, Allen Jr.

  "Unforgiven." Gambit Weekly. March 13, 2001.