Free a Political Prisoner
Holly Shiver
Issue date: 5/7/04 Section: Campus Life
On April 23, 1970, a police officer was shot and killed in West Baltimore and his partner wounded. The investigation that followed was greatly falsified and resulted in the arrest of Eddie Conway and two other members of the Black Panther Party. Bob Boyle, Conway's current lawyer, who addressed the class, stated that the investigation was based on an inaccurate eyewitness account from Officer Nolan. Conway's case was further complicated by a testimony from Charles Reynolds, a jailhouse snitch, who testified that Conway admitted to shooting the police officers in exchange for his release from prison. Conway received a life sentence.
Boyle also told the crowd that Conway received am unfair trial, in which he had no defense. Conway sought to have Charles Gary and William Kunsler, two lawyers for the Black Panther Party, represent him, instead, Conway got a lawyer that was unqualified, and even alleged to be intoxicated during the trial.
Boyle also explained the role of J. Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO in the sabotage and culmination of the Black Panther Party, and compared them to the present actions of President George W. Bush and the PATRIOT ACT. COINTELPRO was a series of FBI counterintelligence programs designed to neutralize political dissidents, like the Black Panther Party, Marcus Garvey, and Dr. King.
The presentation ended with Brother Reuben, another Conway supporter who ran off statistics that continue to plague the Black community, and urged interested and concerned members of the audience to contact Conway and appeal to the courts, because 34 years later, the struggle is not over and he still strives for his freedom.
Conway is currently serving a life sentence in the Maryland House of Corrections in Jessup. Letters can be sent to him at:
Marshall Eddie Conway 116469
PO Box 534
Jessup, Maryland 20794
Boyle also told the crowd that Conway received am unfair trial, in which he had no defense. Conway sought to have Charles Gary and William Kunsler, two lawyers for the Black Panther Party, represent him, instead, Conway got a lawyer that was unqualified, and even alleged to be intoxicated during the trial.
Boyle also explained the role of J. Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO in the sabotage and culmination of the Black Panther Party, and compared them to the present actions of President George W. Bush and the PATRIOT ACT. COINTELPRO was a series of FBI counterintelligence programs designed to neutralize political dissidents, like the Black Panther Party, Marcus Garvey, and Dr. King.
The presentation ended with Brother Reuben, another Conway supporter who ran off statistics that continue to plague the Black community, and urged interested and concerned members of the audience to contact Conway and appeal to the courts, because 34 years later, the struggle is not over and he still strives for his freedom.
Conway is currently serving a life sentence in the Maryland House of Corrections in Jessup. Letters can be sent to him at:
Marshall Eddie Conway 116469
PO Box 534
Jessup, Maryland 20794