Strong showing at rally for SF 8; hearing postponed

Strong showing at rally for SF 8; hearing postponed

SF Bayview

by Cynthia Nelson

“Free the SF 8! Kidnapped by the state!” As the
sun peeked over the city skyline Tuesday morning,
a lively and vocal crowd of supporters of the
political prisoners known as the San Francisco 8
rallied in front of the county jail at 850
Bryant, where six of the men are now being held.

The 50-100 demonstrators included elders, young
folks and everyone in between, including a small
contingent of bike messengers. They join protests
that have been taking place in Los Angeles, New
York, Boston, Orlando and elsewhere around the country.

Later that morning, the court was scheduled to
hold a bail hearing for the SF 8. Bails have been
set at an impossible $3 million each. Considering
that the men appeared voluntarily for the 2005
San Francisco Grand Jury and present a low flight
risk, the amount is exorbitant. The men, now
elders, had been living quiet lives and are known
for community involvement. Some are employed by
the city or volunteer with city agencies. Herman
Bell and Jalil Muntaqim have been political prisoners since the 1970s.

The six other Black Panther veterans arrested on
Jan. 23 were Ray Boudreaux, Richard Brown, Henry
Watson Jones, Richard O’Neal, Harold Taylor and
Francisco Torres. The case, which involves the
shooting death of a San Francisco police officer
in 1971, has had no leads in three decades. Some
of the men were charged more than 30 years ago,
but charges were dropped in 1975 because the only
evidence was a confession shown to have been
elicited after prolonged torture. The government
claims new scientific technology, but the
technology hasn’t changed in 25 years.

The government seems set on keeping the men
imprisoned. Barely 20 minutes after the hearing
began, the courtroom emptied of people wearing
“Free the SF 8!” buttons. The judge had arraigned
Francisco Torres, who was recently extradited
from New York, and then postponed the hearing until April 27.

Mattie Scott is co-founder of The Healing Circle,
a support group of Black women and men who have
lost loved ones to violence, and they seek to
prevent violence from perpetuating. They question
the priorities of law enforcement: The cases of
too many slain family members remain open, while
the California attorney general goes after a case
with no developments since the ‘70s.

Scott is a neighbor of Richard O’Neal – their
children grew up together. “He’s done nothing but
good things for the community, he and Richard
Brown. And this is just not right,” she comments.
“We pay taxes, we work here, we raise our
children here. The police [should] work for us.”

Stuart Hanlon is a defense attorney representing
Herman Bell. Objecting to the shackles that
constantly chain the wrists and ankles of the
brothers, he states, “They’re not security risks,
but they’re being treated as such.” And
responding to the nationwide protests and the
persisting excessive security at the courtroom:
“People have a right to speak out, and the public
should. What we’re seeing here is a court system
that’s afraid of the public. It’s terrific, the support of these men.”

Cynthia Nelson, a media studies graduate student
at New College and intern at the Bay View, can be
reached at <mailto:cynthianellie [at] gmail.com>cynthianellie [at] gmail.com.

Write to the SF 8

Judging from a letter that a young prisoner at
850 Bryant wrote to the Bay View, the San
Francisco 8 are passing around their copies of
the paper along with generous portions of
inspiration. As their supporters, it is our job
to keep their spirits up by writing words of encouragement.

To write to the six who are now being held in the
San Francisco County Jail, address letters with
each man’s name and number and this address: 850
Bryant St., San Francisco CA 94103. Their names and numbers follow:

Ray Boudreaux, 2301300; Richard Brown, 2300819;
Richard O’Neal, 2300818; Harold Taylor, 2305584; Francisco Torres, 2307534.

Henry W. (Hank) Jones, 2301301 is at 425 Seventh Street, San Francisco CA 94103

The other two are still being held in New York
prisons: Herman Bell, 79C0262, Sullivan
Correctional Facility, P.O. Box 116, Fallsburg NY
12733-0116; Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom),
77A4283, Auburn Correctional Facility, 135 State
St., P.O. Box 618, Auburn NY 13024

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______________________________________________
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR)
PO Box 90221
Pasadena, CA 91109
(626) 345-4939
CDHR_right [at] hotmail.com