Biography
Rose Marie Smith was a sixteen-year-old member of the New Haven Black Panther Party when police arrested her on May 22, 1969 in the prosecution that became known as the New Haven Panther trials. Held without bail at the Connecticut State Prison for Women in Niantic, she gave birth while incarcerated and publicly described harsh treatment there. In early October 1970, after approximately sixteen months in custody, Smith pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of aggravated assault under an agreement that produced a suspended sentence and her release.
The Black Panther, June 7, 1969: Printed page 8 individually names this defendant in the New Haven raid and prints captioned portraits of eight defendants. Theodore Spurlock reports the office and upstairs apartment entered at 1:05 Thursday morning, with breakfast-program money and other property taken, and initial murder/conspiracy accusations. Printed page 11 describes the eight as held without bail. These are contemporary Party reports and allegations; no final verdict or complete custody duration is established here. Printed variants include Erica Huggins, Rose Smith, Francis Carter and Peggy Hudgins; established profile identities are retained. Source: https://washingtonareaspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/1969-06-07-black-panther-vol-3-no-7.pdf#page=7
