His studies in social philosophy earned him a doctorate in 1980, but his problems with alcohol and drugs persisted. Charges that he murdered a prostitute were dismissed in 1979 after two mistrials. In 1978, Newton was convicted of possessing an illegal weapon but subsequently acquitted of assault.
Newton was freed, but did not fare well in the years that followed. District Attorney Jensen reluctantly dropped the charges against Newton in December of 1970. The jury's ultimate decision was a mistrial. The charge was changed to involuntary manslaughter, but the prosecution presented virtually the same case as before. During the first trial, the judge had not informed the jurors of the option to convict Newton of involuntary manslaughter, because he could have been disoriented and unconscious after Frey shot him.
#HUEY P. NEWTON DEATH CAUSE TRIAL#
Huey Newton went to jail for three years, then the defense appealed the decision for a re trial in 1970. Newton was acquitted on the murder and kidnapping charges but sentenced 2-15 years for voluntary manslaughter.Īfter the Trial: The jury decision was a disappointment to both sides.
#HUEY P. NEWTON DEATH CAUSE DRIVER#
T he kidnapping charges were dropped because the van driver refused to testify, and claimed that he could not remember the events as they occurred. After much dispute about black representation, the jury was ultimately composed of 11 White people and one Black person. He also said that a jury by peers was impossible because Blacks were underrepresented on juries. G arry claimed that this case was an attempt by the police to destroy the Black Panthers and Huey Newton. The Black Panther Party lawyer, Charles Garry, argued that the Alameda Grand Jury System was "unconstitutional, secretive, and prejudiced against minorities and the poor" (California Court of Appeals). However, he could not prove that his probation had ended.
The defendant claimed that his prohibition had ended that day, and that he was driving home to celebrate when he got pulled over by the police officers. Seeing as he was found guilty of the previous crime, Newton was forbidden to have a firearm. The prosecution's argument hinged on the fact that Newton's probation status was still in effect at the time of the crime.
Lowell Jensen frequently objected on the basis that Huey Newton's claims were irrelevant to the case at hand. He outlined the objectives of the Black Panther Party and described broader, systematic judicial prejudices against Blacks in America. Trial: According to the transcripts of the trial, Huey Newton used his responses in the courtroom as a political forum. Jensen remembered the tenseness between races at that time, and further violence that took place in Oakland after Martin Luther King, Jr. The trial took three months, and it took the jury an unusually long time- four days- to deliberate. Jensen recalled that it was difficult for the jurors, who eventually held a motion to change venue. Due to the protestors and Newton's high position in the Black Panther Party, the trial had heavy, nation-wide media coverage. Lowell Jensen, who prosecuted Huey Newton in the 1967 trial. Jensen described the trail as "public and dramatic", as there were protestors surrounding the courthouse for days. Lowell Jensen: I had the opportunity to interview former Alameda Country District Attorney, D. The charges were first-degree murder, felonious assault, and kidnapping. Newton then ordered a bystander, Dell Ross, to drive him to the hospital. Newton was shot in the stomach then, he shot the two police officers, killing one. The police questioning became heated, and led to a shootout between Newton and the two police officers. It began when Officer Frey and his partner pulled Newton over for a traffic stop. The Huey Newton case: The case was against Huey Newton, co founder and Minister of Defense of the Black Panther Party, for murdering police officer John Frey in October of 1967.
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