Former members of the Black Panthers and the Black Liberation Party have been arrested on charges related to a 1971 murder of a police officer.
Police say they have new evidence including a fingerprint recovered from a lighter in 2003 using new techniques and forsenics from a shotgun and buckshot – yet they lost the shotgun in question for several years. And, oh yeah, there’s testimony from an informer.
An unidentified informant, who was provided with immunity from prosecution and financial assistance for housing relocation, identified the men responsible for the attack in 2005.
Ya, I bet he’s reliable and trustworthy…
Two of the men arrested had the charges thrown out in 1976 because the judge said police tortured them.
PSL and Anarkismo detail the flimsy evidence, attempts to trash the Panthers legacy, and more.
Hey, could they have done it? It’s possible I suppose, but this case, with torture, lost evidence, compromised informants, and new charges filed decades later is stinky indeed.