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George Lester Jackson — Part 5

13 pages · May 09, 2026 · Broad topic: General · Topic: George Lester Jackson · 13 pages OCR'd
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<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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