Biography
Charles Bursey was a member of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, later well known for serving meals in the Party's Free Breakfast for Children Program. He was one of the Panthers present during the April 6, 1968 confrontation with Oakland police — two days after Dr. King's assassination — in which police killed 17-year-old Bobby Hutton and wounded Eldridge Cleaver and Warren Wells. Indicted on two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, he was held in the Alameda County Jail and then convicted on all four counts on August 7, 1969. The Black Panther newspaper called him "a black political prisoner in the Alameda County Jail."
The Oakland prosecution report contrasted the pending Wade, Scott, Langford and Cotton trial with earlier proceedings involving Charles Bursey and Warren Wells and a separate trial for David Hilliard. Its descriptions are the newspaper’s account and do not supply new individual custody endpoints. The Black Panther, February 13, 1971, original PDF page 9. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/black-panther/06%20no%203%201-20%20feb%2013%201971.pdf#page=9
The April 17, 1971 Black Panther report identifies Bursey as prisoner B-22404 and describes a May 1970 transfer from San Quentin to the California Conservation Center at Susanville. It reports that he spoke to La Raza Unida on April 4, 1971 as a representative of the Afro-American Cultural Group and was returned to San Quentin on April 8 following a disciplinary accusation of racial agitation. These were transfers during an existing confinement, rather than new periods of imprisonment or release. The paper reproduces the staff report and an inmate response disputing the characterization of his speech.
The August 23, 1969 Black Panther reported that Bursey had been out on bail until August 7, 1969, when he was convicted and returned to Alameda County Jail. Its account distinguishes his 1968 confinement from the August 7 readmission; the earlier bail release date is not established.
The Black Panther of July 19, 1969 reports that Charles Bursey was being tried on two attempted-murder and two assault counts arising from the April 6, 1968 confrontation. It identifies Robert L. Bostick as the judge and Frank Vukota as the prosecutor. This contemporary trial report supplies the court officials; it does not establish a new confinement interval.
A contemporary report signed Marie Johnson describes Charles Bursey appearing in court with attorney Charles Garry. It criticizes the jury selection and prosecution testimony, and announces a planned August 5 mistrial motion, later closing arguments and anticipated jury deliberation. These are contemporary observations and projected procedural steps; they do not establish a completed mistrial, verdict or another custody period.
