The State - News from March 2, 1987

Bobby Seale, former chairman of the Black Panther Party, has urged Californians to write the state parole board seeking the release of a one-time Panther imprisoned on a murder conviction. Seale, who now teaches at Temple University in Philadelphia, said that Elmer (Geronimo) Pratt is a political prisoner framed through “undercover and underhanded” methods used by government officials to derail the Oakland-based radical movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Pratt, 39, former Panther deputy defense minister, was convicted 16 years ago in the murder of a 27-year-old teacher and sentenced to life in prison. Pratt has maintained he was at Panther headquarters in Oakland when the slaying occurred. The state Board of Prison Terms has repeatedly denied Pratt parole. The next hearing is set for early May.