San Quentin Six

The San Quentin Six were six inmates—Fleeta Drumgo, David Johnson, Hugo Pinell, Johnny Spain, Willie Tate, and Luis Talamantez—at California's San Quentin State Prison who were charged with criminal actions related to an August 21, 1971 escape attempt and prison riot. The riot resulted in six deaths and at least two people seriously wounded. Among those killed was George Jackson, a co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family and a famous author and radical prisoner.

During the attempted escape, which sparked a prison riot on the cellblock, Jackson had possession of a .38 caliber pistol, allegedly smuggled into San Quentin by his attorney Stephen Bingham. Immediately after the incident, Bingham fled the country for 13 years. He returned in 1984 to stand trial, and in 1986 he was acquitted. Bingham's defense team posited the theory that it was prison officials who arranged for Jackson to obtain a gun in the hope that he would be killed in the ensuing melee.

Besides Jackson, those killed in the altercation were guards Paul E. Krasenes, 52, Frank DeLeon, 44, and Jere P. Graham, 39, and inmates John Lynn, 29, and Ronald L. Kane, 28. Two other officers suffered serious injuries.

The trial of the San Quentin Six cost more than $2 million and lasted 16 months, which at the time was the longest trial in California history. Of the six defendants, one was convicted of murder, two were convicted of assault on correctional officers, and three were acquitted of all charges. Specifically, Johnny Spain was found guilty in the shooting deaths of guards Frank DeLeon and Jere Graham. Hugo Pinell was convicted of cutting the throats of guards Charles Breckenridge and Urbano Rubiaco, Jr., both of whom survived. David Johnson was convicted of assaulting Breckenridge. There were no convictions for the killings of Krasenes, Lynn, or Kane. Drumgo, Tate, and Talamantez were acquitted on all charges, which had included counts of murder, conspiracy, and assault.