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Slave's Right To Rebel: Free Ruchell Mage

By VVAW

A man is now sitting in the San Jose Country Jail who has spent the majority of his life struggling for freedom. That man is Ruchell Magee -- a black political prisoner who has for all practical purposes been forgotten by the people of this country. Ruchell's fight against the racism of our society began when he was 16 years old and living in his home state of Louisiana. In 1955, he was found guilty of "attempted aggravated rape" of a white woman by an all-white jury. Though the woman who had been raped failed to identify Ruchell in a police line-up, he was sentenced to 12 years in the Angola State Penitentiary.

After six years in prison, Ruchell was paroled and moved to Los Angeles in 1962. Within seven months after his parole, Magee was again caught up in the racism of our court system. This time, he was charged with a kidnapping which supposedly arose out of an argument over $10. Based on the coerced confession of the alleged "victim," (a confession which was illegally admitted in court) Ruchell was again convicted of a charge he was innocent of, and sentenced to one year to life in prison. Magee was sent to San Quentin where he fought for and won the right to a new trial in 1965, on the grounds that testimony had been illegally presented at his first trial. Ruchell's court-appointed attorney entered a plea of "innocent by reason of insanity." When Magee objected to this plea, he was gagged, dragged from the courtroom and beaten by guards. The judge in this second trial (who just happened to also preside over the first trial) ordered the jury to either find Ruchell insane or guilty of the kidnapping. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Ruchell returned to San Quentin and immediately began filing briefs and appeals to the courts -- petitioning for his freedom. His belief in the justice of this country was shattered in Feb., 1970, when a young black prisoner was murdered by San Quentin guards. Ruchell pledged (along with many other prisoners) that the truth of this murder would be taken to the outside world, and the prison responded by unleashing a reign of terror against all prisoners who had been involved in speaking out against repression in the prison.

Following years of fruitless struggle for a fair hearing, following years of brutality and an overwhelming desire for justice and freedom, Ruchell appeared in the Marin County courthouse on August 7, 1970, to testify on behalf of a fellow prisoner. On this day, Ruchell rebelled against oppression in what has come to be called the "Courthouse Slave Rebellion." On this day in court, Jonathan Jackson rose from his seat and said: "All right gentlemen, this is it." The prisoners then made their bid for freedom and attempted to escape in a van, taking with them the court's presiding judge. Marin County Sheriffs opened fire on the van and indiscriminately murdered Jonathan Jackson, William Christmas, James McClain, and Judge Harold Haley. Following the murder, Ruchell (the only surviving prisoner) was charged with murder, conspiracy to free the alleged Soledad Brothers, and kidnapping. These charges came to trial in 1972 and during the trial, it was discovered that the bullet which killed Judge Haley was traced to a weapon of one of the guards. With Ruchell's involvement in the murder having been disproved, the jury deliberated and returned hopelessly hung.

The murder charge against Ruchell was then dropped and he is still awaiting trial on kidnapping charges resulting from the Slave Rebellion. Since the first trial, Ruchell has been practically abandoned by his supporters. Following are some excerpts from a letter which Ruchell recently sent to Gary Lawton and the Riverside Political Prisoners Defense Committee.

"I am in need of sincere support to get my message to the people. Sincere defense committee support is the only way the injustice will be exposed or stopped. The past committee support I have been getting can be described only as an extension of my oppression...I don't know what you have read or heard in the news media, but the state agents do not want to let this slave case go to trial again. They have no case. Period. I haven't committed any crime; but any black man (victim of Police frame-ups) can be caught by the judicial traps of slave oppression. It is no crime to break out of the traps of slave oppression!"

"The California defense committee and supporters haven't shown me anything -- except foolishness and exploitation. Progressive people must strive to improve (build) our society. That is why I am appealing to the people for support. I can prove (easily prove) in facts, law and evidence that the court-appointed lawyer in 1965, all-out railroaded me, by tricking the jury into finding me guilty. This was done through the use of the lawyers' vicious false insanity/guilty plea. All that is need to prove this "undisputable fact" is my being allowed the right to be heard in court, in that I may produce the factual evidence."

Ruchell Magee remains strong and determined to gain his freedom and he has continually maintained his complete innocence in all of the charges he has been imprisoned for. Ruchell is just one of the many victims of the racism exhibited by our court system and our society as a whole. At this time, unless support from the people of this country is given to Ruchell, he will be destined to spend the remainder of his life behind prison walls. Ruchell's political history and it's culmination in the Courthouse Slave Rebellion should be an example to all of us who are involved in the struggle for freedom and equality.

"I'm not guilt but I'm laying my life on the line to prove this fact."

FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!