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Gary Lawton: Courthouse Shooting Delays Trial

By VVAW

The third trial of Gary Lawton (VVAW/WSO member) began on November 12th. However, due to some recent events in Riverside, California, Gary's third trial has again been postponed, and is now set for Jan. 6th. Gary, a black man, is on trial for the shooting of tow Riverside policemen, who were ambushed and killed in April, 1971. The two previous trials on these charges ended with hung juries, with a majority of jurors voting for acquittal of this brother. In the words of one of the jurors who heard the first trial of Lawton, "It is a frame-up...They had no real evidence."

Gary's trial began quietly on Nov. 12th, and the jury panel was summoned for selection. The day after the trial began, a young man, Monroe, was stopped by Riverside Police near the front steps of the courthouse where the trial was going on. Police began harassing him and Monroe pulled out a gun and shot and killed a member of the Riverside Police Dept. (RPD). Within seconds, other RPD members had opened fire on this young man. After Monroe had fell to the ground, police hand-cuffed him and left him to lie in front of the courthouse. After several hours of lying hand-cuffed and bleeding, Monroe finally died. He never received medical treatment.

Lawton's trial was not the only important trial going on at this time. The trial of Chukia Lawton (Gary's wife) and Rusty Bronaugh, both members of the Riverside Political Prisoners Defense Committee and VVAW/WSO, had begun a few days earlier. Chukia and Rusty are facing charges stemming from a Riverside police attack which occurred last March. At the time of this attack, defense committee members were at the courthouse to show support for another defense worker, William Palmer, who was on trial for an alleged assault on a policeman. Though Zurebu Gardner (Lawton's former co-defendant on the murder charges against him dropped for reason of "lack of sufficient evidence") and Chukia Lawton were seriously injured in this courthouse attack, and Rusty was charged with interfering with a police officer in the performance of his duties. The first trial of Chukia and Rusty ended with a hung jury and they are to be retried.

When the courthouse shooting happened, people inside the courthouse rushed to windows and outside to see what had happened. A large majority of members of the jury panels for both Gary's trial and Chukia and Rusty's trial saw the shootings, and saw Monroe dying on the sidewalk. Since the policeman that Monroe had shot was only the third Riverside policeman to be killed in recent years (Gary is standing trial for the shooting of the other two), local newspapers have been filled with news on the shootings. Newspapers have also been unusually full of articles about Gary Lawton and the charges he is facing. For these reasons, the defense moved to have the trial postponed and to have both of the jury panels dismissed on grounds that there was too much publicity surrounding the recent shootings to select a fair jury and allow Gary, Chukia and Rusty fair trials. The judge granted these motions, and Lawton's trial was postponed until Jan. 6th, while Chukia and Rusty's trial will begin on Jan. 13th.

So, once again we wait. By the time Gary finally gets to trial on these trumped-up charges, it will be almost 4 years since the harassment of this brother began. The trial of Gary Lawton is an example of the repression and racist brutality that is coming down in our communities all across the country as people struggle to overcome the oppression that the system of imperialism brings down on our daily lives. Gary Lawton is a fighter whose life is dedicated to combating that oppression, and it is for this reason alone that the state will continue to bring him to trial either until they are satisfied or until the people of the country force Gary's freedom. Up until now, the mass outrage and support of the people has kept Gary alive, has kept a jury from convicting him, and has brought about the dropping of charges against Zurebu Gardner. Now, more than ever, that kind of continued support is vital. For information on how you can help or for the much needed financial contributions, contact: RPPDC, PO Box 244, Riverside, California 92502.