The State - News from May 6, 1987

Former Black Panther leader and convicted murderer Elmer “Geronimo” Pratt was denied parole from San Quentin State Prison for the seventh time by the state Board of Prison Terms. Board Chairman Edmund Tong said the Santa Monica murder for which Pratt was convicted in 1972 was committed in a “heinous, atrocious and cruel manner” and was one of the reasons his parole was rejected. Pratt’s next parole hearing will take place in one year. The board was especially critical of Pratt’s failure to agree to a “category-X” psychiatric examination several times. The category-X is a 90-day examination to determine whether an inmate is still dangerous. Pratt also was criticized for failing to improve himself vocationally or academically while in prison.