Editorials
Monday, June 16, 1997AFTER 27 years in prison for murder, Elmer Pratt, a former leader of the militant Black Panther Party, has won a reversal of his conviction in Santa Ana, Calif. Pratt was released on bail while prosecutors appeal the decision. The case is noteworthy because it seems to show a contempt for justice on the part of law enforcement agencies. Militant’s conviction
was apparent injusticeJudge Everett Dickey ruled that in Pratt's trial for the murder of a Los Angeles-area teacher in a 1968 robbery, prosecutors deliberately failed to disclose that their main witness was a felon who had been recruited to infiltrate and spy on the Black Panthers.
In several appeals, Pratt charged that the police, particularly agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had framed him as they sought to destroy the Black Panthers and other militant groups of the 1960s. Pratt contended that he was 400 miles away in Northern California when the murder occurred.
David Hilliard, the founder of the Black Panthers, welcomed Pratt as he he left the jail, saying, "He was framed by the FBI, no doubt about it, because we were a party of young blacks."
If the prosecutors' appeal fails, they will have to face the question of whether to retry Pratt. He has already served more time in jail than most convicted murderers. Moreover, a trial jury would be asked to weigh Pratt's alleged crime against the excesses committed by government officials in the 1960s and '70s in attempting to subvert militant groups.
Law enforcement officials accused the black militants of that era of resorting to violence, and some of them did. But that couldn't justify framing an innocent man. Pratt, rejoicing in his release, charged that there are many other political prisoners still in the nation's jails. That may not be true, but it is hard to argue with a man who has been punished for 27 years for a crime that the prosecution may have known he did not commit.
BILL Lann Lee's father volunteered in World War II and fought in the Pacific. But when he returned to the United States after the war, he had trouble obtaining an apartment because landlords didn't want to rent to Asians. Now Lee is President Clinton's choice to become the federal government's chief enforcer of civil rights. Lee, who is Chinese, would be the first Asian American to become assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's civil rights division. Civil rights chief
OLD-timers fondly remember the boat days in Honolulu harbor, when the Matson liners would arrive from the West Coast to a colorful welcome by hula dancers and the Royal Hawaiian Band. Now a coalition of government, travel and maritime interests is campaigning for repeal of the 111-year-old Passenger Services Act, which restricts movements of foreign cruise liners between U.S. ports. The change could hurt American Hawaii Cruises, which sails between the Hawaiian Islands and is the only U.S.-flagged cruise line offering deep-water, overnight cruises. Cruise ship visits
LOVERS of Shakespeare the world over should be thrilled by the opening of the reconstructed Globe Theatre in London, where many of the bard's plays were premiered. The first Globe opened in 1599 but burned down in 1613, when cannons fired during a performance of "Henry VIII" set it ablaze. Rebuilt in 1614, it was demolished 30 years later to make way for housing. The Globe Theatre
The growth of English has enabled millions more people to appreciate in the original theater the greatest writer ever to use the language. To attend a performance of Shakespeare at the Globe would be a cherished experience for any of them.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
