Hampton fights for clemency

By Loretta Ragsdell | Last updated: Apr 28, 2005 - 2:00:00 PM

Fred Hampton Jr.

CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) - Fred Hampton Jr. and about 30 supporters attended an Apr. 13 clemency hearing on his petition for a pardon based on innocence, heard before the Illinois Prison Review Board at the Thompson Center.

A favorable recommendation from the board and ultimate approval by the governor could result in a full pardon of Mr. Hampton for his 1983 conviction on two counts of aggravated arson.

“The dubious fire bombing charges,” as Mr. Hampton said, “were trumped-up charges to target me because of my father’s legacy as the Deputy Chairman of the Black Panther Party.” Fred Hampton Sr. and Mark Clark were killed during that now infamous December 4, 1969 Chicago Police raid on a Monroe Street apartment, in which the two Panthers were sleeping.

Mr. Hampton Jr. maintains that the charges against him are dubious because the two Korean-owned stores on the city’s Southside said to have been fire bombed reopened within 10 minutes of the 1992 bombing. He was incarcerated for nine years and served three years on parole.

His attorney made passionate oral arguments Apr. 13 before the Prison Review Board, which was comprised of its chairman, Jorge Montes, and two members, Craig Findley and Robert Dunne. The board appeared attentive and asked poignant questions geared towards clarifying Mr. Hampton’s belief that the charges were trumped up to frame him.

Among the spectators and supporters present was his mother, Akua Njeri, along with members of his organization, the Prisoners of Conscience Committee (POCC).

The POCC is a revolutionary organization working to effectuate change in the prisons by heightening the level of consciousness of those held captive, as well as the outside community, in order to forge unity to fight against the various attacks waged on the Black community under such guises as gentrification or a war on gangs or drugs. POCC has sectors in California, Kansas, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan and Florida.

Shukura Sentwail, POCC’s National Minister of Finance, who traveled from Wichita, Kan., said with excitement, “I had to be here to support our chairman. Under his leadership, we are doing great work.”

Supporters from other organizations also attended the hearing. Ben Ephriam, the regional spokesperson for the New Black Panther Party, expressed the national significance that the outcome of this hearing could have regarding Black people.

Mr. Hampton and his supporters felt good about the hearing overall and are anxiously awaiting the board’s recommendations, which will be sent to the governor for action. The time period for a final decision to be given is not specified, as the governor can take as long as he wants to act.

Mr. Hampton, calm and encouraged, said his petition is an early step in a long process, however, and added that the result of the hearing has the potential of “opening a Pandora’s box in Chicago.”

Upon conclusion of the hearing, two members of the review board stopped to speak with Mr. Hampton personally. They made comments about remembering the incidents surrounding his father’s death, as well as general conversation.

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