In a victory for Russ Little, the California Supreme Court has let stand a lower court order reversing his conviction for the 1973 SLA assassination of an Oakland, California school official.
Little should be back in court for re-trial by this Fall setting the stage for his eventual release if found innocent at that proceeding. However, at the same time, the Court refused to hear the appeal in the same case of Joe Remiro whose conviction was left standing by the lower court.
Both Remiro and Little were supposed to have automatic reversals of their convictions coming as a result of a California Supreme Court decision in another case, which in turn affected them. Now Little’s parole board has him scheduled to a “serious offender” hearing in July wherein they are threatening to extend his sentence, on the assault charges surrounding his escape attempt, from four years to a maximum of nine years and four months.
In a separate matter, the California parole board backed down at the “serious offender” hearing for Bill and Emily Harris, also serving prison sentences for SLA activity, and only extended their terms another four months instead of the seven years with which they had been threatened. Bill Harris is up for a transfer out of the “hole” at San Quentin to another prison where he will hopefully receive better treatment.
Bill and Emily Harris, Russ Little and Joe Remiro have all been sentenced to long prison terms and they have been subjected to continual harassment and abuse as a result of their past involvement with the urban guerrilla activity of the Symbionese Liberation Army.