Today, eight men await a pretrial hearing for the murder of a police officer committed 36 years ago. This is familiar territory for the aged Black Panther Party members dubbed the San Francisco Eight -- they stood for the same crime before a federal court in 1973. That case was thrown out. Now, in a twist right out of a bad sequel, the Department of Homeland Security is reopening it -- with the justification of new evidence.
On Sat., March 8, defendant Hank Jones and two members of the Committee to Free the Eight screened the documentary Legacy of Torture at an old firehouse in the Central District. In the film, members of the SF8 recount the torture they endured in the '70s at the hands of New Orleans police. They were beaten, suffocated, and shocked with cattle prods until they would sign FBI-scripted confessions. In light of these unlawful and untrustworthy methods of interrogation, the evidence was thrown out and the men were freed. But members of the SF8 were brought before a grand jury in 2005 and refused to testify.
Prosecutors are planning to bring forth evidence that had been reported as lost, said Claude Marks, producer of Legacy of Torture and member of the Committee to Defend the SF8. Marks said previous fingerprint and DNA tests on the accused were negative.
Jones and four other men were jailed for a month and a half after the grand jury trial. While in jail they met weekly. Laughing, the soft-spoken, 70-year-old Jones recalls, "It was like a family reunion."
A pretrial hearing is set for April 21. More information is available at http://www. freethesf8.org