Veronza Bowers, Jr. How You Can Help

 

A group of family, friend and supporters are trying to raise money to pay the legal bills necessary to get Veronza the justice he deserves. Toward that end we have established the Veronza Bowers, Jr. Legal Defense Fund.

Sign by Eda Levenson (Age 14)

Can you help? If so, please contact:

Maynard Garfield
Treasurer
Veronza Bowers, Jr. Legal Defense Fund
mmgarfield@mmgarfield.com

After several years of corresponding with him and visiting him in Coleman Federal Penitentiary, I can honestly say that he is a mature, intelligent, thoughtful, compassionate human being. I consider it a privilege and a pleasure to call him my friend.

When Veronza Bowers was 23 he was - like many his age - an impressionable young man. The late 1960's were a time of turmoil. College campuses across the country witnessed huge demonstrations. Many groups formed on and off campuses to raise awareness of the conditions suffered by minorities and the poor. Veronza Bowers listened to the protestors. One convinced him that becoming a member of the Black Panther Party would enable him to fix some of the many social ills in this country. He joined and he participated.

The Federal Government's reaction to the Black Panther movement across the country was swift and decisive. Its aim was to destabilize, then destroy, the Black Panthers. As a result, many members were arrested and jailed. Veronza Bowers was one of them. On purely circumstantial evidence, he was indicted, tried and convicted of killing a Park Ranger. His sentence: life.

Then - and now - Veronza swears he is innocent of the charges.

Over the years there have been a number of parole hearings. Veronza Bowers is still in prison.

I have pleaded with him. Just tell them: "I was young and did wrong. But I have found my way. I am a born-again Christian. I have found salvation."

Veronza Bowers is still in prison.

"Don't you understand," he replied to me with determination. "I have been here for 35 years. If the only way I can get out is to lie and say I am guilty, then my whole life is a sham. I will rot here in prison before I will do that."

And rot he may if we don't try to help him.

Does he have supporters? Plenty. For a hearing in 1993, one Congressman wrote to the parole board: "As much as we need to punish criminal behavior, especially violent crime, it seems equally true that at some point we should reward those who have changed their lives in prison. There appears to be no dispute that Mr. Bowers has become a model for what we hope other prisoners could achieve. He has served a lengthy term, 17 years beyond his initial parole eligibility."

Once again the parole board turned down Veronza Bower's petition. This time, however, the reason was different. Veronza Bowers would never be eligible for parole, the board said. The reason: a law passed in the 1990's stating that anyone convicted of killing a law enforcement officer would never be eligible for parole.

Is this possible? Yes, Veronza Bowers is still in jail.

Is it legal? No, say some lawyers we have consulted. The 1990's law cannot be retroactively applied to a conviction that predated the law. Fight the decision of the parole board, the lawyers advise, and seek to set Veronza Bowers free.