Chip Fitzgerald Denied Parole After 38 Years in Prison!

For Immediate Release

Contact: Emani Bey
Telephone: (831) 254-2580/Email: freechipfitzgerald [at] yahoo.com

Former Black Panther Denied Parole Despite 38 Years in Prison

(Imperial, California, July 9, 2008) On July 2, 2008, Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald was denied parole by the California Board of Parole Hearings, to wait one more year for a new hearing. Serving a life sentence from 1969 convictions for murder and assault on police when he was a member of the Black Panther Party in Los Angeles, Chip was first eligible for parole in 1976. Since then, he has not been charged with any prison violations sufficient to justify this denial. Chip remains the longest held Black Panther Party political prisoner in the United States.

The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner who conducted the hearing stated they denied Chip because he had not completed enough "programming," referring to participation in therapeutic group discussions and "rehabilitative" counseling. This was in complete disregard of the fact that Chip has participated in and completed all such programs available over the last 38 years. The Deputy Commissioner, Lee Cox, a former prison guard lieutenant, stated the thousands of signatures on Chip's petition advocating for his release and the numerous support letters from prominent people and the letters offering Chip a UCLA education and housing and employment and, even, publication of his autobiography meant “nothing” to her. She added, "the people who sign them [petitions] and write letters really don't know what goes on with these inmates.” Commissioner Archie “Joe” Biggers (Republican appointee) concurred.

This outrageous decision came in the wake of the powerful tribute to Chip and his commitment to the cause of freedom sponsored by the Committee to Free Chip Fitzgerald on June 28, 2008, in Los Angeles, California. It was held at filmmaker Ben Caldwell’s Kaos Network in Leimert Park, hosted by Dominique DiPrima of Stevie Wonder’s radio station KJLH. Over 500 people came out to celebrate Chip, and enjoyed a free meal donated by Chef Marilyn’s restaurant, watched excerpts of the documentary film 41st and Central by Gregory Everett, listened to numerous poets and rappers as well as speakers, who included former Panther leaders Elaine Brown and David Hilliard and many other former Panthers, representatives of UCLA’s African Men’s Collective, the Brown Berets, Building Communities and Families and other support groups. People stayed for over seven hours, inspired by this historic, intergenerational, multi-ethnic gathering of people challenged not only to support Chip’s freedom but to advance his legacy by getting involved in a movement for progressive change.

In an infamous 1969 memo, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover identified the Black Panther Party as “a violence prone organization seeking to overthrow the government.” This government vilification of the Panthers hovers over Chip’s case even now, which the Committee believes is the chief reason for his continued incarceration. This is why the Committee is urging people to remain vigilant, keep signing the online petition advocating for Chip’s release, and contribute to the Committee’s new effort to obtain legal counsel for Chip to appeal the Board’s decision in a court of law.