Biography
Arthur Barber was arrested in 1965 for the killing of Bronx numbers runner Elijah Williams. Police obtained a confession after beating him, holding him without prompt arraignment, denying access to counsel and searching without a warrant. A jury convicted Barber of felony murder, attempted robbery and conspiracy on December 2, 1969, and he received a life sentence. In 1975, after nearly ten years in custody, federal judge Constance Baker Motley ordered him released or retried because the coerced confession violated the Constitution. The reviewed sources do not give exact arrest and release dates.
The September 22, 1975 newspaper dates Barber’s arrest to November 19, 1965, conflicting with the existing December 19 date. It reports a federal retrial-or-release order stayed pending appeal. That conditional order does not establish an actual release. The newspaper also gives a conviction chronology that conflicts with stronger court-based evidence; these discrepancies are held for corroboration rather than silently replacing the court record. The Black Panther, September22,1975, volumeXIVnumber1, original PDF page 12. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/black-panther/14%20no%201%201-28%20sep%2022%201975.pdf#page=12
