Stephen Bingham
Encyclopedia
Stephen Mitchell Bingham, a legal services and civil rights
attorney
, was tried and acquitted in 1986 for his alleged role in Black Panther
George Jackson
's attempted escape fifteen years earlier from San Quentin State Prison
in Marin County, California
, in 1971.
was a governor and a U.S. Senator from Connecticut as well as the discoverer of the Machu Picchu
ruins in Peru. His father, Alfred Bingham, was elected to the Connecticut State Senate in 1940 and served one term. Stephen attended Yale University
and received a law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He participated in Freedom Summer
in Mississippi in 1964, and served in the Peace Corps
. On his return to the United States he worked with Cesar Chavez
and the United Farm Workers
, and in 1968 he worked in the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy
.
Bingham married and divorced Gretchen Spreckels, the granddaughter of Adolph B. Spreckels
and whose family founded the Spreckels Sugar Company
.
Following the incident, Bingham—who said he feared for his life because he believed he would be falsely accused of aiding Jackson's escape attempt and that a fair trial would be impossible—fled the country and lived in Europe for 13 years before choosing, in 1984, to return to the United States to stand trial. In 1986, Bingham was acquitted for his alleged involvement in the escape attempt. As Time Magazine wrote at the time, "During a ten-week trial, Marin County prosecutors argued that Bingham's flight was proof of his guilt. Defense attorneys contended that prison guards had slipped Jackson the gun, hoping that the incendiary black militant would be killed. Bingham, they said, fled to save his life. 'To understand this case,' declared Bingham's lawyer M. Gerald Schwartzbach
, 'you have to understand 1971 . . . We're talking about a time when students were murdered at Kent State and Jackson State.'"
Today, Bingham works at Bay Area Legal Aid
in California, where he is a staff attorney in its San Francisco regional office, and specializes in welfare law issues.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, was tried and acquitted in 1986 for his alleged role in Black Panther
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
George Jackson
George Jackson (Black Panther)
George Lester Jackson was an American convict who became a left-wing activist, Marxist, author, a member of the Black Panther Party, and co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang...
's attempted escape fifteen years earlier from San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
in Marin County, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in 1971.
Early life and education
Stephen Bingham was born to an accomplished family. His grandfather, Hiram Bingham IIIHiram Bingham III
Hiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham III, was an academic, explorer, treasure hunter and politician from the United States. He made public the existence of the Quechua citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911 with the guidance of local indigenous farmers...
was a governor and a U.S. Senator from Connecticut as well as the discoverer of the Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...
ruins in Peru. His father, Alfred Bingham, was elected to the Connecticut State Senate in 1940 and served one term. Stephen attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and received a law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He participated in Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African American voters as possible in Mississippi which had historically excluded most blacks from voting...
in Mississippi in 1964, and served in the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
. On his return to the United States he worked with Cesar Chavez
César Chávez
César Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....
and the United Farm Workers
United Farm Workers
The United Farm Workers of America is a labor union created from the merging of two groups, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led by Filipino organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association led by César Chávez...
, and in 1968 he worked in the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
.
Bingham married and divorced Gretchen Spreckels, the granddaughter of Adolph B. Spreckels
Adolph B. Spreckels
Adolph Bernard Spreckels was a California businessman who ran Spreckels Sugar Company and who donated the California Palace of the Legion of Honor art museum to the city of San Francisco in 1924. His wife Alma was called the "great grandmother of San Francisco".-Biography:His father was Claus...
and whose family founded the Spreckels Sugar Company
Spreckels Sugar Company
The Spreckels Sugar Company is an American sugar beet refiner that for many years controlled much of the U.S. West Coast refined sugar market. Spreckels Sugar was founded by entrepreneur, industrialist, newspaper publisher, and railroad executive Claus Spreckels in 1881...
.
Defendant in San Quentin case
Bingham was accused of concealing a pistol in a tape recorder and smuggling it to Jackson in San Quentin's Adjustment Center. On August 21, 1971, Jackson used a pistol, an Astra 9-mm semi-automatic, to take over his tier in the Adjustment Center. In the failed escape attempt, six people were killed, including Jackson, three prison guards and two fellow inmates.Following the incident, Bingham—who said he feared for his life because he believed he would be falsely accused of aiding Jackson's escape attempt and that a fair trial would be impossible—fled the country and lived in Europe for 13 years before choosing, in 1984, to return to the United States to stand trial. In 1986, Bingham was acquitted for his alleged involvement in the escape attempt. As Time Magazine wrote at the time, "During a ten-week trial, Marin County prosecutors argued that Bingham's flight was proof of his guilt. Defense attorneys contended that prison guards had slipped Jackson the gun, hoping that the incendiary black militant would be killed. Bingham, they said, fled to save his life. 'To understand this case,' declared Bingham's lawyer M. Gerald Schwartzbach
M. Gerald Schwartzbach
M. Gerald Schwartzbach is an American criminal defense attorney.-Early life and career:Schwartzbach, the youngest of three children, was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. After attending Washington & Jefferson College, he graduated from George Washington University Law School in 1969.He began...
, 'you have to understand 1971 . . . We're talking about a time when students were murdered at Kent State and Jackson State.'"
Today, Bingham works at Bay Area Legal Aid
Legal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
in California, where he is a staff attorney in its San Francisco regional office, and specializes in welfare law issues.
See also
- San Quentin SixSan Quentin SixThe San Quentin Six were a group of six inmates at San Quentin State Prison in California who were accused of participating in an August 21, 1971 escape attempt that left six people dead, including George Jackson, founder of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang...