Angola Three: Robert King dons Celtic shirt on CNN

A MEMBER of the Black Panthers who spent nearly 30 years in solitary confinement appeared on CNN last night – wearing a Celtic shirt.

Robert King wears a Celtic shirt during an appearance on US news network CNN. Picture: Contributed

Robert King, one of two surviving members of the Angola Three, spent the majority of his prison sentence in solitary confinement for the killing of a prison guard at Louisiana State Penitentiary, in 1972, and the murder of a fellow inmate the following year. He, along with Aklbert Woodfox and Herman Wallace, were convicted in 1971 of armed robbery.

King was released in 2001 after his conviction for the murder of an inmate was overturned.

He appeared on the US news channel wearing a Celtic shirt, saying that it represented “opressed people like me”. He is known to be a Celtic fan, and has reportedly travelled to Scotland to attend matches in the past.

• Angola Three prisoner saw life fade away

Woodfox, the other surviving member of the Angola Three – Wallace died days after his release in October 2013 – remains in prison. A judge ordered his immediate release earlier this week and barred the state from trying him a third time for the death of prison guard Brent Miller, but the attorney general has appealed that ruling.

Teenie Rogers, the widow of Miller, has pleaded with US authorities to exonerate Woodfox. She said the state should “stop acting like there is any evidence that Albert Woodfox killed Brent”.

King, Woodfox and Wallace were active in hunger strikes and work stoppages that spurred improvements to prison conditions, and all three suffered harsh treatment afterwards as prison authorities kept them isolated at Angola to prevent more disruption.