http://www.workers.org/2009/us/sf8_0820/
Published Aug 13, 2009
by Judy Greenspan
More than 75 supporters of the San Francisco 8 rallied Aug. 10 in San
Francisco to demand that all charges be dropped against the last
remaining defendant in this case, Francisco Torres.
Following the protest, the large crowd packed Judge Philip Moscone's
courtroom to learn that the case has been postponed until Oct. 9. On
July 6, all charges were dropped against four members of the SF8: Ray
Boudreaux, Richard Brown, Hank Jones and Harold Taylor.
Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim pled guilty to lesser charges and were
sentenced to time served and probation. Both are currently fighting
for parole in New York state. Francisco Torres is the only defendant
left, and supporters hope that his charges will be dropped before the
Oct. 9hearing.
The SF8 case stems from a four-decade-old shooting of a San Francisco
policeman. All defendants were well-known members of the Black
Panther Party and community activists.
The SF8 issued the following statement on Aug. 6: "We and our support
committee are claiming victory in this latest battle. As we go
forward and prepare for the next one we ask that you lend your
strength, your ideas and your spirit to win the dismissal of the
charges against Francisco Torres. We also ask that you give your full
support to the effort to gain release on parole by Jalil and Herman."
.
No comments:
Post a Comment