Blood in the Water

by Thompson, Heather Ann

  48. William Rivers, Testimony, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 13, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), March 5, 1975, 1515.

  49. Robert Kopec, Testimony, Exhibit: Kopec, Interview by Investigator Palascak, February 1, 1972, 2909, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 14, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), March 13, 1975. Kunstler is referring to this testimony.

  50. Edward Douglas Zimmer, Testimony, In the Matter of the Additional, Special and Trial Term of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Designated Pursuant to the Order of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. County of Wyoming, January 5, 1972, Erie County courthouse.

  51. Ibid.

  52. Ibid.

  53. Michael T. Kaufman, “Jury Starts Deliberations in the Case of 2 Accused,” New York Times, April 4, 1975.

  54. Kunstler to judge on issue of resources, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 16, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), March 17, 1975, 3186–87.

  55. Michael T. Kaufman, “Former Prisoner at Attica Testifies He Saw Inmate Strike Two Correction Officers with a Club,” New York Times, March 5, 1975.

  56. Kunstler to the Judge, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 17, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), March 17, 1975, 3426.

  57. Ibid.

  58. Ibid., 3425.

  59. Kaufman, “Former Prisoner at Attica Testifies He Saw Inmate Strike Two Correction Officers with a Club.”.

  60. Royal Morgan, Interview, September 15, 1971, transcribed by Marie T. Kaminski on January 9, 1974, in the papers of Elizabeth M. Fink, Brooklyn, New York.

  61. Ibid.

  62. Royal Morgan, interviewed by Investigator T. J. Sullivan, February 1, 1972, Erie County courthouse.

  63. Gordon Kelsey, interviewed by Investigator N. E. Minklein, September 12, 1971, Attica Investigation Files, Erie County courthouse.

  64. Ibid.

  65. Investigators James Lo Curto and F. E. Demler, Organized Crime Task Force Memorandum to Attorney General Anthony Simonetti, Subject: “Quinn Homicide Investigation,” October 20, 1971, Erie County courthouse.

  66. Kunstler to the Judge, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 17, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), March 17, 1975, 3401–3403.

  67. Robert Hanley, “Guard Who Lied About Attica May Be Disciplined by the State,” New York Times, March 21, 1975.

  68. Ibid.

  69. Ibid.

  70. Michael T. Kaufman, “Ex-Guard at Attica Admits He Falsely Blamed Inmate,” New York Times, March 20, 1975.

  71. “State to Dismiss Guard Who Lied,” New York Times, May 14, 1975.

  72. Michael T. Kaufman, “Attica Defense Rests as Inmate Says He Saw Hill Hit No One,” New York Times, March 26, 1975.

  73. Michael T. Kaufman, “Witness Unable to Identify 2 at Attica,” New York Times, March 21, 1975.

  74. Ibid.

  75. William Kunstler, Summation, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 25, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), April 2, 1975, 5062.

  76. Ibid., 5055.

  77. Ibid.

  78. Ibid., 5071.

  79. Kunstler to the Judge, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 17, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), March 17, 1975, 3401.

  80. Ibid., 3393.

  81. People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 17, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), 3456.

  82. Ibid., 3482.

  83. Ibid., 3465.

  84. Ibid., 3463. Clark also refers to vol. 6, pages 2109 and 2114, of the trial transcript.

  85. “Attica Verdict: Guilty,” Time, April 14, 1975.

  86. People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 17, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), 3457.

  87. Ibid., 3509.

  88. Ibid., 3508.

  89. Ibid.

  90. Ibid., 3481.

  91. Eighty transcript pages, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 33, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), March 31, 1975.

  92. Ibid.

  93. Jelinek, Attica Justice, 310.

  94. William Kunstler, Summation, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 24, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), April 1, 1975, 4920.

  95. Ibid., 4832.

  96. Ibid., 4869.

  97. Breasted, “Killing at Attica Laid to ‘Others.’ ”

  98. Kunstler, Summation, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 24, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), April 1, 1975, 4731.

  99. Michael T. Kaufman, “Prosecution in Summation, Calls Killing of Officer in Attica Prison Revolt ‘Cowardly,’ ” New York Times, April 3, 1975.

  100. “Attica Verdict: Guilty,” Time.

  101. Ibid.

  102. Ibid.

  103. Kaufman, “Prosecution in Summation, Calls Killing of Officer in Attica Prison Revolt ‘Cowardly.’ ”

  104. Ibid.

  105. Ibid.

  106. Michael T. Kaufman, “Jury Starts Deliberations in the Case of 2 Accused,” New York Times, April 4, 1975.

  107. William Claiborne, “2 Guilty in ’71 Attica Death,” Washington Post, April 6, 1975.

  108. Hill, conversation with author, May 31, 2005.

  109. Kaufman, “Jury Starts Deliberations in the Case of 2 Accused.”

  110. William Claiborne, “ ‘Vicious Attack’ Cited by Attica Prosecutor,” Washington Post, April 3, 1975.

  111. Michael T. Kaufman, “Attica Jury Convicts One of Murder, 2nd of Assault,” New York Times, April 6, 1975.

  112. “Attica Verdict: Guilty,” Time.

  113. Kaufman, “Attica Jury Convicts One of Murder, 2nd of Assault”; Claiborne, “2 Guilty in ’71 Attica Death.”

  114. Claiborne, “2 Guilty in ’71 Attica Death.”

  115. Ibid.

  116. Michael T. Kaufman, “Attica Juror Says Panel Fixed Guilt After 12 Hours of Study,” New York Times, April 7, 1975.

  117. Ibid.

  118. Kaufman, “Reporter’s Notebook: Attica Trial Something of an Anti-climax.”

  119. People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 7, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), 3795.

  120. Jelinek, Attica Justice, 308–9.

  121. Ibid.

  122. Mary Breasted, “Attica Drama Unfolds in Back Rows and Halls as Well as on Stand,” New York Times, March 4, 1975.

  123. People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 29, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), December 10, 1974, 5689–91.

  124. Michael T. Kaufman, “Motions Delay Attica Killers’ Sentencing,” New York Times, May 8, 1975.

  125. John “Dacajewiah” Hill, Statement before sentencing, People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 32, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), May 8, 1975, 5979.

  126. Ibid., 5983.

  127. Ibid., 5988

  128. People of the State of New York v. Dacajewiah, Indicted as John Hill, Transcript, vol. 32, 49 A.D.2d 1036 (1975), May 8, 1975, 5990.

  129. Ibid., 5994.

  130. Ibid., 5995.

  131. Ibid.

  132. Ibid., 6001.

  133. Ibid., 6006.

  134. Ibid., 6013.

  135. Deutsch, conversation with author, June 27, 2005.

  136. William Claiborne, “Former Inmate to Go on Trial in New Attica Case,” Washington Post, April 7, 1975.

  137. Ibid.

  40. EVENING THE SCORE

  1. Sandy McClure, “Detroit’s ‘Meanest Man’ Recalled by One of His Victims,” Detroit Free Press, December 5, 1982.

  2. Linda Borus, conversation with author, Detroit, Michigan, June 15, 2005.

  3. McClure, “Detroit’s ‘Meanest Man’ Recalled by One of H
is Victims.”

  4. Ibid.

  5. Shango (Bernard Stroble), draft chapter, “Shango: The Anatomy of a Defense,” unpublished book, ed. Ernest Goodman et al., National Lawyers Guild Records, 1936–1999, Ernest Goodman Files, Box 67, Series 10, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

  6. Ibid.

  7. Ibid.

  8. Ibid.

  9. Ibid.

  10. Ibid.

  11. lbid.

  12. Ibid.

  13. Ibid.

  14. Charles Bradley, Order, Subject: “Transfer Bernard Stroble, in State Prison in southern Michigan, to Erie County Holding Center at Buffalo for trial,” February 5, 1976, Erie County courthouse.

  15. The state’s indictments suggested that because Hess was still alive on Sunday, after Shango had tried to kill him on Saturday, Jomo Joka Omowale then told Privitera to kill him. Subsequently, they argued, it was Mariano “Dalou” Gonzalez who then fatally stabbed Privitera. Francis X. Clines, “12 Inmates Named in Attica Charges,” New York Times, December 19, 1972.

  16. Attica Defense Committee, Letter to Bernard Stroble, undated, in the papers of Elizabeth M. Fink, Brooklyn, New York.

  17. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 1, Walter Reuther Library, 3. Intention of account was to, eventually, be in a book: “Shango: The Anatomy of a Defense.” This manuscript was represented by Zipporah W. Collins of Berkeley, California. Ultimately, the cost of publishing made Goodman drop the idea. See: Ernest Goodman, Letter to Zipporah Collins, May 7, 1986, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Walter Reuther Library.

  18. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 1, 4, Walter Reuther Library.

  19. Ibid., Tape 1, 5.

  20. Ibid., Tape 1, 6.

  21. Ibid., Tape 2, 17, and Tape 3, 2.

  22. Ibid., Tape 1, 8.

  23. Ibid.

  24. Ernest Goodman, Chapter, “Shango: The Anatomy of a Defense.”

  25. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 5, 2, Walter Reuther Library.

  26. Ibid.

  27. Bernard “Shango” Stroble, Letter to Ernest Goodman, November 15, 1974, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Walter Reuther Library.

  28. Ibid., undated.

  29. Ibid.

  30. Ibid., November 4, 1974.

  31. Devon Hodges, Chapter on Media and Publicity, “Shango: The Anatomy of a Defense.”

  32. Donald Jelinek, Attica Justice: The Cruel 30-Year Legacy of the Nation’s Bloodiest Prison Rebellion, Which Transformed the American Prison System (Jelinek Publishers, 2011), 321.

  33. Borus, conversation with author, June 15, 2005.

  34. Hodges, Chapter on Media and Publicity, “Anatomy of a Defense.”

  35. Goodman, Chapter, “Anatomy of a Defense.”

  36. These students were: John Stuart, Hugh Brantley, Glen Davis, Howie Sasson, and Lowell Jacobs. See: Stuart, Chapter, “Shango: The Anatomy of a Defense.”

  37. Ibid.

  38. Borus, conversation with author, June 15, 2005.

  39. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 2, 3, Walter Reuther Library.

  40. Ibid.

  41. Letter to Bernard “Shango” Stroble, undated, author unknown but clearly an inmate who served in the role as medic in prison during the uprising. Likely John Flowers, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 7, Walter Reuther Library.

  42. Ibid.

  43. Ibid.

  44. Judge Joseph Mattina, Memorandum, Subject: “Indictments for 1. Alleged kidnapping of Hess and Schwartz, 2. Death of Hess, 3. Death of Schwartz,” undated, Erie County courthouse.

  45. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 2, 15, Walter Reuther Library.

  46. Ibid., Tape 4, 8–9.

  47. John Flowers, Testimony, Wade Hearing, People of the State of New York v. Shango Bahati Kakawana (Indicted as Bernard Stroble), 407 F.Supp. 411 (1976), 2957. As referenced in: Hugh Brantley, Memorandum to attorneys and Pro Se defendants in indictments 38–42, 6, and Attica Brothers Trial Office. Subject: “Testimony of John Flowers and original BCI interview, statements, and Wade Hearing testimony February 19, 1975.” Date: April 14, 1975. Document from: Defense prep notes, Haywood Burns Papers, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library. Transcripts for Attica Wade Hearings can also be found in the Ernest Goodman Papers, Series IV, Subseries A: Trial Records, Boxes 24–32, Walter Reuther Library.

  48. Ibid., 2971–72.

  49. Ibid., 2972.

  50. Ibid.

  51. Ibid., 2986.

  52. Ibid., 2955.

  53. Jelinek, Attica Justice, 323.

  54. Annette T. Rubenstein, “Attica, 1971–1975,” Pamphlet, Charter Group for a Pledge of Conscience, New York City, December 1975, 21.

  55. Ibid.

  56. Ibid., 32.

  57. Details of potentially exculpatory testimony in: “Memorandum of law in support of Motion to Dismiss,” Statement of Facts, People of the State of New York v. Shango Bahati Kakawana, Indicted as Bernard Stroble, State of New York Additional and Special Trial Term, State of New York Supreme Court: County of Erie, March 27, 1975, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 7, Walter Reuther Library. Also see: Leon Holt, Testimony, In the Matter of the Additional, Special and Trial Term of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Designated Pursuant to the Order of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. County of Wyoming, December 12, 1972; and Jake Milde, Testimony, In the Matter of the Additional, Special and Trial Term of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Designated Pursuant to the Order of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. County of Wyoming, May 11, 1972. Both documents located in the Erie County courthouse. See Transcripts for Attica Wade Hearings in the Ernest Goodman Papers, Series IV, Subseries A: Trial Records, Boxes 24–32, Walter Reuther Library.

  58. Details of potentially exculpatory testimony in: “Memorandum of law in support of Motion to Dismiss,” Statement of Facts, People of the State of New York v. Shango Bahati Kakawana, Indicted as Bernard Stroble, March 27, 1975. Also see: Holt, Testimony, In the Matter of the Additional, Special and Trial Term of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Designated Pursuant to the Order of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, December 12, 1972, and Milde, Testimony, In the Matter of the Additional, Special and Trial Term of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Designated Pursuant to the Order of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, May 11, 1972. See collection of Wade Hearing transcripts where Goodman learned of much inconsistent state witness testimony in the Ernest Goodman Papers, Walter Reuther Library.

  59. Ibid.

  60. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 4, 11, Walter Reuther Library.

  61. Ibid.

  62. Wade Hearing, People of the State of New York v. Shango Bahati Kakawana (Indicted as Bernard Stroble), Transcript, 407 F.Supp. 411 (1976), December 18, 1974, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Walter Reuther Library, 2492–93.

  63. Judge Mattina, Memorandum, Subject: “Indictments for 1. Alleged kidnapping of Hess and Schwartz, 2. Death of Hess, 3. Death of Schwartz,” Erie County courthouse.

  64. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 4, 12, Walter Reuther Library.

  65. Ibid., Tape 5, 8.

  66. Beth Bonora and Eric Swanson, Chapter, “Shango: The Anatomy of a Defense.”

  67. Ibid.

  68. Ibid.

  69. Ibid.

  70. Ibid
.

  71. Ibid.

  72. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 7, 2, Walter Reuther Library.

  73. Bonora and Swanson, Chapter, “Shango: The Anatomy of a Defense.”

  74. Ibid.

  75. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 7, 4, Walter Reuther Library.

  76. Jelinek, Attica Justice, 320.

  77. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 7, 6, Walter Reuther Library.

  78. Memo admitted into evidence: 4.28.75, in Erie County courthouse.

  79. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 10, 10, Walter Reuther Library.

  80. Kunstler and Clark had worried from the moment that a juror had claimed that someone from the Jury Project had contacted him personally—an illegal action—that someone from the defense side had in fact called this man in an attempt to prevent them from using the Jury Project altogether. With the knowledge that Mary Jo Cook had been working for the FBI and the ABLD at this time, there was a serious concern that she had in fact made the call. The implications of this were enormous since the last two jurors chosen for this trial, nos. 11 and 12, led the jury to vote for conviction when many on the panel had serious doubts. Author’s telephone conversation with Joe Heath, November 21, 2015. Also see: Bonora and Swanson, Chapter, “Anatomy of a Defense.”

  81. Ernest Goodman, Taped and transcribed account of Shango trial, undated, Ernest Goodman Papers, Accession number 1152, Box 6, Tape 7, 11, Walter Reuther Library.

  82. Mary Jo Cook, Testimony, People of the State of New York v. Shango Bahati Kakawana (Indicted as Bernard Stroble), Transcript, 407 F.Supp. 411 (1976), April 21, 1975, Erie County courthouse; also FOIA request #110818, FOIA pp. 001224–001419.

  83. Ibid., 22–23.

  84. Ibid., 26.

  85. Ibid., 32.

  86. Ibid., 39–40.

  87. Ibid., 37–38.

  88. Ibid., 42, 46.

  89. Ibid., 66.

  90. Ibid., 101–2.

  91. Tom Goldstein, “Court Told of Spying on Attica Defense,” New York Times, April 22, 1975.