Biography
Jessie Whitaker was one of the six Reidsville Brothers prosecuted over the July 23, 1978 rebellion at Georgia State Prison. He was the first of the six brought to trial. A February 1980 support newsletter reported that he received three consecutive life sentences. The exact sentencing date, initial prison admission and later custody outcome remain unresolved.
Contemporary Reidsville case outcome
The February 1980 newsletter reports that Jessie Whitaker had received three consecutive life sentences in the Reidsville prosecution. It supplies neither an exact sentencing day nor a new initial prison-admission date. The original prisoners were already confined when the July 23, 1978 rebellion occurred; the rebellion day is not proof of when the underlying imprisonment began. The newsletter does not document his later release or death.
Source: Pontiac Prisoners Support Coalition Newsletter, number 11, February 1980, pp. 4-5. Political characterizations and allegations are attributed to the support coalition.
