Last Man Standing–the Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Jijaga Pratt
On the 10th of June, 1997, amid loud cheers from his family and supporters, former Black Panther Geronimo JiJaga Pratt walked out of a Santa Monica, California, courtroom after a judge released him on $25,000 bail—just 12 days after reversing his 1972 murder conviction.
Judge Everett Dickey ruled after hearing new evidence that the chief witness against Geronimo JiJaga Pratt was a police and FBI informant who lied under oath.
Geronimo Jijaga Pratt spent 26 years and 7 months in prison. He spent 8 years in solitary confinement.
Geronimo JiJaga Pratt, his family and supporters always maintained that he was targeted and framed by the FBI and the LA Police Department because of his activity in the Black Panther Party.
Two years after his release, Geronimo JiJaga Pratt won a $4.5 million settlement of his civil rights case against the FBI and the LAPD. The FBI’s share was $1.75 million marking one of the few times in its history that the nation’s top law enforcement agency was forced to admit culpability in a case of false imprisonment.
