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David Hilliard

By VVAW

George and Jonathan Jackson were killed. Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were murdered. Others are free or in exile. But, David Hilliard remains imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Hilliard was the Black Panther Party Chief of Staff and administrator of their survival programs. Hilliard, a leader of the party once gave stern warning to any one "... who stands in the way of our freedom."

On June 12, 1971, Hilliard was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. The case the prosecution was based on no evidence, other than that Hilliard was a leader of the Panther Party and had made remarks about President Nixon two years prior. There was no evidence that he was even present at the time of the alledged crime and there was no weapon introduced as evidence that he had supposedly used in the assault. On the contrary, the state's case was total fabrication. It was the police that attacked the Panthers, resulting in the death of L'il Bobby Hutton, one of the founders of the Panther Party.

This frame-up was not the first time that Hilliard was accused of crimes he did not commit. In April of 1968, Hilliard and Eldridge Cleaver were accused by the Oakland police of having attempted murder. These charges proved so false that they were dropped. During the ensuing years, the Panther leadership spent much of their time in jail or in prison awaiting trial. Many members of the party were killed. The conviction of Hilliard was based solely on the repression of the Black Panther Party. It represented another attempt by the police to wipe them out.

Today, David Hilliard remains in jail. He has suffered unmercifully at the hands of his captors. Hilliard has a bad ulcer and needs special care or else the pain of the ulcer becomes unbearable. Only recently have the police put him in the hospital section of the prison and only after thousands of signatures were obtained demanding his immediate release. Hilliard has been repeated abused and harassed while in jail. He was refused a special ulcer diet; he was deprived of visitation rights in the hospital and he has had his mail and packages confiscated by prison guards.

Steps are being taken to challenge the jury selection at his trial. At the time the various prosecuting attorneys fixed juries so that the jury of Hilliard's trial was composed of all-whites. This attempt to fix the jury added to the criminality of his trial. But more must be done to have him freed. The attack on Hilliard is but another attempt by the government to suppress the rights of American people. Just as Hilliard is a victim of repression so are the countless thousands who have been prosecuted for questioning the aims of the American system. As the Black Panther Party demanded the freedom of the Gainesville 8, so too must we demand the freedom of David Hilliard. For there is no difference between the attempts of the government to silence us. We will not be silenced and the freedom of David Hilliard will prove this.

For more information on the case of David Hilliard, write to the Black Panther Party, 8501 E. 14th Street, Oakland, California 94261