Editorial boards and columnists

"Wilbert Rideau is an American success story because he has defeated the indignity of his own crime and punishment with an unusual brand of hope."
- Stan Tiner, editor, The Shreveport Journal, "When Is Enough Really Enough?" March 7, 1980.

"The awards he has won as a prison journalist show a kind of dedication to excellence . . .. His work at prison reform shows . . . a man interested in bettering the conditions for those in our penal systems. If all of this, plus the various lectures and personal appearances he has made in the interest of anti-crime, is not enough to assure that he has been rehabilitated, then maybe there is no way for it to be known. . . . Wilbert Rideau has conducted himself in a manner befitting consideration for commutation of sentence. If he hasn't, then who in our prison system has - or ever has?"
- Shreveport Sun editorial, "Gov. Edwards erred in Rideau case," December 27, 1984.

"But what about the inmate who, against long odds, manages to rehabilitate himself? To eliminate the chance even of clemency is to abandon the civilized ideas that a man can change and a society can forgive."
- David C. Anderson, "The Redemption of Wilbert Rideau," The Editorial Notebook, New York Times, March 13, 1985.

"If ever a man was rehabilitated, it seems that Wilbert Rideau has been. That conclusion is not ours alone. It is shared by the professional corrections officers who have supervised him for the past 25 years."
- (New Orleans) Times-Picayune editorial, "A rare exception," May 10, 1986.

"[T]he state's pardon and parole boards, the Lake Charles District Attorney's office, and governors of Louisiana have played political football with Rideau's life. It is plain and simple now. Rideau was sent to prison for murder, but he is still there, having served more time in jail than over 98 percent of the nation's prisoners, for reasons that are purely political."
- Shreveport Sun editorial, "Edwin Edwards and political: The Rideau case is re-opened," May 15, 1986.

"There is no question that Rideau is a victim of his own prominence. Lake Charles is a small town with a long memory. ... There is certainly a legitimate argument about whether any murderers should be released from prison. But what I have a difficult time understanding is why some murderers who have served less time and done far less than Rideau to prepare for life on the outside are released and Rideau is not."
- Shreveport Journal columnist and editorial page editor Matthew W. Jacobs, "Wilbert Rideau - still in prison, still writing, still waiting," June 15, 1988.

"Numerous corrections officials - from every warden at Angola who has worked with Rideau to former Secretary of Corrections C. Paul Phelps - have said that if there is any prisoner in America who has been rehabilitated it is Wilbert Rideau, and that he is no threat to society. ... This is a mockery of the corrections system because Rideau has done everything the judicial system asked of him and much more. ... His continued incarceration despite universal agreement of his rehabilitation is a black mark on the state's judicial system."
- Shreveport Journal editorial, "Inconsistent Justice," December 9, 1988.

"Of the 13 men on death row when Rideau arrived at Angola in 1962, 11 have been released and one has died. Only Rideau remains to be victimized for his achievements. . . . If any prisoner in America deserves a break, it is Rideau, for he has done everything possible to atone. To wreak further vengeance on him is futile . . .."
- Times-Picayune columnist James Gill, "Wilbert Rideau deserves a break,"January 4, 1989.

"...Rideau turned out to be one of those cases rehabilitation advocates dream about. He educated himself and went into prison journalism. In the past few years, the Angolite, with Rideau as editor, has won national acclaim. Besides becoming nationally known, Rideau has actively engaged in crime prevention programs, promoted the need for literacy and encouraged students to stay in school. In 28 years his only known violation of prison rules involved a bottle of white-out he took from the Angolite office to his cell. . . . Like some cruel Catch 22, it appears the prominence Rideau gained by effecting major positive changes in his life is the reason he remains in prison."
- (Baton Rouge) Morning Advocate columnist and suburban editor Milford Fryer, "Rideau has earned a chance," April 30, 1989.

"When it meets today, the Pardon Board will doubtless recommend, as it always does, that Rideau be released after 29 years in Angola and a feat of rehabilitation that has brought him national acclaim as a journalist. Just as predictably, the board will be overruled by Gov. Roemer who, like Edwin Edwards before him, is not inclined to temper politics with mercy. . . . Nobody doubts his remorse or the sincerity of his desire to atone through his efforts to alert wayward youth to the consequences of lawlessness. An eighth-grade dropout, he has won renown not just for editorial prowess but for his efforts to promote literacy and penal reform. ...[I]t is unlikely that many tears will be shed if Rideau fails once more to win his release. Yet it is blindingly obvious that he has done more to deserve it than any other prisoner in America."
- Times-Picayune columnist James Gill, "The fate of two state convicts," 4/18/90.

"Had Rideau served his sentence quietly, he would surely have earned his freedom by now. His record in prison has been exemplary. But by speaking out on life behind bars, Rideau has earned a measure of fame . . .. For this gifted writer and editor, the price of literary success has been continued incarceration."
- Richard Baudouin, Editor's Journal, The Times (Lafayette, Louisiana), December 9, 1992.

"A new trial would attract national­nay, international­publicity, and it probably wouldn't be flattering. [District Attorney] Bryant admits that he is 'worried about the media' and protests that 'we're not dumb people here. We're very intelligent.' The reason he sounds so defensive, presumably, is that he fears reporters covering the trial will depict Lake Charles as backward and racist. Gee, how could anyone form such an impression of a Louisiana town? . . . It is dangerous to release criminals merely because of their talents, but the opposite has happened here. But for his talents, Rideau might have been released long ago. Let him plead guilty and sentence him to time served. The alternative looks a lot like vindictiveness."
- Times-Picayune columnist James Gill, "Justice starts to look vindictive," February 21, 2001.

"Rideau's conviction was overturned because African Americans were excluded from the Grand Jury that indicted him. That sort of thing was commonplace in the Louisiana of the 1960s. An all-white Grand Jury, a white judge, a white district attorney and a white public defender. Even the walls of the courtrooms back then were white. The only things black in the courtroom then were the faces of the African-American defendants. The court ruled the criminal justice system was racist and biased in 1961; ergo, Rideau should be allowed to plead guilty and be sentenced to time served. That way, Rideau would walk free, just as some 700 similarly charged Angola inmates have done once their sentences were commuted. The problem with Rideau is that he has gotten too famous. He seems to be a victim of his own rehabilitation."
- News Banner (Covington, La.) reporter and columnist Ray I. Broussard, One Man's Memories, "Rideau has been rehabilitated and should be let out of prison," February 23, 2001.