American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton
Black Panthers co-founder Huey Newton is accused of murdering a white policeman after a car stop in 1967 Oakland. A landmark trial ensues and Newton's defense team calls out racism in the judicial system. With a death penalty looming, a shocking verdict is delivered that still reverberates today
Episodes
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American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton
E1 - 39m 1s
Black Panthers co-founder Huey Newton is accused of murdering a white policeman after a car stop in 1967 Oakland. A landmark trial ensues and Newton's defense team calls out racism in the judicial system. With a death penalty looming, a shocking verdict is delivered that still reverberates today
Extras + Features
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From Pianist to Black Power Revolutionary
E1 - 2m 54s
Several people who knew him describe the evolution of Huey P. Newton, from classical pianist and philosopher to radical revolutionary and co-founder of the Black Panther Party, whose brazen armed occupation of the California Capitol in 1967 to protest gun control legislation became an iconic historical moment.
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Selecting The Jury
E1 - 2m 33s
Up to the time of People v. Newton, most murder trails were comprised of 12 white men. Black people, women and minorities were historically excluded from juries, especially criminal trials. In a historic first, along with the seating of mostly women and minority jurors, David Harper was voted as jury foreman in the groundbreaking Newton murder trial.
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Protests Outside the Courthouse
E1 - 2m 55s
Former Black Panther Kathleen Cleaver describes the massive protests and clashes with police outside of the Alameda County courthouse where Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton was on trial for the murder of a white policeman that Newton and his defense team claimed was in self-defense.
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Trailer
E1 - 30s
Black Panthers co-founder Huey Newton is accused of murdering a white policeman after a car stop in 1967 Oakland. A landmark trial ensues and Newton's defense team calls out racism in the judicial system. With a death penalty looming, a shocking verdict is delivered that still reverberates today
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Jury Deliberations
E1 - 2m 36s
David Harper, the black jury foreman of the 1968 Huey P. Newton murder trial, lays out in detail the facts and evidence of the killing, and describes the jury’s tense and emotional deliberations that will decide Newton’s fate.
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