Biography
George Merritt Jr. was convicted of the first-degree murder of Plainfield, New Jersey police officer John V. Gleason Jr., who was beaten to death by a crowd during the July 1967 Plainfield rebellion. His prosecution became a long-running cause célèbre: first convicted in December 1968 and sentenced to life, he was tried repeatedly as convictions were reversed and reinstated. In 1980 a federal court granted habeas relief (United States ex rel. Merritt v. Hicks) after his lawyers obtained suppressed evidence that the key identifying witness had drastically changed his account, and the indictment was dismissed. He is recognized as an exoneree by the National Registry of Exonerations after roughly twelve years imprisoned, much of it at Rahway State Prison.
Black activist convicted in December 1968 in connection with the death of police officer John V. Gleason during the Plainfield, New Jersey rebellion. Spent more than a decade in prison through repeated trials and reversals; his case was a long-running PFOC and Black liberation defense campaign. Documented in PFOC Breakthrough magazine.
Photo credit
George Merritt, historical portrait reproduced by the National Registry of Exonerations.
The Plainfield Joint Defense Committee pamphlet identifies George Merritt Jr. as a former Marine with four years of service and an honorable discharge who worked for the government. The victim in this prosecution was police officer John V. Gleason, not a truck driver. The pamphlet reports murder verdicts and life sentences on December 23, 1968; that sentencing date does not establish initial jail admission.
