Sullivan went to see Drummond, her editor. After much discussion, they found themselves in agreement that the story had two separate themes. One was why Wallace and Woodfox were in solitary confinement; the second concerned whether their trials were just. Related to both was the question of which facts were accurate. You had what happened on that day in 1972, and then what happened in the 36 years since then, says Drummond. [1]

Listen to Sullivan and Drummond discuss defining the story.

As national desk editor, Drummonds role was to help Sullivan hash out issues as they came up and help her manage her time. A story like this could take as long as a year if Sullivan decided to chase down every lead. It was part of Drummonds job to help her decide what was worthwhile pursuing and for how long. On rare occasions, Sullivan might spend months working on a story and end up with nothing she could broadcast. Drummond had to decide what risks to take and how to use his resourcesstaff and production time, as well as money. There were giant gobs of material here, and that was an initial struggle for Laura in reporting this, to define a story and try to wrestle it into a manageable size, Drummond says.

As for Sullivan, her job was to keep Drummond informed and consult him when editorial or logistical issues arose. For example, Sullivan found herself fixating on whether the two prisoners were guilty or innocent. Drummond helped persuade Sullivan that she should not let the question of who actually killed the young prison guard muddy the issue of why Woodfox and Wallace had been in solitary for 36 years, and the legal process by which they were convicted.

Mounting pressure. Meanwhile, Angola prison officials were feeling the heat that Sullivans reporting had started to generate. Included among Sullivans many interviews was US Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. As a result of her inquiries, his office began raising questions about Angolas solitary confinement policies, as well as whether the two men had been wrongly convicted. On March 20, 2008, Conyers visited the prisoners (prisoners in solitary were almost never allowed visitors). In a written statement released the next day, Conyers said:

I came to [Angola] to meet with inmates Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox because I recently became aware of evidence that may suggest both Mr. Wallace and Mr. Woodfox were wrongly convicted of a 1972 murder of a prison guard. They have been held in solitary confinement for thirty-six years, possibly a longer period than any other inmate in U.S. history. I urge a swift and just resolution of this matter. [2]

At the same time, Louisiana State Representative Cedric Richmond announced that he would hold hearings about the two inmates and urged Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to pardon them. Finally, the lawyers for the two inmates filed a suit seeking compensationin the millions of dollarsfor keeping them in solitary for 36 years.

Perhaps as a result of this heightened public attention, the prison on March 24, 2008, a few days after Conyers visit, moved Woodfox and Wallace out of solitary confinement and into a maximum-security dorm with about a dozen other inmates. Each day, they had one-hour access to the prison yard. Prison authorities did not, however, choose to make a public event of this change; the inmates co-counsel, Trenticosta, found out about it only by chance when he went to visit his clients. A statement released by the prison stated that they were moved because space was needed to house other prisoners.