[232] As of April 7, 2010, the presiding judge has ruled that the issues of students' free speech and administrators' immunity from suit "deserve a trial". While forensic evidence backed up her account, Assata Shakur was sentenced to life plus 33 years in prison for the murder of a police officer, a crime she didn't commit. [81] A contemporary New York Times editorial criticized Williams for failing to maintain courtroom "decorum," comparing her actions to William Kunstler's recent contempt conviction for his actions during the "Chicago Seven" trial. [19] Shakur joined the Black Liberation Army (BLA), an offshoot whose members were inspired by the Vietcong and the Algerian independence fighters of the Battle of Algiers. On May 2, 1973, Assata was driving with Zayd Malik Shakur and Sundiata Acoli on the New Jersey Turnpike when New Jersey state troopers stopped them. [64] Appleby reiterated that the jury must consider separately the four assault charges (atrocious assault and battery, assault on a police officer acting in the line of duty, assault with a deadly weapon, and assault with intent to kill), each of which carried a total maximum penalty of 33years in prison. [124] Her defense had argued medical evidence suggested her innocence since her arm was damaged in the shootout. [62][143] Hinds' disciplinary proceeding reached the U.S. Supreme Court in Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Ass'n (1982). [26] Shakur is alleged to have said that she was glad that she had been shot; afterward, she was no longer afraid to be shot again. "Mrs. Chesimard Bids U.S. Court Bar Trial Sessions on Her Sabbath". Sullivan, Joseph F. (May 4, 1973). The Fugitive: Why has the FBI placed a million-dollar bounty on Assata Shakur? [105] New Jersey Superior Court Judge Leon Gerofsky ordered a change of venue in 1973 from Middlesex to Morris County, New Jersey, saying "it was almost impossible to obtain a jury here comprising people willing to accept the responsibility of impartiality so that defendants will be protected from transitory passion and prejudice. In her autobiography, she wrote: "I didn't know what a fool they had made out of me until I grew up and started to read real history". In 1993, she published a second book, Still Black, Still Strong, with Dhoruba bin Wahad and Mumia Abu-Jamal. [205] The book does not give a detailed account of her involvement in the BLA or the events on the New Jersey Turnpike, except to say that the jury "[c]onvicted a woman with her hands up! [62] Shakur again attempted to remove the trial to federal court. [150] The driver traveling north on the turnpike testified that he had seen a State Trooper struggling with a Black man between a white vehicle and a State Trooper car, whose revolving lights illuminated the area. [140], Her attorneys, in particular Lennox Hinds, were often held in contempt of court, which the National Conference of Black Lawyers cited as an example of systemic bias in the judicial system. [185] On November 2, 1979, Shakur escaped the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey, when three members of the Black Liberation Army visiting her drew concealed .45-caliber pistols and a stick of dynamite, seized two correction officers as hostages, commandeered a van and (with the assistance of members of the May 19 Communist Organization) made their escape. [20][21][22], She began using the name Assata Olugbala Shakur in 1971, rejecting Joanne Chesimard as a "slave name". [138] The jury also asked Appleby to repeat the definitions of "intent" and "reasonable doubt". She testified that she remained there until State Troopers dragged her onto the road. Chambers, Marcia (December 27, 1973). During a confrontation, a shootout ensued, killing Foerster and one of the passengers in the car. Being an active member in the black libertarian army allowed Assata Shakur to have a powerful . [134], On February 23, Shakur's attorneys filed papers asking Judge Appleby to subpoena FBI Director Clarence Kelley, Senator Frank Church and other federal and New York City law enforcement officials to testify about the Counter Intelligence Program, which they alleged was designed to harass and disrupt black activist organizations. John Young, in August, 1971. - The Washington Post", "Black Liberation Army: Understanding - Monitoring - Controlling", "Joanne Chesimard First Woman Named to Most Wanted Terrorists List", "Wanted by the FBI Fugitive Joanne Deborah Chesimard", "FBI makes Joanne Chesimard the first woman to appear on most-wanted list", "Woman Shot in Struggle With Her Alleged Victim", "Death of cop Richard Rainey could have been due to 1981 shooting, could mean life in jail for shooter Abdul Majid", Jury in Chesimard Murder Trial Listens to State Police Radio Tapes, Chesimard Jury Asks Clarification of Assault Charges, Mrs. Chesimard, on Stand, Denies Having Weapon in Turnpike Shooting, Joanne Chesimard Is Acquitted In Robbery of a Bank in Queens, Doctor Testifies On Bullet Scars in Chesimard Trial, "Assata Shakur: from civil rights activist to FBI's most-wanted", Chesimard Murder Trial Opens in New Brunswick, "Raymond A. [211] During the pope's visit to Cuba in 1998, Shakur agreed to an interview with NBC journalist Ralph Penza. Butler, Vincent (August 24, 1973). Perlmutter, Emanuel (January 29, 1973), "Extra Duty Tours For Police Set Up After 2D Ambush", According to Churchill and Vander Wall (2002): "What had emerged in the 1980s was a formal amalgamation of FBI COINTELPRO specialists and New York City red squad detectives known as the Joint Terrorist Task Force (JTTF), consolidating the more, Sullivan, Joseph F. (May 3 or 4th, 1973). [62], In December 1973, Shakur was tried for a September 29, 1972, $3,700 robbery of the Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company in the Bronx, along with co-defendant Kamau Sadiki (born Fred Hilton). Between 1971 and 1973, Shakur was accused of several crimes, none of which had sufficient evidence to back them. The FBI and the NYPD further charged her as being a leader of the Black . [27], Following an August 23, 1971, bank robbery in Queens, Shakur was sought for questioning. "Mrs. Chesimard, in Summation, Terms Holdup Case Contrived". James, Joy, and Sharpley-Whiting, T. Denean (2000). They have called us gangsters and gun molls and have compared us to such (December 21, 1973). [8] In 1950, Shakur's parents divorced and she moved with her grandparents to Wilmington, North Carolina. My name is Assata . "Police by Hundreds Comb 2 Boroughs for 6 Suspects in Ambush Shootings". [64] A shootout ensued in which Trooper Foerster was shot twice in the head with his own gun and killed,[59][64] Zayd Shakur was killed, and Assata Shakur and Trooper Harper were wounded. [96] Shakur was ejected following an argument with Williams, and Hilton left with her as jury selection continued. [56] Although named after Shakur, CHESROB (like its predecessor, NEWKILL) was not limited to Shakur. [67], Acoli drove the car (a white Pontiac LeMans with Vermont license plates)[62]which contained Assata Shakur, who was wounded, and Zayd Shakur, who was dead or dying5 miles (8km) down the road. [235] Her autobiography is studied together with those of Angela Davis and Elaine Brown, the only women activists of the Black Power movement who have published book-length autobiographies. Lichtenstein, Grace (December 11, 1973). The following slightly edited article first appeared online on May 7, 2013, with the original headline, "Assata Shakur is a modern-day Harriet Tubman." . (December 12, 1973). [12], She was booked on charges of attempted robbery, felonious assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of a deadly weapon, then released on bail. The National Conference of Black Lawyers and Mos Def are among the professional organizations and entertainers to support Assata Shakur; the "Hands Off Assata" campaign is organized by Dream Hampton.[221]. By Assata Shakur (guest author) posted on July 15, 2022 In honor of Assata Shakur's 75th birthday on July 16, Workers World is reprinting this slightly edited version of her open letter, first posted on WW on Dec. 30, 2014. "Judge and Defendants Clash Again as Chesimard Jury Is Chosen". [3], Born in Flushing, Queens, she grew up in New York City and Wilmington, North Carolina. Kirsta, Alix (May 29, 1999), "A black and white case Investigation Joanne Chesimard". Title: Black Liberation Army Papers Creator: Black Liberation Army Inclusive dates: 1963-1998 Extent: 1.5 Linear feet (1 records box and 1 manuscript box) Abstract: . Prial, Frank J. [149] The reports then state that after Acoli complied, and as Harper was looking inside the vehicle to examine the registration, Trooper Foerster yelled and held up an ammunition magazine as Shakur simultaneously reached into her red pocketbook, pulled out a 9mm handgun and fired at him. [95] The new jury selection was marked by attempts by Williams to be relieved of her duties, owing to disagreements with Shakur as well as with Hilton's attorney. [149], A total of 408 potential jurors were questioned during the voir dire, which concluded on February 14. [42] Robert Daley, Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Police, for example, described Shakur as "the final wanted fugitive, the soul of the gang, the mother hen who kept them together, kept them moving, kept them shooting". The member he was arrested with, Assata Shakur - previously known as JoAnne Chesimard - has been a fugitive. On May 2, 1973, Chesimard, who was part of a revolutionary extremist organization known as the Black Liberation Army, and two accomplices were stopped for a motor vehicle violation on the New. A fugitive convicted killer has become the first woman to be put on the FBI's list of "Most Wanted Terrorists". [134] Judge Appleby repeatedly denied Kunstler's requests for DeMarino to be removed from his responsibilities for the duration of the trial "because he did not divulge his association with the juror". [138] After Joseph W. Lewis, the jury foreman, read the verdict, Kunstler asked that the jury be removed before alleging that one juror had violated the sequestration order (see above). [10] According to her attorney Lennox Hinds, Shakur "understates the awfulness of the condition in which she was incarcerated", which included vaginal and anal searches. She was questioned by her own attorney, Stuart Ball, for under 40minutes, and then cross-examined by Barone for less than two hours (see the Witnesses section below). [210], In 1997, Carl Williams, the superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, wrote a letter to Pope John Paul II asking him to raise the issue of Shakur's extradition during his talks with President Fidel Castro. [129], A total of 289articles had been published in the local press relating to the various crimes with which Shakur had been accused. In 1977, she was convicted in the first-degree murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. . [62] Shakur, in her autobiography, and Williams, in Inadmissible Evidence, both claim that it was difficult to find expert witnesses for the trial, because of the expense and because most forensic and ballistic specialists declined on the grounds of a conflict of interest when approached because they routinely performed such work for law enforcement officials. [93] Judge Gagliardi instructed both the prosecution and the defense not to bring up Shakur or Sadiki's connections to the BLA, saying they were "not relevant". [106] On this basis, Shakur unsuccessfully attempted to remove the trial to federal court. [165] The prosecutor was C. Richard Gibbons. 218 Assata Shakur to paint the Black Liberation Army as vicious, brutal, mad dog criminals. I just decided to move my car after I learned a little more . (December 15, 1973). As long as we expect amerika's schools to educate us, we will remain ignorant." [181] An international panel of seven jurists were invited by Hinds to tour a number of U.S. prisons, and concluded in a report filed with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights that the conditions of her solitary confinement were "totally unbefitting any prisoner". [33][34][35], Shakur was wanted for questioning for wounding a police officer on January 26, 1972, who was attempting to serve a traffic summons in Brooklyn. 1977) Assata Shakur was born Joanne Deborah Byron and was raised middle-class in Queens. Allen-Mills, Tony (May 27, 2007). [117] The text of Shakur's opening statement in the trial is reproduced in her autobiography. campaign is coordinated by Chicago-area Black Radical Congress activists. In 1977, she was convicted of the murder of State Trooper Foerster and of seven other felonies related to the 1973 shootout. Shakur and others with the Black Liberation Army were convicted and sentenced in 1973 for the murder of a New Jersey State Trooper. Assata Shakur, a former member of the Black Liberation Army, was convicted in 1977 for the murder of a state trooper during a shootout in New Jersey. Assata was a Black Panther then a Black Liberation Army (BLA) leader in the early '70s, so she was a target of the FBI's COINTELPRO operation. She's an activist, member of the Black Liberation Army, and escaped convicted murderer with a $2 million bounty currently on her head. [66] According to the testimony of State Police investigators, two jammed semi-automatic pistols were discovered near Foerster's body. Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography 65 likes Like "Schools in amerika are interested in brainwashing people with amerikanism, giving them a little bit of education, and training them in skills needed to fill the positions the capitalist system requires. [97] After the selection of twelve jurors (60 were excused), Williams was allowed to retire from the case, with Shakur officially representing herself, assisted by lawyer Florynce Kennedy. Throughout the 1970s, she was indicted nearly a. [11][23] Assata is a West African name, derived from the Arabic name Aisha, said to mean "she who struggles", while Shakur means "thankful one" in Arabic. [64], Shakur was convicted on all eight counts: two murder charges, and six assault charges. While serving a life sentence for murder, Shakur escaped in 1979, with assistance from the BLA and members of the May 19 Communist Organization, from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in Union Township, NJ, now the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women. Assata Shakur, whose real name is Joanne Chesimard, is a Black Panther activist, a member of the left-wing Black Liberation Army, who was convicted of murder in 1977. [18] But she soon left the party, disliking the macho behavior of the men and believing that the BPP members and leaders lacked knowledge and understanding of United States black history. [237], Black NJ State Trooper Anthony Reed (who has left the force) sued the police force because, among other things, persons had hung posters of Shakur, altered to include Reed's badge number, in a Newark barracks. [134][151] Five jurors had personal ties to State Troopers (one girlfriend, two nephews, and two friends). McFadden, Robert D. (February 19, 1972). 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