Black August: Killing of San Quentin Six inmate Hugo Pinell sparks inmate reaction

Killing of 'San Quentin Six' inmate Hugo Pinell sparks New Folsom prison riot

BY Doyle Murphy , Deborah Hastings

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Wednesday, August 12, 2015, 6:14 PM

Updated: Thursday, August 13, 2015, 8:31 AM

 

California Department of Corrections

Hugo Pinell, a member of the infamous 'San Quentin Six,' was killed on Wednesday during a prison riot at California State Prison-Sacramento, authorities say.

 

A notorious inmate, who was part of a deadly prison escape attempt in 1971, was stabbed to death on Wednesday at New Folsom prison in California, triggering a riot of about 70 inmates, authorities said.
Hugo Pinell, 71, was once one of the country's most infamous prisoners. The convicted rapist was one of the "San Quentin Six" whose escape attempt ended the lives of six people, including two corrections officers, three inmates and George Jackson, founder of the Black Guerilla Family prison gang, a corrections spokeswoman said.




A fellow inmate attacked Pinell on Wednesday in the exercise yard, sparking a behind-bars battle.
The violence broke out around 1 p.m. local time in a maximum security general population yard of the state prison, authorities said.

"Inmate-made weapons were used" during the brawl, authorities said.

Long live the spirit of Yogi (Hugo Pinell), long live George Jackson, BGF!

The San Quentin Six

Bottom row, left to right: Johnny Spain, David Johnson, Willie Tate; top row, left to right: Fleeta Drumgo, Luis Talamantez and Hugo Pinell

The San Quentin Six were a group of six inmates at San Quentin State Prison in California (Hugo Pinell, Willie Tate, Johnny Larry Spain, David Johnson, Fleeta Drumgo and Luis Talamantez) who were accused of participating in an August 21, 1971 escape attempt that left six people dead, including George Jackson, founder of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang. Costing more than $2 million, their 16-month trial was the longest in the state's history at the time and was dubbed "The Longest Trial" by Time magazine.^[1][2] Of the six defendants, one was convicted of murder, two were convicted of assault on prison guards, and three were acquitted of all charges.

During the escape, which sparked a riot on the cellblock, Jackson had a .32 caliber pistol allegedly smuggled into the prison by attorney Stephen Bingham (immediately after the incident, Bingham went on the run and fled the country for 13 years; he returned in 1984 to stand trial, and was acquitted of all charges in 1986). During the riot caused by Jackson and two dozen other prisoners, three corrections officers and two inmates were tortured and killed.

In addition to Jackson, those killed in the altercation were guards Paul E. Krasenes, 52, Frank DeLeon, 44, and Jere P. Graham, 39, as well as inmates John Lynn, 29, and Ronald L. Kane, 28.^[3] Spain was found guilty in the shooting deaths of guards DeLeon and Graham, Pinell was convicted of cutting the throats of guards Charles Breckenridge and Urbano Rubiaco, Jr., and Johnson was convicted of assaulting Breckenridge.^[3] There were no convictions for the killings of Krasenes, Lynn, or Kane.^[3] Cleared of all charges, Drumgo, Talamantaz, and Tate were found not guilty on various counts of murder, conspiracy, and assault.