Judge Orders Prosecutors to Respond in Ex-Panther’s Case
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James A. Bascue on Wednesday ordered prosecutors to respond to former Black Panther Party leader Elmer (Geronimo) Pratt’s request that his murder conviction be overturned.
Pratt was sentenced to life in prison in 1972 for the fatal shooting of teacher Caroline Olsen during a 1968 Santa Monica robbery that netted $18. Pratt has maintained that he was in Oakland when Olsen was killed, and a retired FBI agent has said that the bureau framed him.
Three jurors have said they would never have voted to convict Pratt had they known the key witness against him was a government informant and that Olsen’s husband had identified other suspects before fingering Pratt.
Stuart Hanlon, Pratt’s attorney, said Monday that Bascue’s order “is a very hopeful sign.”
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