eight former panthers were arrested january 23rd 2007 in california, new york and florida on charges related to the 1971 killing of a san francisco police officer.

richard brown, richard o'neal , ray boudreaux and hank jones were arrested in california. francisco torres was arrested in queens. harold taylor was arrested in florida. herman bell and jalil muntaquim have been held as political prisiners for over 30 years already - they are both in new york state prisons. a ninth man, ronald stanley bridgeford is still being sought. the men were charged with the murder of sgt john young and conspiracy that encompasses numerous acts between 1968 and 1973.

harold taylor and john bowman (recently deceased) as well as ruben scott were first charged in 1975. but a judge tossed out the charges, finding that taylor and his two co-defendants made confessions after police in new orleans tortured them for several days employing electric shocks, cattle prods, beatings, sensory deprivation, plastic bags and hot, wet blankets for asphyxiation.

harold taylor:
"1971, two brothers and i were set up by the fbi. we didn't learn about COINTELPRO until years later. in 1973 i was arrested in new orleans and was beaten and tortured for several days. 2003 THE DETECTIVES THAT WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR MY TORTURE CAME TO MY HOUSE TO TRY AND QUESTION ME AGAIN. I HAVE NOT BEEN THE SAME SINCE."

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO EIGHT:

committee for the defense of human rights
p.o.box 90221,
pasadena, ca
91109

# 415 226-1120
http://www.CDHRsupport.org
email: CDHR_RIGHT@hotmail.com