Biography
Vernon Benton was a member of the Houston chapter of the Black Panther Party who, with fellow members James Aaron and Claude Frost, was prosecuted as part of what The Black Panther described (October 12, 1974) as a drive by the Houston power structure to destroy the chapter after a June 1971 police raid on the Party's headquarters. The three were charged with possession of stolen weapons, burglary, and felony theft; the burglary and theft charges proved so hard to substantiate that they were dropped, leaving only possession of stolen weapons, on which all three were tried and convicted.
An October 1975 report identified Benton as “T.C.” and described his actual confinement at the Harris County Rehab Center on Atascocita Road. His defense committee sought an investigation of a threat against him. Benton reported withheld mail, overcrowding and inadequate medical care. The prisoner killed there on September 19 was a different, unnamed man.
The Black Panther, October 6, 1975, volume14 number3, PDF page 3.
Source-reported institution for this episode: Harris County Rehabilitation Center.
The Black Panther, October 6, 1975, volume14 number3, PDF page 3.
