Biography
Odell Bennett was one of the "Leavenworth Brothers" — six prisoners (four Black and two Chicano) charged in connection with the July 31, 1973 rebellion at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. As The Black Panther reported (September 7, 1974), their supporters, organized as the Leavenworth Brothers Offense/Defense Committee and joined by antiwar priest Philip Berrigan at an August 16, 1974 rally, held that the men had been framed and made scapegoats by the prison administration because of their leadership in protesting the penitentiary's inhumane conditions. Mutiny charges against Odell Bennett were dropped in August 1974.
The Black Panther (March 9, 1974, p. 8) reported a February 13 hearing on his attorney’s effort to obtain medical transfer during a hunger strike. It described more than two months in solitary and attributed his involuntary court appearance to his protest against a forced search. The report said the warden disputed that he was on hunger strike. Source: https://www.lincoln.edu/_files/langston-hughes-memorial-library/Black%20Panthers%20Newspaper%20Publications/BP03091974.pdf
The June 1 report distinguishes a forced-search prosecution from the Leavenworth rebellion case. It reports a May 10, 1974 conviction over an August 22, 1973 search, attributing the conviction to going limp while restrained during a rectal search before a civil-court appearance. It reports acquittal on another count and mistrials on two. Bennett was appealing and supporters alleged racist proceedings. The possible three additional years is statutory exposure, not actual service. Source: The Black Panther, June 1, 1974, PDF page 5. https://www.lincoln.edu/_files/langston-hughes-memorial-library/Black%20Panthers%20Newspaper%20Publications/BP06011974.pdf#page=5
The March 3, 1975 VVAW/WSO newsletter names Odell Bennett among the four Leavenworth prisoners designated for long-term segregation. It says he was then out of the federal prison for court appearances, so no prison warden could be addressed for him at that time. This movement for court appearances is not reported as discharge from all custody. The organization’s reprisal allegation is attributed; no release date, duration, current location or final criminal disposition is inferred.
A later report in The Black Panther, October 12, 1974, stated that the jury found Odell Bennett and the other three Black Leavenworth defendants guilty on September 24, 1974 of inciting to riot, assault with intent to murder and assault with a dangerous weapon. The account reported testimony that they had been in solitary confinement during the July 31, 1973 rebellion and disputed prosecution testimony concerning August 1. Defense lawyers planned a new-trial motion and appeal. These later verdicts are distinct from the earlier dismissal of particular charges; no actual release or new admission date is established. The report identifies the court as U.S. District Court, Wichita, Kansas. Judge Frank Theis presided at the reported September 1974 verdict. This trial-stage identification is distinct from the earlier arraignment judge already recorded.
Original contemporary source 1 ; Original contemporary source 2.
The Westport Trucker reported that Odell Bennett began refusing food on January 2, 1974, to protest confinement in Leavenworth’s Building 63. After attorney Howard Eisberg found him unable to walk, he was hospitalized on March 8. The report described a February 12 ruling by Judge Arthur Stanley denying relief under the prison hunger-strike policy. Bennett later issued a statement about his removal to a more humane setting; his discharge from the hospital was not a release from prison.
The Weekly Westport Trucker, March29–April4,1974, PDF page 3; The Weekly Westport Trucker, March29–April4,1974, PDF page 4.
The November 2, 1974 Black Panther individually named Odell Bennett among four Leavenworth prisoners sentenced on October 7, 1974 after their September 24 convictions arising from the July 1973 prison rebellion. The report gives a range of ten to twenty years for the group without assigning each individual term.
The Black Panther, November 2, 1974, PDF page 8; The Black Panther, November 2, 1974, PDF page 22.
