[Freethe SF8] Fri, Oct 9 - Rally and Press Conference to Drop Charges Against Francisco Torres

[SF-8 case]

Rally and Press Conference to Drop Charges Against Francisco Torres of the SF8
by The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights

Wednesday Oct 7th, 2009 1:28 AM

Press conference on Oct. 9th at 8am, prior to Francisco Torres' 9am 
court hearing at 850 Bryant Street.

San Francisco Supervisors Eric Mar and John Avalos, and Reverend Amos 
Brown, President of the SF NAACP, will join supporters of the San 
Francisco Eight at 8AM Friday, October 9th, at 850 Bryant Street, to 
call on Attorney General Jerry Brown to drop charges against 
Francisco Torres. A court hearing for Torres is scheduled for 9 AM.

Mr. Torres is the only remaining defendant of the SF 8, elders 
formerly associated with the Black Panther Party, who were arrested 
two and a half years ago in connection with the 1971 shooting of SF 
policeman John Young.

In July 2009, Attorney General Jerry Brown dropped all charges 
against Ray Boudreaux, Richard Brown, Hank Jones and Harold Taylor 
for "insufficient evidence". Charges were dropped against Richard 
O'Neal in 2008. Two other defendants, Jalil Muntaqim and Herman Bell, 
were offered and accepted pleas to greatly reduced charges, receiving 
probation and time served. Mr. Torres was offered a plea as well, but 
turned it down and maintains his innocence.

Last week an open letter calling on Jerry Brown to drop the last 
charges was published in the Guardian, signed by international and 
local leaders including Rev. Dr. Desmond Tutu, former Georgia 
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, actor Danny Glover, San Francisco 
Supervisors Eric Mar, John Avalos and Chris Daley, SF Board of 
Education President Kim-Shree Maufus and VP Jane Kim, Archbishop 
Franzo King, Minister Christopher Muhammad, and Rev. Amos Brown, as 
well as labor leaders, educators, organizers and activists across the 
state and nation.

Soffiyah Elijah, Deputy Director of the Criminal Justice Institute at 
Harvard Law School, said "The original charges in this case were 
thrown out of court in the mid 70's when the issue of torture was 
exposed. Our Constitution requires that this prosecution be ended. 
The attorney general must drop the charges against Francisco Torres 
and begin the process of healing for everyone concerned."

SF Supervisor Eric Mar, Supervisor John Avalos, Rev. Amos Brown, 
Attorney Chuck Bourdon, and former SF 8 defendant Richard Brown will 
be available to speak to the press.
<http://www.freethesf8.org/>http://www.freethesf8.org/

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