Biography
Donnell Moore was a former Black Panther Party member from Oakland who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1972 with a degree in psychology and Afro-American studies. He worked as a counselor at the Reality House drug-abuse program in San Francisco. The Black Panther (August 7, 1976, pp. 9–10) reported that he had been held at Rikers Island since May 1976 on a second-degree murder charge in the death of bar co-manager Asher Miskel, with bail set at $50,000. Moore maintained that he had acted in self-defense; his supporters alleged a frame-up and organized a defense committee. Accounts summarized in this database describe approximately four months in jail, but exact admission and discharge days are not established.
The Black Panther reported in October 1976 that Donnell Moore had just spent four months at Rikers Island on the New York murder charge. The article’s caption identifies him at the Oakland defense forum, and its continuation says Moore himself was present to thank supporters and describe the case. This establishes that the reported four-month stay had ended by the forum, without establishing the exact release day.
The Black Panther, October 30, 1976, volume XV no.29, PDF page 5; The Black Panther, October 30, 1976, volume XV no.29, PDF page 25.
