Support Parole for Herman Bell

From:    "SF-8 case" <cdhrsupport@freedomarchives.org>
Date:    Mon, June 2, 2008 12:07 pm


PAROLE FOR HERMAN BELL

Dear Friends,

Herman Bell is requesting your support when he
goes before the New York state parole board this
summer.  A U.S. political prisoner and a former
Black Panther, Herman was part of the brilliant
liberation movements of the 1960s and early
1970s, and as such was targeted by the government
for "neutralization" via their infamous and
illegal counterintelligence ("COINTELPRO")
program.  His first trial ended in a hung
jury.  The second time, the prosecution used
illegal tactics (including making a secret deal
to drop charges against one witness in exchange
for her testimony, and calling a witness who had
been previously tortured by law enforcement who
later admitted to lying on the stand) to obtain a
conviction of Herman and his co-defendants Jalil
Muntaqim and Nuh Washington (now deceased) for
killing two New York City police in
1971.  Herman, Jalil, and Nuh are known as the New York Three (NY3).

Now, after nearly 35 years of imprisonment,
Herman faces new charges.  In spite of suffering
decades of removal from society, Herman has been
deemed an imminent threat, evidenced by the
government's prosecution of Herman and 7 other
Elder Black activists and former Panthers for a
police killing that took place nearly 40 years
ago in San Francisco.  Herman, his NY3
co-defendant Jalil Muntaqim, and their 6
co-defendants are known as the San Francisco 8,
or SF8.  The FBI's illegal COINTELPRO has morphed
into Homeland Security's Joint Terrorism Task
Force.  These domestic witch-hunters pad their
fat payrolls not by looking for those who are
actually a danger to society, but by casting
their vengeful net towards activists of past
liberation movements, trying to reshape these
peace-loving activists into heinous
criminals.  The Black liberation movement, the
Puerto Rican independence movement, and
environmentalists are all in the government's
sites.  The government is not just targeting a
handful of individuals – they are threatening any
movement to resist tyranny and stand up for a healthy society.

Herman Bell is a courageous, loving man. He is a
beautiful husband, father, grandfather, teacher
and friend. He is an elder who has sacrificed his
entire adult life to stand against government
persecution of Black communities. Even from
within the confines of prison walls, he's
continued to be a positive example and mentor for
the ever-increasing numbers of Black youth who
are being herded into America's prison
system.  Should Herman be paroled in New York
this summer, he will be returned to San Francisco
to face the preliminary hearing in the SF8 case,
now set for early September.  He will have an
opportunity to make bail, rejoin his family and
friends in the community, and will be in a better
position to work to defeat this vengeful prosecution.

Your support of Herman Bell's parole is
absolutely critical. This letter is a call to
action. Herman needs you to make your voice
heard. We ask that you review the attached
background materials, and then write your letter
of support.  Your letter should be addressed to
"To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Parole
Commissioner."  Please use the Re: line of
"Herman Bell, 79C-0262."  Please send your letter to Herman's son:

Kamel Jacot-Bell
Ankh Marketing
179 – 11th Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
Fax #: (415) 865-0376

or email your letter of support
to:   jacotbell@gmail.com>jacotbell@gmail.com

Please write about the nature of your
relationship with or knowledge of Herman, and how
long you have known him.  Some points you might want to include:

* If paroled, Herman Bell will not be released,
but will immediately be sent to the San Francisco
County Jail to face charges in that
jurisdiction.  Therefore, New York State would be
relieving its taxpayers of the considerable
financial burden of continued incarceration of Herman.

* In a 11/30/07 press conference in New York,
Nobel Laureates Archbishop Bishop Desmond Tutu
and Mairead MacGuire called for the release on
humanitarian grounds of Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom).

* Quoting from the victim impact statement by
Waverly Jones Jr., son of one of the police NY3
were convicted of having killed, who requested to
meet with the NYS Parole Board in 2004: "Me,
personally, have forgiven these men for the
positions that they took back then . . . I don't
see them as someone that's going to come out of
prison and commit violent crimes or anything of
that nature. . . I feel that Herman Bell and
Anthony Bottom were both victims as well of a
much larger scheme which got them incarcerated to
this day, . . . and to me they have shown great
resilience in prison, that their mind is still
intact, that their spirit is still eager to do
good, and I just pray that the Parole Board will
look at the context and the time and send a message to me of healing."

* With Maine farmers, Herman initiated the
Victory Gardens Project, which brought urban and
rural activists together for 8 years to learn how
to grow and harvest free food for their
communities and thereby learn how to work
together for progressive social change.

* As Parole Commissioners have noted in Herman's
previous hearings, Herman Bell has had an
impressive institutional record and list of
accomplishments in the course of the past nearly
thirty-five years of his imprisonment.  He has
completed his BA and MA in Sociology while in
prison.  Parole should  be decided on the basis
of one's record while in prison, rather than on one's charge of conviction.

* Through self-study, Herman has acquired a
knowledge of music theory and is mastering the flute.

* Herman has participated in many educational and
cultural activities benefiting prisoners,
including teaching Black history and English grammar and writing skills.

* Herman has brought prisoners together a
multitude of times with his football and basketball coaching skills.

* Herman is a dedicated grandfather, father, and
husband, who has a loving and supportive family
working for his release, waiting for him to join them on the outside.

* Because of Herman's age, educational
achievements, and decades in prison, he falls
into the U.S. Justice Dept. category of the
extremely low recidivism rate of 3%.
* Herman has already served almost 35 years in prison B enough is enough.

Please also review Herman's Case Synopsis,
below.  Please send your letter by  June 16, 2008.

We sincerely thank you for your support,
Herman Bell's Family:
Nancy, Kamel, Kihana, Sage, & Simone


CASE SYNOPSIS, by Herman Bell

In the aftermath of the murders of Malcolm X,
Medgar Evers, Dr. King, Fred Hampton, and Mark
Clark, to name a few, coupled with the Civil
Rights Movement, the burgeoning Black
consciousness movement, and the anti-war movement
of the 1960s and 1970s, the tone and spirit of
those times can be described as highly charged
and volatile.  And in the wake of what had been
perceived as an unambiguous racist policy of
police malevolence, willful brutality, excessive
use of deadly force and general disrespect of
Black people's rights, scores of policemen at
that time were seriously injured or fatally shot in the Black community.

I come out of that time period.  In 1975, after 2
trials, I was convicted (along with my two
co-defendants) of having killed two New York City
policemen, to which we all pled not guilty.  No
eyewitness identified me as one of the
assailants.  Coerced witnesses, manufactured and
circumstantial material evidence, along with
prosecutorial and judicial misconduct are what
persuaded the jury to convict at the end of the
second trial.  Years and years of state and
federal appeals have been unsuccessful.

I am a former member of the Black Panther
Party.  It's now generally known from documents
revealed by the congressional 1976 Church
Committee (which were not admitted as evidence
during my trial) that a domestic program of
political repression (Cointelpro) existed to
neutralize or destroy the Black Panther
Party.  In fact, any Black political organization
or individual deemed to be a threat to U.S.
security, as determined by then FBI director J.
Edgar Hoover, was a prime target.  Hoover gave
his agents a wide range of discretionary power
"legal and otherwise" to achieve this
objective.  Thus the Church Committee report
revealed a U.S. government 'secret war' initiated
against the Black protest movement which I was part of.

Since being granted our "paper freedom," Black
Americans have long claimed the right to pursue
happiness in our own fashion.  Our historic fight
since slavery has always been one that focused on
carving a political and economic niche for
ourselves in America.  During the 1960s and
1970s, people were killed on both sides.  To the
degree that my humanity compels me to value and
feel remorse for the loss of all life, human and
otherwise, I feel remorse that people were killed
and families and lives were destroyed.  The past
is behind me now.  Many from those days have
moved on and have been forgiven, but I've not
been permitted to do so.  In the Summer of 2008,
I hope to again appear before the New York State
Parole Board.  I am requesting your help.  I ask
you to please consider my personal evolution
these past nearly 35 years of imprisonment in
composing your letter of support for my release.


_______________________________________________
Please support these brothers by sending a donation. Make checks payable
to CDHR/Agape and mail to the address below or donate on line:

www.freethesf8.org/donate.html

Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR)
PO Box 90221
Pasadena, CA 91109
(415) 226-1120
FreetheSF8@riseup.net

www.freethesf8.org