Interview with Claude Marks about the San Francisco 8

Audio interview with Claude Marks of the Freedom Archives about the
San Francisco 8. Claude talks about the current charges, the context
of COINTELPRO targeting liberation groups in the 1960's and 70's, and
how people today can support the San Francisco 8 and stay informed.

Recorded Feb. 16, 2007 in San Francisco
Mp3 audio at 24k (2.1 mb) 12 Minutes and 12 seconds

http://indybay.org/uploads/2007/02/16/sf8.mp3


From Committee for the Defense of Human Rights:
http://cdhrsupport.org/index.html

Murder Charges Against Former Black Panthers Based on Confessions
Extracted by Torture

Eight former Black Panthers were arrested January 23rd in California,
New York and Florida on charges related to the 1971 killing of a San
Francisco police officer. Similar charges were thrown out after it
was revealed that police used torture to extract confessions when
some of these same men were arrested in New Orleans in 1973. Richard
Brown, Richard O'Neal, Ray Boudreaux, and Hank Jones were arrested in
California. Francisco Torres was arrested in Queens, New York. Harold
Taylor was arrested in Florida. Two men charged have been held as
political prisoners for over 30 years – Herman Bell and Jalil
Muntaqim are both in New York State prisons. A ninth man -- Ronald
Stanley Bridgeforth – is still being sought. The men were charged
with the murder of Sgt. John Young and conspiracy that encompasses
numerous acts between 1968 and 1973.

Harold Taylor and John Bowman (recently deceased) as well as Ruben
Scott (thought to be a government witness) were first charged in
1975. But a judge tossed out the charges, finding that Taylor and his
two co-defendants made confessions after police in New Orleans
tortured them for several days employing electric shock, cattle
prods, beatings, sensory deprivation, plastic bags and hot, wet
blankets for asphyxiation.