ABSTRACT

In November 1972, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals threw out our Chicago convictions, citing misconduct by both judge and prosecutors. It was a stunning acquittal, implying that “the system worked” at a moment of near-complete despair and radicalization among many in the social movements. Equally significant were the jury acquittals in other conspiracy trials that the Nixon administration mounted against draft resisters (the Catonsville Nine), Vietnam veterans (the Gainesville Seven), and Black Panthers (the Panther Twenty-one) in the same period. These acquittals, combined with post-trial discovery that four of the Chicago jurors were convinced of our utter innocence, were strong hints that Middle America was shifting against the perceived excesses of the Nixon regime.