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Leavenworth Brothers: Bennett Trial

By VVAW

The Leavenworth Brothers won a partial victory in court on May 9th, with the conclusion of one of the brother's trials. Odell Bennett was tried on charges of assault stemming from an incident which occurred on Aug. 22, 1973. These charges were not directly related to the major indictments handed down on the Brothers as a result of the uprising which occurred in the Federal Penitentiary in Kansas on July 31st.

Five different charges had been filed against Odell as a result of the August incident. One of the charges, mutiny, was dropped before Bennett went to trial because the government realized they had no case. He was also charged with four separate counts of assault. He was found innocent of one of the counts, and tow of the counts resulted in a mistrial because of a hung jury. Bennett was convicted of one count of "forcibly resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating and interfering with a federal officer in the line of duty."

The August incident for which Bennett was tried involved his appearance in the Leavenworth Federal Court. He had 6 civil suits pending against Leavenworth Warden Daggett, but before being taken to court, Odell was forced to submit to a "finger wave" or rectal search. On the 22nd, 7 or 8 guards came to Bennett's cell, at which time Odell said he would rather drop his charges against the Warden than undergo the rectal "rape." At this point, one of the guards said, "Let's get that nigger," and Odell was attacked. He was handcuffed and beaten for 10 minutes in his cell. He was then taken to the marshall's room where the rectal search was administered. At this point, testimony from both the prosecution and the defense showed that Bennett had gone limp and "gave up" at this point. Shortly after the search, Bennett collapsed. This was the "forcible resistance" for which Odell was convicted.

Two counts of assault ended with a hung jury. The government charged that after Odell was shackled in handcuffs, belly chain and leg irons, he attacked federal marshals. At least one juror refused to believe that an assault could have occurred while Bennett was in this condition. The only black juror, the wife of a retired Command Sergeant Major, prevented the conviction on the 2 assault counts. This juror later told the Leavenworth Brothers Offense/Defense Committee that, "Most of us agreed that the government witnesses were lying."

During Bennett's testimony he stated, "Prisons are closed societies. The guards are lying here because they do not want the public to know what goes on inside there. My real crime is my resistance to the inhuman conditions, my filing of lawsuits against the warden, and my membership in Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization."

To coincide with Odell's trial, the LBODC staged a 21-mile march from Lecompton to Topeka, Kansas. Lecompton was the capital of the Kansas slave state, and the march proved to dramatize Bennett's words, "Slavery has been abolished except for punishment for a crime." A rally followed the march at the State Capitol in Topeka; then a silent march to the courthouse was conducted with the demonstrators wearing gags to emphasize how our courts aids in the silencing of resistance.

Though Odell was convicted of one of the charges against him, it is a victory that he was freed from the other counts. It proved to the government and the courts that the framing of the Leavenworth Brothers will not be as easy as they had hoped. It proved that there are people who are not willing to believe the government charges against these men. Money and publicity are needed if the frame-up of these Brothers is to be stopped as the major trials approach. The major indictments include charges of murder, kidnapping and assault, and Odell will be one of the brothers who will again have to face our country's system of "justice." For more information about the trial or for donating the needed money, contact" LBODC, PO Box 5818, Kansas City, Missouri 64111.