Geronimo Pratt | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Elmer Pratt September 13, 1947 Morgan City, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | June 2, 2011(2011-06-02) (aged 63) |
| Resting place | Pratt's body was cremated and scattered somewhere in Tanzania.[citation needed] |
| Citizenship | United States of America (birthplace), Tanzania[citation needed] |
| Education | UCLA, Sumpter Williams High School (Morgan City, Louisiana) |
| Occupation | Deputy Minister of Defense of the Southern California Chapter of theBlack Panther Party |
| Known for | Overturned murder conviction |
| Political party | Black Panther Party |
| Movement | Black Power Movement |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | 27 years in prison |
| Criminal status | Released (conviction vacated) |
| Military Career | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Rank | .svg) Sergeant |
| Battles / wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards |  Silver Star Bronze Star (2) Purple Heart (2) |
Elmer Gerard "Geronimo" Pratt (September 13, 1947–June 2, 2011), also known asGeronimo Ji-Jaga andGeronimo Ji-Jaga Pratt, was a decorated military veteran and a high-ranking member of theBlack Panther Party in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Born inLouisiana, heserved two tours in Vietnam, receiving several decorations. He moved to Los Angeles, where he studied atUCLA under theGI Bill and joined the Black Panther Party. He was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.
TheFederal Bureau of Investigation targeted Pratt in aCOINTELPRO operation in the early 1970s, intended to "neutralize Pratt as an effective BPP functionary."[1] Pratt was tried and convicted in 1972 for the 1968 murder of Caroline Olsen; he served 27 years in prison, eight of which were insolitary confinement. Pratt was freed in 1997 when his conviction was vacated due to the prosecution's having withheldexculpatory evidence that tended to prove his innocence. This decision was upheld on appeal.[2]
He worked as ahuman rights activist until the time of his death. Pratt was also thegodfather of the late rapperTupac Shakur.[2] He died of a heart attack inTanzania, on June 3, 2011.[3]
Elmer Pratt was born inMorgan City, Louisiana to Jack Pratt and Eunice Petty. His father was in the scrap metal business. Pratt was a starquarterback at Sumpter Williams High School.
He served two combat tours as a soldier in theVietnam War, reaching the rank of sergeant. He was highly decorated, earning twoBronze Stars, aSilver Star, and twoPurple Hearts.[4][5] He later moved toLos Angeles.
After leaving the Army, Pratt studied political science atUCLA,[4] using a grant provided by theGI Bill. Pratt became politically active and was recruited into theBlack Panthers byBunchy Carter andJohn Huggins.[6] When Pratt joined theBlack Panthers, his years in the army proved useful. He rose to become Deputy Minister of Defense of the local organization, afterBunchy Carter andJohn Huggins were killed byCOINTELPRO infiltrators in theUs Organization. He took the name "Geronimo," after a prominentApache chief and leader of resistance to US domination, and "Ji-Jaga," after a Central African tribe.
In 1971, his wife Saundra was killed when she was 8 months pregnant and her body was left in a ditch. The murder was attributed at the time to a BPP schism between supporters ofHuey Newton and those ofEldridge Cleaver; Pratt and his wife belonged to the Cleaver faction. Pratt later believed this account was an FBI lie, and that Saundra's murder was unrelated to her activities in the Black Panther Party.[7][8]
By January 1970, the Los AngelesFBI office had sought permission from national headquarters for a counterintelligence effort "designed to challenge the legitimacy of the authority exercised" by Pratt in the local Panthers. Another FBI memo, dated five months later, noted that the Bureau was constantly considering counterintelligence measures designed to neutralize Pratt "as an effective (Panther) functionary."[6]
In 1968, Caroline Olsen, a 27-year-old elementary school teacher, was murdered by gunshot during a robbery on aSanta Monicatennis court. Olsen's husband, Kenneth, who was also shot but survived, identified Pratt as the killer in an eyewitness line-up. Julius Butler, apolice informant and infiltrator inside the Black Panther Party, testified that Pratt had confessed to him and discussed the murder with him on several occasions. In 1970, Pratt was arrested and charged with murder andkidnapping.
His attorney,Johnnie Cochran, argued that the charges should be dropped. He claimed that Pratt had been 350 miles away on the night of the murder. Pratt was convicted in 1972. Journalist and authorJack Olsen reported that FBI "moles" had infiltrated defense sessions and monitored Cochran's phone calls.[9]
While Pratt was incarcerated atMule Creek State Prison, he studied law and built a defense. AttorneyStuart Hanlon, who had helped represent him in his first trial, andWilliam Paparian worked on the appeals that resulted in Pratt's conviction being vacated. In an interview withReuters he recalled being held in solitary confinement in a cell nearcult leaderCharles Manson, with only big ants to keep him company.[10]
The conviction wasvacated on June 10, 1997, on the grounds that the prosecution had concealed evidence that might have influenced the jury's verdict. Police wiretaps showed that he was present at a Black Panther meeting in Oakland, 400 miles away from the murder in L.A. at the time of the murder.[11] The prosecution had not disclosed the extent to which a key witness against Pratt,Julius Butler, was aninformant to the FBI and theLos Angeles Police Department. The state appealed the decision, but an appeals court in 1999 ruled this fact to be "'favorable' to the defendant, 'suppressed' by a law enforcement agency, and 'material' to the jury's decision to convict;" it upheld the decision to vacate the conviction, freeing him.[12]
On July 24, 1997, Pratt returned to his hometown ofMorgan City, Louisiana, to see his aged mother, Eunice. He had not seen her in 23 years, since she rode a bus to visit him atFolsom Prison.[13]
In 1998, Pratt's longtime friend and attorneyJohnnie Cochran, filed a federal civil lawsuit against the FBI and theLAPD, accusing them of malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.[14] With the help of Brian T. Dunn, another attorney atThe Cochran Firm, the suit was settled for $4.5 million. A federal judge approved the settlement of the civil suit: the City of Los Angeles paid $2.75 million of the settlement and the US Department of Justice paid the remaining $1.75 million.[15]
Pratt continued to work until his death on behalf of men and women wrongfully convicted. He participated in rallies in support ofMumia Abu-Jamal, whom he had met when both were active as Black Panthers. In his later years, he moved to Tanzania, where he was living at the time of his death.[4]
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