Sundiata Acoli

Sundiata Acoli (b. 1939) is an African-American prisoner and formerly a member of the Black Liberation Army currently imprisoned in New Jersey. Acoli was convicted in May 2, 1973, along with the now-escaped Assata Shakur, of inciting a gun battle with New Jersey State Police during a routine traffic stop. In the battle, State Trooper Werner Foerster and a third man, Zayd Malik Shakur, who was traveling with Acoli and Assata, were killed. The trooper who made the stop, James Harper, and Assata were injured.

Related Topics:
1939 - Black Liberation Army - New Jersey - May 2 - 1973 - Assata Shakur - New Jersey State Police - Zayd Malik Shakur

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Acoli was sentenced to life in prison plus thirty years for the assisted murder of State Trooper Foerster and Zayd Malik Shakur.

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The actual initiation of the gun battle is disputed, with police claiming that the Sundiata Acoli and company fired first, while Acoli's supporters maintain that the stop was nothing more than a case "DWB" (Driving While Black) and that the police made racially divisive comments that lead to aggravated conflict. In addition, there is speculation that due process was not granted and that the two were beaten while being held. It has also become known that a number of the charges brought against them (which range from kidnapping to bank robbery) were generated solely by the FBI's COINTELPRO program.

Related Topics:
Driving While Black - FBI - COINTELPRO

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Assata Shakur escaped her maximum-security prison in 1979 and lived underground until seeking political asylum in Cuba, where she remains today.

Related Topics:
1979 - Political asylum - Cuba

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Sundiata Acoli was first eligible for parole in January 4, 2004, but was denied the opportunity. It is the common belief of many on the left wing, including some members of the Congressional Black Caucus that he is a political prisoner.

Related Topics:
Congressional Black Caucus - Political prisoner

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Acoli is a mathematician and has written many articles from prison on the "New Afrikan Struggle."

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