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<font size=3>From: "Paul Harris"
<guerrillalaw@earthlink.net><br><br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>dear friends: <br><br>
My name is Paul Harris, i teach "guerrilla lawyering" at two
law schools in san francisco.
<a href="http://www.guerrillalaw.com">www.guerrillalaw.com</a>
<br><br>
I am writing on behalf of my client Ronald Bridgeforth, who after 42
years as a fugitive surrendered in court today. We are trying to raise
the bail of ten percent of $25,000. These are the facts: Ronald,
who is 67 years old, married and has two young adult sons, was charged
with the murder of a police officer and conspiracy to murder law
enforcement. That case has been referred to as the San Francisco 8.
The Attorney General's office informed me last night that they "were
not going to proceed against him in that case and would discharge the
warrant for his arrest."<br><br>
However, Ronald is guilty of a l968 charge of assualt on a police man
with a deadly weapon, when he and two others tried to leave a parking lot
after a failed attempt to use stolen credit cards to buy clothes and toys
for the kids they were working with in the Fillmore district of
S.F. A police car blocked their way and Ronald shot two bullets
into the car, and then was shot by police in the foot. He was the only
one injured. Told by his appointed attorney that he would serve life in
prison, he jumped bail. He has come back of his own accord to plead
guilty and faces, according to the district attorney, five years to life
under the l969 indeterminate sentencing law.<br><br>
Ronald at 20 years old left college to go to Mississippi where he
registered voters for over a year, where he was chased by a mob,
threatened with death, and briefly arrested by Mississippi police when he
went to the station to pay a ticket. He went to S.F. where he
organized for SNCC, bringing Fanie Lou Hamer to the bay area to speak,
and acting as Stokley Carmichael's bodyguard when Stokley spoke to
various colleges and organizations here in the bay area.<br><br>
In the last 40 years he worked his way up from a custodian to getting a
Masters degree in Counseling. He has been a respected and beloved
counselor and teacher at a community college in Michigan for many
years.<br><br>
Why did he return? Because he wanted to be a father his sons could
continue to be proud of, he wanted to be a model of the man he has
become, not the young reckless man he was on Nov. 5, l968.<br><br>
Ronald is a dignified, eloquent, spiritual man. He has arthritis in
both hips, and other medical conditions which makes every day in jail
difficult. Any help you can give would be so greatly
appreciated. <br><br>
You may send checks made out to:<br><br>
Paul Harris<br>
20 Quickstep Lane, # 1<br>
San Francisco, CA 94115. <br><br>
With all the arrangements of surrendering him and making sure he was not
arrested in these last few days, I did not have time to set up a
nonprofit organization for bail donations. <br><br>
This is a good man, whose life represents an arc of 50 years of American
history. <br><br>
thank you, paul harris<br><br>
<br>
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<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
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