Huey P. Newton

 

Newton sent to prison for manslaughter

 
 There are differing versions of the incident, but here is what is agreed apon: On the early morning hours of Oct. 28, 1967 in Oakland, Huey Newton was wounded, a police officer killed and another officer wounded after Newton was stopped by police in a car. Newton suffered gunshot wounds to the stomach. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. (The Oakland police, angry over the failure to convict Newton of murder, shot holes thru the window of the Panther's national headquarters.) In response to the sentence, the Panthers mounted an international "Free Huey" campaign, making Newton into an international cause celebrity. When Newton was set free after his conviction was reversed in 1970 by the California Court of Appeals, Bobby Seale and other Party organizers had built the Black Panther Party into an international organization.

Newton became an expatriate in 1974, fleeing to Cuba after being charged with, among other things, fatally shooting a prostitute. (INTERVIEW) He returned to the United States in 1977 to face murder charges. A mistrial was declared after the jury was deadlocked. A Superior Court judge later dismissed the charges.

 

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Revised: November 6, 2001
URL: http://black_and_hispanic.tripod.com/blackhistory/
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