Carmen Jeffcoat (Ida Walston)
Biography
Carmen Jeffcoat, who used the name Ida Walston, was 28 when Connecticut police arrested her with four Boston Black Panthers on August 7, 1969 after a New Haven rally. Police accused her of obtaining their rental car with a stolen credit card and set bail at $100,000. Jeffcoat was confined at the Connecticut State Farm for Women in Niantic through at least August 1970. She attempted to escape in January 1970 but was quickly recaptured. The reviewed records do not establish her final release date or the disposition of the rental-car case.
Attorney Catherine G. Roraback’s letter printed October 25, 1969 spells her name Carmen Jefcoat and describes her federal pretrial detention at Niantic State Farm for Women. The letter distinguishes her federal case from the state cases of Ericka Huggins, Margaret Hudgins and Frances Carter and reports isolation, lack of outdoor exercise, restricted visits and censored reading material.
