[News] Former Black Panther who refused to testify ordered freed by court

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Article published Sep 23, 2005
Former Black Panther who refused to testify ordered freed by court

The Associated Press

A former member of the Black Panther Party who was jailed last month for 
refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the killings of two 
San Francisco police officers in the early 1970s was set free Thursday when 
the state Supreme Court ruled a judge did not follow proper procedures 
before holding Ray Michael Boudreaux in contempt.

Boudreaux, 62, and at least a dozen other people including other former 
members of black radical groups, were subpoenaed and offered limited 
immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony.

But Boudreaux, who now lives in Pasadena, refused to testify. San Francisco 
Superior Court Judge Robert Dondero, who's presiding over the grand jury 
proceedings, jailed Boudreaux on contempt charges Aug. 29 and ordered that 
he be held until he accepts the immunity deal.

The state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the contempt-of-court ruling 
was legally defective because Dondero did not order Boudreaux to answer the 
questions before holding him in contempt.

Dondero ordered Boudreaux to return to the grand jury next Tuesday for a 
new round of questioning that could result in another jail sentence if he 
again remains silent.

Sgt. Brian McDonnell, 44 , was killed, and eight other officers were 
injured Feb. 16, 1970, when a bomb exploded at a San Francisco police station.

Sgt. John V. Young, 45, was killed, and a civilian clerk was wounded on 
Aug. 29, 1971 when two men burst into a second police station and fired a 
shotgun through a hole in a bulletproof glass window.

No one took responsibility for either attack, but authorities have always 
assumed that radical groups were involved and that the two incidents were 
related.

It's unclear what Boudreaux's possible connection to the investigation is, 
but prosecutors contend he's an important witness. The investigation was 
largely dormant for 30 years, but was revived earlier this summer when 
state prosecutors convened the grand jury.



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