Free Huey! The True Story of the Trial of Huey P. Newton for Murder

On October 28, 1967, at approximately 5:00 AM, in the depths of Oakland's black ghetto, Police Officer John Frey was shot to death and Police Officer Herbert Heanes was severely wounded. Less than an hour later the suspected killer, Huey P. Newton, co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party, was arrested in the emergency room of an Oakland hospital, suffering from a painful wound in the abdomen. Newton was indicted on three counts: murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and the kidnapping of a civilian in making his escape from the scene of the killing. On July 15, 1968, Newton's trial began, amid the cries of "Free Huey!" and "Cop Killer!". This book, written by one of Newton's defense lawyers, tells the complete story, from the shooting in the ghetto to the jury's verdict. On the evidence produced by the author, it is clear that Newton was the innocent victim of injustice. A question raised in this extraordinary book is whether or not the prosecution knew that it was prosecuting an innocent man. The author claims that the District Attorney knew Newton was innocent but prosecuted him for political reasons. Another question raised in the book is whether a black man can receive justice in the courts of this country. The answer given by the author is a resounding no! Finally, after proclaiming Newton's innocence, Keating suggests the various possibilities of who might have killed Officer Frey and wounded Officer Heanes. He also demands that Newton's name be cleared.