Herman Wallace was born in the 12th Ward, New Orleans LA on October 13th 1941. He was first imprisoned in Angola Penitentiary in 1960, but released two years later. In 1971 he established the Angola Chapter of the Black Panther Party with Ronald Ailsworth, Albert Woodfox, and Gerald Bryant after receiving permission from the Panther central office in Oakland. The Panthers risked their lives to end prisoner rape, facilitate race relations and improve inhumane conditions in the slave-plantation-turned-prison.

In 1974 Wallace received a life sentence with out possibility of parole for the murder of a prison guard named Brent Miller. The sentence was based on false testimony. The State withheld evidence from the jury in 1974 which may have exonerated Wallace (and Woodfox) from the crime. That evidence was the fact that the state's only eye witness, Hezekiah Brown was paid for his testimony by Angola officials. Wallace's conviction is now up for review in the 19th Circuit Court of Appeals. Several notable officials and organizations have demanded Wallace's release. These include, Amnesty International, Dame Anita Roddick, Mumia Abu Jamal, Former US Attorney Ramsey Clark, and freed political prisoner Geronimo JiJaga Pratt. More recently, Congressman John Conyers, the chairman of the Judicial Committee, visted Herman and Albert in prison and insisted that they be released.

Herman Wallace's writings have been notably published in several publications and journals. As an activist he has focused his efforts on educating other prisoners, and has become a reputable jail house lawyer. Recently, Linda Carmichael has written a play about his life in solitary confinement. A song documenting his struggle produced by Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) was released in in 2006. Herman Wallace has been kept in solitary confinement at Angola since 1972. Albert Woodfox, Robert King and Herman Wallace are collectively known as the Angola 3.