Biography
One of the 'Smyrna 7,' Black prisoners at the Delaware Correctional Center prosecuted over a May 1976 escape attempt; The Black Panther Vol. 15 no.29 (1976) reports the defense committee's charge that they were subjected to guard brutality and racist convictions and denied a defense that a white co-defendant was allowed.
The Smyrna Seven defense committee reported that Ronald Payne was one of the three men convicted on September 29, 1976 after the May 19 escape attempt. It named Judge Longobardi and prosecutor Kent L. Wyatt and alleged that the men were denied a defense addressing prison conditions, guard brutality and retaliation for their political beliefs. The account’s ongoing custody durations are not completed service totals.
The Black Panther, October 30, 1976, volume XV no.29, PDF page 24.