Assata Shakur

by Barbara Casey

Overview

In May 1973, Assata Olugbala Shakur was involved in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in which she was accused of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster and assaulting Trooper James Harper. This resulted in her indictment of first-degree murder of Foerster and seven other felonies related to the shootout. A member of the Black Panther Party, she became a prime target of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Counterintelligence Program. When she joined the Black Liberation Army and went into hiding, between 1973 and 1977, she was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List for three bank robberies, the kidnapping and murder of two drug dealers, and the attempted murder of two New Jersey police officers.

In March 1977 Assata Shakur was convicted of murdering state trooper Werner Forrester and was imprisoned. Two years later she broke out of the maximum-security wing of Clinton Correctional Facility in New Jersey, pistol in hand, as she and three cohorts sped out of the prison grounds. In 1984 she was granted political asylum in Cuba where she has lived ever since. On May 2, 2013, the FBI added her to the Most Wanted Terrorist List, the first woman to be listed. Assata Shakur: A 20th Century Escaped Slave is the story of Assata Shakur, before she became a fugitive and since.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781939521606
Publisher:	Strategic Media Books
Publication date:	02/15/2017
Pages:	210
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Barbara Casey is president of the Barbara Casey Agency and the author of numerous articles, poems, and short stories. Her award winning novels have received national recognition, including the Independent Publishers Book Award. Her novel, The House of Kane, released in 2008 was considered for a Pulitzer nomination, and her latest young adult novel. The Cadence of Gypsies, was reviewed by the Smithsonian for its list of Best Books. In addition to being a frequent guest lecturer at universities and writers conferences, Ms. Casey served as judge for the Pathfinder Literary Awards in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, FL and was Florida Regional Advisor for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators from 1991through 2003.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Formative Years 9

Chapter 2 The Radicalization of Assata Shakur 23

Chapter 3 Hunting for Joanne Chesimard 37

Chapter 4 The Trials 47

Chapter 5 The Turnpike Shootout Trial 59

Photos 69

Chapter 6 The Verdict 91

Chapter 7 The Escape 97

Chapter 8 Assata Shakur in Cuban Exile 111

Chapter 9 Aftermath 125

Chapter 10 Extradition 145

Bibliography 157

Index 167