In 1964, Hugo “Yogi” Pinell, an immigrant from Nicaragua, was accused of raping, assaulting and kidnapping a White woman. Knowing the charges to be false, Hugo turned himself in so that he could clear his name and prove his innocence. The officers on duty beat him several times. The Judge and Public Defender told him that if he continued to assert his innocence, then he’d be sentenced to death. However, they assured him that if he simply plead guilty, then he would be eligible for parole in six months. 42 years later – 34 years in solitary – Mr. Pinell still sits in prison. But he finally has a chance to be free.
Hugo’s story is a fascinating one. He has never backed down from the violent face of racism that has plagued his life in the US. He became famous in the early 70s, as a member of the San Quentin Six – six young Black prisoners who faced charges for assaulting racist prison guards. He later became involved with George Jackson and his prison organizing efforts. Despite Pinell’s inspiring strength, however, he needs our help. Hugo is scheduled to go before the parole board sometime in November and needs people to right letters of support to the Board of Prison Terms. Here is some info from Hugo’s support site:
Please write letters, now, to the Board of Prison Terms to encourage them to grant Hugo parole. You may mail your letters to Gordon Kaupp, Attorney at Law, who will be representing Hugo at the parole hearing. Gordon works in the Law Offices of Dennis Cunningham. See below for details.
All letters should include specific offers of help and/or support for Hugo to re-enter society. The Parole Board commissioners are interested in the following offers:
* job training
* offers of employment including temporary work
* assistance in writing a resume
* help networking and job searching
* a temporary or a permanent place to live, preferably in San Francisco or the Bay AreaIn addition, describe other ways you can support Hugo’s transition back into society after spending over 42 years in prison, 34 in solitary confinement. Please mention your relationship to Hugo, what impact he has made on your life, how long you have known him or about him, and any other positive comments you might have. For those of you with job offers, please be aware that Hugo is fluent in English and Spanish, which should be a feather in his cap in regard to employment. Also, Hugo is very personable, intelligent and athletic and is in tip top physical condition. Highly disciplined, Hugo is a vegetarian and continues to work out regularly. He would be an excellent mentor for at-risk youth.
Please include the date and the subject of your letter, which should be Hugo L.A. Pinell (A88401) and use his prison number, e.g.:
Date
Dear Parole Commissioners:
Re: Hugo L. A. Pinell (A88401)
Your letters should be sent to Hugo’s lawyer:
Gordon Kaupp, Esq.
Law Office of Dennis Cunningham
115 1/2 Bartlett Street
San Francisco, CA. 94110
Hugo is currently serving a life sentence for his part in the brutal murders of three prison guards at Soledad. Strangely, his web site doesn’t emphasize that. And, of course, you don’t mention it at all.
Reviewing a case file related to Hugo’s case, I find nothing to support the idea that the original assault, rape and kidnapping charges were in fact untrue. Obviously, it’s very difficult at this remove of years to ascertain the reality behind the testimonies.
I would need a lot more information, and some indication that Pinell is not a rapist and a murderer, to support any form of parole for him. I know that old social Marxist revolutionaries hold a special place in the hearts of many of the younger activists, but this seems like a case of misplaced effort.
[Nasty flame-baiting post deleted by Amp. If you want to discuss it with me, Tuomas, please take it to email.]
How do you know this guy is innocent? Just because he says so?
Links to a support site don’t really seem impartial.
Okay, fair enough. My opinion without flame-baiting (I’m not sure I agree with that characterization, but anyway): I’m not going to write a letter to support Mr.Pinell, and I wouldn’t recommend it to others, either.
vegankid, do you have any response to the other posters here? What evidence is there that this guy was in fact innocent of the original charges? And what about his involvement in prison guard murders?
Perhaps you could discuss why you think his cause is worth supporting in the face of these questions.
What the Hell? There are at least three separate cases dealing with this rape/abduction, and two of the final decisions and a summary of the third are available on-line. Not one suggests in any way that Felix Jose Torres and Hugo A. Pinell aren’t 100% guilty of the charges. Even assuming that the charges were fabricated, and that both the victim and man who was not willing to rape her are lying, it is still quite clear that Pinell took part in murdering prison guards.
The site admin was quite quick in detecting flamebait, so I assume that he has read the original article. So is it OK to suggest that a man would make an excellent youth mentor without mentioning that while he may or may not be rapist, he is certainly at least an accomplice in murder? Isn’t it deception to post an article that leaves the reader with the impression that Pinell is still serving time for a rape that he may not have commited, as opposed to a murder that he certainly was involved with.
In fairness, Petar, vegankid is not a prolific poster here and it’s entirely possible that s/he has not yet read any of these comments. Amp is the site administrator but he isn’t responsible directly for post contents.
robert is right, i don’t have enough time for my own blog, let alone one on which i’m a guest blogger. as i told mousehounde, its late and i’ve had a busy day so i don’t have the ability to think right now. but i’ll come back after i get some sleep to answer your questions.
ok, i don’t have time to really get in to all of this now, but i don’t want to ignore the comments.
robert – the case file that you looked at is the official Opinion of the Court, not the dissenting opinion. Its entire purpose is to back up the ruling of the Court. altho i must say that the file you read was one not for Hugo Pinell, but for Julio Pinell. I don’t wish to go back and forth as to weather Hugo commited the rape or not. And let me say that i’m of the camp that believes the survivor first and foremost. But given the date of the event, the statistical unlikelihood, the history of police violence and coercion, and the climate of racism, i like to give Hugo the benefit of the doubt (innocent until actually proven guilty). Afterall, even the file you linked to states that their is no evidentiary proof, just testimony. And this certainly wouldn’t have been the first time that someone admitted to a crime they didn’t commit in order to receive a lower sentence. A lawyer friend of mine says it has happened far too often.
mousehounde – considering who Hugo Pinell is, we aren’t going to find impartial data. In addition to being a wel-known prison activist, he has close ties to George and Jonathan Jackson. So his case invokes all the emotions that come along with the memories of the Black Panther Party, Jonathan Jackson storming in to the Marin County Courthouse to free his brother, the Weather Underground bombing the courthouse, Attica, and so much more that was happening around the San Quentin Six. And yet, despite all of this emotion, the actual case was barely covered, certainly not as much so as the events that surrounded it. The reason being that another high-profile case was happening at the same time, the Patty Hearst trial. There was apparently only one reporter who left the Patty Hearst trial to actually report, first-hand, on the San Quentin Six trial (which became the longest running trial in California history). Of course this makes sense, six prisoners of color are assumed to be guilty, no news there. But a rich White womyn, daughter of a media tycoon, gets “brainwashed” into becoming a revolutionary, now that’s news.
Toumos – that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. And given the politics of Hugo Pinell, i would have been surprised if everyone did.
RonF, Petar – as for the deaths of the prison guards, you seem to be simplifying the events in favor of the prison guards. did you forget that three prisoners were also killed that day? not to mention the San Quentin prisoners killed by guards before that day. What happened that day is skewed by politics and racism. I have seen no evidence that shows the deaths of the guards to be premeditated. And i find it fitting that the state was so quick to charge Pinell and others with the deaths of the guards, but those that killed the prisoners were assumed to be acting in self-defense or within the legal duties as prison guards.
A look inside prison conditions will inform us that they are not places for justice or reformation. Even if we assume that Pinell is guilty, he was sentenced to 9 years to life, not life without parole. Why has he spent 30 years in solitary confinement, most of which has been spent in a windowless cell? Why are we so quick to believe in his guilt, but the idea of a Lacrosse team participating in any foul behavior is absurd?
I don’t know that Pinell is innocent. I wasn’t there, so i can’t know for sure. But from what i’ve read about him and by him, I don’t believe he is a danger to our society. In fact, i believe he has much to teach us. At the very least, i believe he deserves to be free. But because of his politics, he is being considered a threat, just as Tookie Williams was. Schwarzenegger claimed that Williams’ book being dedicated to the memory of George Jackson was “a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate means to address societal problems.” And so because of his affinity for George Jackson, Schwarzenegger denied clemency and Williams was killed by the State of California.
I don’t think we should punish people because of their political beliefs or for whom they admire. And regardless of who Pinell was or wasn’t 30 years ago, i believe that he, like Williams before he was killed, is an asset to society, not a threat.