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George Lester Jackson — Part 5
Page 11
11 / 13
<The
t
Y aw Crawford
George S jackson was aman
of many tac.
“Non't let \pim fool you
with the many\faces he Js
capable of showing.” his fa-
ther, Lester, eatnetha prison
official six” years aga, long
before his son became cele-
brated as one of the so-called
“Soledad Brothers.”
‘To his father, a postal em- :
- ploye, George Jackson was
everything a boy should be
growing up in Chicago: An
altar boy, op honur student,
a flerca competitor in sports.
But by, the time he was 14,
“his father got a transfer to
N
Smiling, prayerful, talkative, pensive George Jackson in prison photos
Les Angeles to get the youth: signed by a “Roy Ward." No
away ‘from the company he
was keeping. :
To his youfger
Jonathan. George was @
hero. A year ago Jonathan
was slain in the Marin
County Civie Center shootout
that killed four in what police
eatied' a vain attempt to
“gwap his hostages, including
Superior Judge Harold Ha-
‘Jey, for his brother in San
Quentin. wee
5 _ .To Angela Davig, awaiting
- gyial in San Rafael on
sp charges of. providing. Jona-
‘than with the gun that killed
“Judge Haley; the’ death of
7+ George | Jacksorwhen | he
> tried to escapd from San
Quentin last Agg. 21 meant
>the “loss of an irretrievable
> Jove.” Three guards and).
‘three prisoners were Killed
on that bloody Saturday aft-
_ eTHOON,: f Tass Ny + ‘. - *
een ee ae .
aa 7 C. Martye!
+ Ta ‘Jackson’é followers,
_ became amartyr. * ©
‘To: Jackson,’ himself, he
was a.!"political. prisoner,”
he
who “said last. April that he,
* hoped to escape.
aa To prison nifictals,
,& troublemaker, . W
““pink sheets,” -o” discipli-
nary infractions. °
‘fore, and when George Jack-
gon was interviewed in 1970 almost running a spike
he | through a policeman.
-by ~The «° Examiner
* wouldn't deny some’ of the
_ ‘gharges. Others, he would ex-
~ plain or excuse. And some he
* would deny or attribute to
“frameups.” |
Wor example, his first Calt-
tornia atrest took place Jan.
§, 1957, when he was 15. Los
Angeles’ police accused him
- of “suspicion of joyriding”
+. on somebody, ¢lse’s motor-
chile, and he was released to
: “pis parents. < . =
es. Jackson explained, ‘I
** thought ‘a. motorcycle from a
2. guy who gave mea fake pink
ailp, and the police accused
_me of stealing it.”
brother. |
“Roy Ward” could be found
‘at the address indicated, and
police saw strong similarities
between the hill’s handwrit-
ing and Jackson's.
Two weeks Jater, he was
arrested on suspicion of bur-
glarizing a motorcycle shop
fn Los Angeles. Police said
he admitted the thefts of a
crash. helmet and other
ftems, but when an officer
e@ Dec. 20, 1958, escaped
from Bakersfield authorities.
@ Feb. 25, 1959, back in
CYA as an escapee, parole
violator and robber.
e@ Sept. 18, 1960. arrested
for robbing a service station
attendant af $71 in Los Ange-
Jes with a friend paroled also
| from CYA.
i Evaluation
e@ Feb. 1, 196t, sentenced
began tn search him, Jack-
son began to struggle.
Juvenile Hall
Jackson's version: ‘‘In the
police station, a juvenile offi-
cer (Russell M. Traphagen)
slapped me, and we fought,
so they sent me to Juvenile
Hall.”
Traphagen has said that
| Jackson “knocked me off
balance, kicked another ju-
venile officer, bent me over a
desk toward a filing spike.” |
Conflicting versions of
what happened occur
throughout Jackson's
“three-volume arrest and pris-
on record. Here are the
items that follow:
@ Jan, 5, 1957, arrested in
he was| Los Angeles for suspicion of
1th 484 stealing a motorcycle.
e Jan, 22, 1957, arrested
- oa, lon suspicion of burglarizing a
“ Bit his file’ began long be-[
motorcycle shop in Jos Ange-
les. Sent to juvenile hail after
e@ March 5, 1957, arrested
for suspicion of burglarizing
Los Angeles furniture
atore. Sentenced to the Call-
fornla Youth Authatty.
. @ Aug. 20, 1956, arrested
in Bakersfield for threaten-
ing his boss and slashing the
seats of his boss’ bus.
e@ Sept, 24, 1958, arrested
with two other youths for 4
$105 Bakersfield service sta-
tion robbery. .
e@ Oct. 21, 1958, escape
from jz‘! in Bakersfield.
e Dec. 3, 1958, returned to
Bakersfield from Harrisburg,
" Los Angeles police records| IlJ., where he had spent boy-
_ ghow that Jackson produced | hood summers with his moth-
a bill of sale that had been! er’s family.
QA.
to prison for one to life for
this robbery, never to be free
again.
@ On March 9, 1961, Jack-
of
| son’s psychiatric evaluation
at. the California Training
Facility at Soledad read:
“Jackson is an egocentric in-
dividual who states he is sat-
isfied with himself and sees
no need for any change with-
in himéelf. He rationalized at
great length that his anti-
rocial behavior was justified
and that it is his intention to
continue with his artl-social
acts ‘until he accumulates 4
sufficiently large gum of
money that would satisfy
him.”
@ May 21, 1962, Jackson
waa transferred to San Quen
tin Prison for refusing to dis-
perse during an unauthorized
inmate gathering at Soledad.
But San Quentin refused to
keep him because of his
youth. He was transferred to
Deuel Vocational Institution
at Tracy.
e@ Nov. 28, 1962, Jackson
created “a disturbance” and
was sent back to San Quentin
as a “management prob-
; lem.”
@ April 4, 1965, he assault
ed a Chicano inmate, stab-
bing him in the back in a
fight over $10.
_ Father's Letter
@ May 25, 1961, Jackson's
father wrote to a San Quentin
official: .
“we love our sop dearly
and we have spent more than
our share of time with him,
and money on him.
- “] hope you have had more
luck in reaching him than we
i have. .
Jackeon
from tomorrow. barring
more delays.
George
This trio became world fa
mous as the ‘“Saledad Sroth
ers.’ They considered them
selves soul brothers and pr
litical prisoners.
“They have clear cut poll
ical prisoners here at S2
Quentin.” Jackson taid Tt
Examiner in August 1979.
“And 1 consider persor
convicted of burglaries ar
robberies and crimes of pa
sion and economic crime
where money and surviv
are material, as poliiic
prisoners,” he said.
He saw no way of gettlr
cut of prison legitimate!
Last April he said for pub
cation:
“The whole truth ts that
would hope to escape."
He tried to fulfill his hoy
He died trying.
Faaminar Photo
“He may not be re-/ a guard lo death, three days
leased in his present state of after another white guard
mind. If you ace able to get | shot. and killed three black
near him. | will be surprised. | inmates.
He can be reached ifhesees; (prumga and Clutchette
you as away oul. _ wit be tried here a week
“So, don't fet him fon you! — 7
with the many faces he is!
capable of showing. i
“He lived under strict
house rules while under our,
guidance and always slipped
past his mother when he
wanted to break those rules.
i
e@ Sept. 17, 1966. George .
Jackson accused of ripping
open the head of a black in-
male, :
@ Jan. 17, 1967. Jackson
accused of an assault witha
two-foot long pipe. ;
@ April 25, 1967. Jackson!
accused of beating the head.
of a Chicano inmate who was,
lying on the floor. |
@ Feb. 17, 1969, a simulat-|
ed gun made from 4 wire!
hanger and tape, found in!
Jackson's cell.
|
Soledad Brothers |
A year later Jackson went
back to Soledad. |
eJdan. 16, 1970, it is!
charged that Jackson and!
two other Soledad inmates. |
Fieeta Drumgo, now 26. and '
John Clutchette, now 28, beat:
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