Veronza Bowers Jr.

Last updated

Veronza Bowers Jr.
Born
Veronza Leon Curtis Bowers Jr.

(1946-02-04) February 4, 1946 (age 78)
Criminal statusReleased
Conviction(s) First-degree murder
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment
Details
Victims1

Veronza Leon Curtis Bowers Jr. (born February 4, 1946 [1] ) is a former member of the Black Panther Party. He was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted by a jury on the charge of first degree murder of U.S. park ranger Kenneth Patrick at Point Reyes National Seashore in 1973. According to a 1976 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal opinion affirming the denial of a motion to suppress evidence obtained with a search warrant at a residence, the evidence against Bowers included physical evidence connecting him to the scene of the crime. [2] The primary evidence also included the eye-witness testimony from a co-defendant who stated he was one of two other people in the car when Bowers shot Ranger Patrick when Ranger Patrick approached the car on suspicion the occupants were deer poaching. [3] The facts of the original case were summarized in a 2011 Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals opinion dealing with parole matters. [4] He was incarcerated at a federal correctional institution in North Carolina. [1] He was released on May 7, 2024. [5]

Contents

Early life

Veronza Bowers, Jr. was raised in McAlester, Oklahoma, and later Omaha, Nebraska. His father, Veronza Bowers, Sr. was a sergeant in the United States Army. [6] In 1963, Bowers, Jr. began his military service in the United States Navy Reserve before graduating Omaha South High School in 1964. Bowers, Jr. went active duty in 1966 and was discharged in 1967. [1] [7]

In 1968, the Black Panther Party appointed Eddie Bolden to start a chapter of the organization in Omaha, Nebraska. Soon after, Bolden recruited Bowers, Jr. to help develop the new chapter. [8] When Bowers relocated to California, he took on leadership of the Richmond chapter of the Party. [9] According to a statement by a former girlfriend included in the affidavit for a search warrant in the murder investigation, Bowers was "kicked out" of the Black Panthers party in Oakland and started his own revolutionary group. [10]

Incarceration

Bowers was eligible for mandatory parole after 30 years. In February 2005, 10 months after he served 30 years in prison, his parole was postponed to give the victim's relatives a chance to express their opposition at a new parole hearing. [11] Bowers was denied parole in October 2005 [12] and December 2011. [13] Bowers has maintained his innocence during his entire 46 years of imprisonment, and through all parole hearings. The evidence that convicted him was based solely off of the testimony of two government informants, both of whom received a reduction in their sentences, and one of whom received $10,000. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Veronza Bowers, Jr: 47 Years of Justice Denied". The Final Straw Radio Podcast. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "United States v. Bowers, 534 F.2d 186 | Casetext Search + Citator".
  3. ↑ "United States v. Bowers, 534 F.2d 186, as Modified on Denial of Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc June 11, 1976".
  4. ↑ "Bowers v. Keller, 651 F.3d 1277 | Casetext Search + Citator".
  5. ↑ "Inmate Locator". www.bop.gov. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ↑ Patterson, Michael Robert (24 April 2023). "Veronza Bowers Sr. - Sergeant, United States Army". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "National Resolutions" (PDF). Veterans for Peace. pp. 16–17.
  8. ↑ Howard, Ashley M. (2006). "Then the burning began: Omaha, riots, and the growth of black radicalism, 1966-1969" (MA thesis). University of Nebraska at Omaha. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  9. ↑ "VERONZA BOWERS: Black Political Prisoner". Can't Jail the Spirit: Political Prisoners in the U.S., A Collection of Biographies (fourth ed.). Committee to End the Marion Lockdown (CEML). March 1998. pp. 74–75.
  10. ↑ "United States v. Bowers (9th Cir. 1976) 534 F.2d 186, as Modified on Denial of Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc June 11, 1976".
  11. ↑ Fimrite, Peter (23 February 2005). "Park ranger killer's parole is delayed". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  12. ↑ Stephens, Joe (26 May 2009). "Allegations of Impropriety Surround the Little-Known U.S. Parole Commission". Washington Post. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  13. ↑ "U.S. Court of Appeals Reverses Prisoner's Parole Board Suit". Prison Legal News. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2024.


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