[Freethe SF8] The Final Comment on The SF8, by Herman Bell

[SF-8 case]

THE FINAL COMMENT ON THE SF8, BY HERMAN BELL - 11 July 2009

It has been said, though unmaliciously, that I 
pled in the SF8 case because I am ill and have to 
get out of the county jail and back to New York 
for medical treatment. Although I’ve been 
confined in a tank with psychotic individuals 
more often than not, who often yell and scream 24 
7 for days without stopping (oh yeah!), and I’ve 
not been in fresh air and sunshine the whole two 
+ years I’ve been here, I still can say 
unequivocally that my health is reasonably okay.

Let there be absolutely no misunderstanding about 
this plea I took. The SF8 case was complex, and 
not everyone in the case had the same legal 
issues. Because of this, I took a plea because I 
believed it was the right thing to do for me and 
the case itself. And this could well make my 
parole chances in New York even more difficult. 
Still, the plea was well worth taking because it 
led to Jalil Muntaqim’s plea, which resulted in 
charges being dismissed against: Hank Jones, Ray 
Boudreaux, Harold Taylor, and Richard Brown – but 
unfortunately, not Francisco Torres. There is 
hope still that charges against Cisco will be 
dismissed, and if he should go to trial, we 
support him. The SF8 comradeship remains 
unbreakable. I say unequivocally that, 
individually or collectively, we would never 
dishonor ourselves or you by doing something so 
unconscionable as to undermine the interests of our historic struggle.

Thus, I regard the outcome of this case as a 
People’s victory, as one made all the sweeter by 
the hard work our supporters and legal team put 
in to make it so. So we thank our lawyers and 
investigators for the excellent work and 
dedication that they devoted to our defense: 
Soffiyah Elijah, Heather Hardwick, Rai Sue 
Sussman, Julie de Almeida, Jenny Kang, Mark 
Rosenbush, Lori Flowers, and our investigators: 
Adam Raskin, Nancy Pemberton, Patricia de Larios, 
and Keith MacArthur – you guys are pros.

Special thanks and gratitude to my lawyer, Stuart 
Hanlon, for the sleepless nights and long hours 
he devoted to this case (lest you all have 
forgotten, Stuart also fought for over 20 years 
to free Geronimo Pratt); we were fortunate to 
have Stuart on our legal team. In addition to my 
excellent representation, initially in 2005 when 
this case was at the beginning grand jury stages, 
Stuart assembled the very finest criminal defense 
lawyers in the Bay Area to represent the SF8 on a 
volunteer basis before the grand jury. These 
lawyers then went on to represent us once a grand 
jury indictment failed and the Attorney General 
filed the criminal complaint against us. I think 
Stuart is one of the finest lawyers in the 
country. Yet, my praise and appreciation is in no 
way to disparage the quality of service and 
dedicated commitment the other lawyers on our 
team devoted to our defense: Daro Inouye, Mark 
Goldrosen, Chuck Bourdon, Mike Burt, Randy 
Montesano, John Philipsborn, and Richard Mazer – 
big ups to you all. Also, very big thanks to 
Dennis Cunningham, Che Hashim, and Kelly Metters 
for volunteering to facilitate Jalil’s and my 
weekly Saturday legal visits for the past two 
years when our legal team was unavailable.

Finally, my profound gratitude to all our friends and supporters. – Herman



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