San Francisco 8 Update – September 11
20 students from Met West high School in Oakland joined jubilant and now released SF 8 defendants Richard Brown and Richard O’Neal and dozens of supporters in the hallway of the SF Courthouse. Many warm embraces were exchanged between the two Richards and supporters who had been corresponding and visiting them at the jail through glass and over jail phones.
Ray Boudreaux will be released Tuesday evening and bail arrangements are in the final stages for Harold Taylor, Hank Jones and Francisco Torres. All are expected to be released in the coming days thanks to numerous supporters who have offered to post property to ensure their future appearances.
Unfortunately, neither Herman Bell nor Jalil Muntaqim is eligible for bail even though they are both parole eligible in New York State. Both have served over 30 years in various prisons for their political ideas, commitments and their participation in the Black Liberation Struggle.
Court today was largely procedural and focused on discovery issues. Herman Bell’s lawyer, Stuart Hanlon, noted that the courteous discussion about the government turning over discovery belied the fact that the defense is no better off today than it was in January when the eight were arrested and charged. Discovery documents are yet to be fully organized, indexed or turned over to the defense. All the voluminous documents relating to DNA samples taken from the eight proved to be negative and other forensic evidence regarding fingerprints and ballistics have yet to be fully turned over to the defense for examination or may be missing altogether. Federal Grand Jury transcripts regarding this case are still incomplete.
The next court date for the SF 8 case is set for Monday, September 24th at 9:30 am in Department 23 – 850 Bryant Street, 3rd floor.
Outstanding issues regarding discovery, pre-charging delay and demurs will be calendared. A motion on behalf of Harold Taylor called a collateral estoppel, is scheduled to be argued. This motion argues for the exclusion of statements made by Harold in New Orleans in 1973 after several days of torture. Defense arguments will suggest that issues of double jeopardy also exist as these statements were excluded in another 1970s case which led in Harold’s acquittal.
Be there to support the brothers in court and please consider scheduling events and speaking engagements in your homes and communities to get the word out about the case.
