The Black Commentator - March 29, 2007

The San Francisco 8 are being held in de facto terms with NO bail. Reducing a so-called bail from five million to three million dollars is like stealing a body from a grave and claiming that it was not theft because the victim did not resist! It is utterly absurd, and it is an insult to all justice loving people. In this case we the people MUST resist this outrage! These men, who have been convicted of nothing in this matter, are already being punished by the very amount of their so-called bail, which is nothing more than a ransom, NOT bail.

When the 9/11 attack occurred many saw it as a tragedy, but the ruling elite, both Democrats and Republicans saw it as an opportunity to undermine and liquidate all legal, democratic, and constitutional rights that they felt stood in the way of them holding absolute power.

There are counter-examples to this bastardized version of American post-9/11 “justice”.

Bruce Wright, a New York City Judge, and author of “Black Robes, White Justice” found himself in conflict with New York’s “Finest” over his bail policy. The nickname, “Turn’em Loose Bruce”, was given to him by the police “union” when he released an accused police slasher on his own recognizance. Judge Wright pointed out that “bail is not intended to be punishment. Rather, its function is to guarantee that an accused person will return to court to face the charges against him.” Judge Wright was adamant that his imposition of low bail was both respect paid to the presumption of innocence and an upholding the Eight Amendment, to the U.S. constitution, which states that “EXCESSIVE BAIL SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED.”

Precisely who is it today that constitutes the real danger to the Bill of Rights the court or the S.F. 8?

To ask the question is to answer it.

Exactly what does the Constitution and the Bill of Rights Guarantee?

All told, nothing!

We must never forget: The working class and the oppressed, of this country, have no rights that they are unable or unwilling to defend.

Only the conscious and uncompromising intervention of all those who understand the true nature of this frame-up can free the San Francisco 8.