Harold Haley

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Harold Haley (November 14, 1904 – August 7, 1970) was a judge in Marin County, California. He was abducted during the course of a trial, and killed during the attempted escape of his abductors.

On August 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson brought guns into Judge Haley's courtroom, where San Quentin inmate James McClain was on trial. McClain was freed along with two other San Quentin inmates, Ruchell Magee and William Christmas, who were to have witnessed at the trial. Jackson and the prisoners took Haley and four other people hostage and attempted to escape.

Judge Haley, Jackson and prisoners McClain and Christmas were killed as the abductors attempted to drive away from the courthouse. Haley was apparently hit by fire discharged from a sawed-off shotgun that had been fastened to his neck with adhesive tape by the abductors. Two of the other hostages were wounded.[1]

Famed photographs of the event were taken by news photographers Jim Kean and Roger Bockrath.[1][2] The best-known photo Bockrath took shows McClain leading out the hostages, pointing a revolver at police with his right hand while holding a shotgun taped around Judge Haley's neck with his left hand.

The police investigation determined that the shotgun used had been owned by Angela Davis. Charges were brought against Davis and the sole survivor among the abductors, Ruchell Magee. The case was appealed during trial in Magee v. Superior Court (34 Cal. App.3d 201) (1973) on the issue of permitting former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark to join the defense team. Davis was acquitted while Magee was convicted for Haley's kidnapping and murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, which he is serving in Corcoran State Prison.

[edit] Further information

  • Courthouses of California: An Illustrated History edited by Ray McDevitt (ISBN 1-890771-49-X) includes photographs of Judge Haley and others being held at gunpoint during their abduction.
  • The Road to Hell (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1996) by Paul Liberatore includes photographs and an account of the incident.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Justice: A Bad Week for the Good Guys. TIME (August 1970). Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
  2. ^ Elisabeth Sherwin (January 1997). Photographer plays a small part in radical history. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.

[edit] External links