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Last Man Standing: The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt
Jack Olsen's Last Man Standing is the gripping story of Geronimo Pratt, war hero and community leader, who was framed by the FBI in one of the greatest travesties of justice in American history.
Geronimo Pratt did not commit the murder for which he served twenty-seven nightmarish years. As a UCLA student, though, he had led the Los Angeles Chapter of the Black Panther Party, and became a target of the FBI. Here is the spellbinding saga of Pratt, his heroic lawyers, Johnnie Cochran and Stuart Hanlon, and the Reverend James McCloskey, who overcame all the odds to bring the truth to light and free Geronimo.
Geronimo Pratt did not commit the murder for which he served twenty-seven nightmarish years. As a UCLA student, though, he had led the Los Angeles Chapter of the Black Panther Party, and became a target of the FBI. Here is the spellbinding saga of Pratt, his heroic lawyers, Johnnie Cochran and Stuart Hanlon, and the Reverend James McCloskey, who overcame all the odds to bring the truth to light and free Geronimo.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 7, 2011
This would be a good book for anyone who is not sickened by the fact that there is a J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington, D.C.
Olsen tells this story like a suspenseful novel and is able to clearly demonstrate that Elmer Gerard Pratt keeps his humanity throughout the 27 years of unjust imprisonment.
There are many heroes in this story, especially Pratt and his attorneys, but also minor contributions from a vast number of people both well known (Shaquille O'Neal) and unknown.
I have a few quibbles about the book, namely that Olsen does not sympathize with the underlying fact that Pratt considers himself a revolutionary. This element gets very little attention. This lack of sympathy for revolutionaries also leads to a dismissive characterization of George Jackson and the rebellion at Attica.
But Olsen writes well, and has a great story to tell.
Olsen tells this story like a suspenseful novel and is able to clearly demonstrate that Elmer Gerard Pratt keeps his humanity throughout the 27 years of unjust imprisonment.
There are many heroes in this story, especially Pratt and his attorneys, but also minor contributions from a vast number of people both well known (Shaquille O'Neal) and unknown.
I have a few quibbles about the book, namely that Olsen does not sympathize with the underlying fact that Pratt considers himself a revolutionary. This element gets very little attention. This lack of sympathy for revolutionaries also leads to a dismissive characterization of George Jackson and the rebellion at Attica.
But Olsen writes well, and has a great story to tell.
August 13, 2022
In the 1960s and 70s the Black Panther Party for Self Defense began its efforts to address injustices in the system in the United States. They had a 10-point program:
1. We Want Freedom. We Want Power to Determine the Destiny of Our Black Community.
2. We Want Full Employment for Our People.
3. We Want An End to the Robbery By the Capitalists of Our Black Community.
4. We Want Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter of Human Beings.
5. We Want Education for Our People That Exposes The True Nature Of This Decadent American Society. We Want Education That Teaches Us Our True History And Our Role in the Present-Day Society.
6. We Want All Black Men To Be Exempt From Military Service.
7. We Want An Immediate End to Police Brutality and the Murder of Black People.
8. We Want Freedom For All Black Men Held in Federal, State, County and City Prisons and Jails.
9. We Want All Black People When Brought to Trial To Be Tried In Court By A Jury Of Their Peer Group Or People From Their Black Communities, As Defined By the Constitution of the United States.
10. We Want Land, Bread, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice And Peace.
source: https://www.blackpast.org/african-ame...'
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover claimed the BBP was the biggest threat to the United States in existence at the time. He set the COINTELPRO in action to break up the BPP and neutralize the organization. The U.S. Senate's Church Committee investigated and found that in many cases the FBI acted illegally.
The FBI knew, due to wire tap information, that Mr. Pratt could not have committed the crime he was convicted of, but they were satisfied leaving him to rot in prison. This book is about the protracted legal battle to free him, which succeeded after 27 years. It is a moving story of heroic efforts of many legal professionals donating time to free him. It also a story of his heroism - withstanding years of solitary confinement and unjust imprisonment. After his conviction was overturned his attorneys filed a civil rights lawsuit against the FBI, which settled for over a million dollars. According to a wikipedia article, "In describing the verdict, Hanlon said "they still deny culpability for what happened to Pratt. But you don't pay that amount of money if you didn't do anything wrong.""
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_...).
They knew.
He was a political prisoner.
Mr. Pratt was freed in 1997 and died of a heart attack in Tanzania in 2011. He lost over 26 years of his life due to an unjust frame up which was allowed to continue.
I recommend this book. It heightens awareness of the potential for the government to convict someone wrongfully but it also sustains hope that people, like Pratt and his attorneys, will never give up fighting injustice.
1. We Want Freedom. We Want Power to Determine the Destiny of Our Black Community.
2. We Want Full Employment for Our People.
3. We Want An End to the Robbery By the Capitalists of Our Black Community.
4. We Want Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter of Human Beings.
5. We Want Education for Our People That Exposes The True Nature Of This Decadent American Society. We Want Education That Teaches Us Our True History And Our Role in the Present-Day Society.
6. We Want All Black Men To Be Exempt From Military Service.
7. We Want An Immediate End to Police Brutality and the Murder of Black People.
8. We Want Freedom For All Black Men Held in Federal, State, County and City Prisons and Jails.
9. We Want All Black People When Brought to Trial To Be Tried In Court By A Jury Of Their Peer Group Or People From Their Black Communities, As Defined By the Constitution of the United States.
10. We Want Land, Bread, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice And Peace.
source: https://www.blackpast.org/african-ame...'
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover claimed the BBP was the biggest threat to the United States in existence at the time. He set the COINTELPRO in action to break up the BPP and neutralize the organization. The U.S. Senate's Church Committee investigated and found that in many cases the FBI acted illegally.
The FBI knew, due to wire tap information, that Mr. Pratt could not have committed the crime he was convicted of, but they were satisfied leaving him to rot in prison. This book is about the protracted legal battle to free him, which succeeded after 27 years. It is a moving story of heroic efforts of many legal professionals donating time to free him. It also a story of his heroism - withstanding years of solitary confinement and unjust imprisonment. After his conviction was overturned his attorneys filed a civil rights lawsuit against the FBI, which settled for over a million dollars. According to a wikipedia article, "In describing the verdict, Hanlon said "they still deny culpability for what happened to Pratt. But you don't pay that amount of money if you didn't do anything wrong.""
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_...).
They knew.
He was a political prisoner.
Mr. Pratt was freed in 1997 and died of a heart attack in Tanzania in 2011. He lost over 26 years of his life due to an unjust frame up which was allowed to continue.
I recommend this book. It heightens awareness of the potential for the government to convict someone wrongfully but it also sustains hope that people, like Pratt and his attorneys, will never give up fighting injustice.
June 19, 2011
i spent MANY a night yelling at this book because of the treatment and abuse Geronimo Pratt went thru again and agian and again. Thru it all he stood tall and prevailed. He is a man to be admired.
September 27, 2023
Before leading the revolution, Black men and women were children introduced into a hateful world that their parents could not protect them from. We often read about our history, not coming across many happy moments, but in households, some Black families aimed to make sure their children were able to be kids. In Morgan City, Louisiana, we meet the Pratt family and their youngest child, Elmer Gerard “Geronimo” Pratt. Though he was not wealthy, his family lived rich in community, love, and togetherness and had an understanding with whites in the town that caused minimal commotion and tragedy, although it still happened. The Pratt children were intelligent and were all destined for more, although Elmer did not know how much that would mean. A star football athlete with numerous scholarship offers, Elmer did not know how wicked the world was until he awakened to the injustice, and after learning about the Deacons for Defense and Justice, he joined the army. They guided him to be a soldier for his people, which would introduce him to much tragedy, but his bravery was never unnoticed as he saved many lives, earned several awards, and was honorably discharged.
Returning home, the elders introduced him to the Black Panther Party of Defense, and with his sister, he traveled to California, where he met “Bunchy” Carter, who gave him the name “Geronimo” and introduced him to the Southern California Black Panther Party. Enrolled at UCLA and unaware of the party being under FBI surveillance, his life takes a terrible turn. While Geronimo is teaching self-defense tactics to Black people and fighting injustice, COINTELPRO is causing friction, causing death, and setting the party up to dismantle, and he became a target on their hitlist as the Southern chapter leader Bunchy was murdered and left the party to him, which someone like Julius Butler did not like. “The Negro Youth and moderates must be made to understand that if they succumb to revolutionary teachings, they will be dead revolutionaries” (J. Edgar Hoover).
Geronimo was set up and was charged and convicted of the murder of a young woman in Santa Monica. With Johnnie Cochran as his lawyer, Johnnie was sure they would win due to the evidence and believing in the law, but he could not see how right Geronimo was about the government making sure he would be locked up and stayed locked up as they all knew he was innocent. While locked up, we met many people involved in working to set him free. Along with Cochran, Stuart Hanlon worked 20+ years to fight for his freedom. During this time, Huey P. Newton expelled Geronimo from the party and forbade anybody to come to his aid and prove his innocence. Geronimo spent 8 years in solitary confinement, was transferred to multiple prisons, and had falsified crimes and information on his rap sheet. He spent almost 27 years incarcerated.
Although we learn of his life in prison, we also learn about his hardworking father, supportive siblings, his eventual love life and having children, and his religious mother, who believed in the power of prayer. Friendships are developed, lives are lost, evidence is suppressed, numerous appeals are filed, and he is not free until 1997 when an actual decent judge who believed in the law did the right thing.
Last Man Standing is both a biography and history, showing the corruption of the law and the power of people who do not give up and fight for a just cause. I have given a sample of the book, as there is so much more to it and much more to understand. Geronimo died a free man in 2011, but who he was, and his story will always live on.
Returning home, the elders introduced him to the Black Panther Party of Defense, and with his sister, he traveled to California, where he met “Bunchy” Carter, who gave him the name “Geronimo” and introduced him to the Southern California Black Panther Party. Enrolled at UCLA and unaware of the party being under FBI surveillance, his life takes a terrible turn. While Geronimo is teaching self-defense tactics to Black people and fighting injustice, COINTELPRO is causing friction, causing death, and setting the party up to dismantle, and he became a target on their hitlist as the Southern chapter leader Bunchy was murdered and left the party to him, which someone like Julius Butler did not like. “The Negro Youth and moderates must be made to understand that if they succumb to revolutionary teachings, they will be dead revolutionaries” (J. Edgar Hoover).
Geronimo was set up and was charged and convicted of the murder of a young woman in Santa Monica. With Johnnie Cochran as his lawyer, Johnnie was sure they would win due to the evidence and believing in the law, but he could not see how right Geronimo was about the government making sure he would be locked up and stayed locked up as they all knew he was innocent. While locked up, we met many people involved in working to set him free. Along with Cochran, Stuart Hanlon worked 20+ years to fight for his freedom. During this time, Huey P. Newton expelled Geronimo from the party and forbade anybody to come to his aid and prove his innocence. Geronimo spent 8 years in solitary confinement, was transferred to multiple prisons, and had falsified crimes and information on his rap sheet. He spent almost 27 years incarcerated.
Although we learn of his life in prison, we also learn about his hardworking father, supportive siblings, his eventual love life and having children, and his religious mother, who believed in the power of prayer. Friendships are developed, lives are lost, evidence is suppressed, numerous appeals are filed, and he is not free until 1997 when an actual decent judge who believed in the law did the right thing.
Last Man Standing is both a biography and history, showing the corruption of the law and the power of people who do not give up and fight for a just cause. I have given a sample of the book, as there is so much more to it and much more to understand. Geronimo died a free man in 2011, but who he was, and his story will always live on.
November 17, 2007
This was one of the best books I ever read! This is a true account of a man on a journey to freedom. It sparked my interest with its background in criminal justice and the wrongs of the government. I was inspired by the story and all those who advocated/fought to get this man out of the prison system!
November 13, 2016
Geronimo Pratt was a decorated VietNam vet who was incarcerated for 25 years (more than 8 years in solitary), convicted of a murder he did not commit, because FBI Director Hoover wanted him "neutralized". The circumstances that allowed this atrocity against one innocent man exist today. Amazing, deplorable, shameful, and well-written true story of the "justice" system in America.
January 18, 2010
Amazingly engaging, though well over 300pages, I was intrigued the entire time. This book shows the stuff the Black Panthers went through, told through the life of Geronimo Pratt. Very well written on top of being a crazy story
February 15, 2009
Absolutely amazing! This well-written account of the life of Geronimo Pratt, a decorated Vietnam Vet, who served 27 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
For anyone who claims government conspiracies are BS, they haven't read this book.
For anyone who claims government conspiracies are BS, they haven't read this book.
March 9, 2015
There are no words to capture the extent of the tragedy of Mr. Pratt at the hands of "the system." It should make everyone question the "official positions" we are often fed in sound bytes. It makes me wonder about the justice afforded to anyone viewed as an enemy of the government.
October 10, 2007
Read this book if you want to regain hope in the human spirit
Read
October 15, 2007Amazing, insightful, inspiring, and revolutionary!
January 4, 2009
Unbelievable.
March 30, 2010
Great, great book about a man who was wrongly accused of murder and sat on death row for 20 years before being exonerated.
April 15, 2010
A real eye opener. Not really surprising given our nation's history. But seiously. What the hell? Does the constitution mean anything to those assholes in Washington?
January 13, 2011
Best book ever!
November 10, 2012
Great book, wonderful history of the Black Panther movement in California.
June 5, 2019
Riveting and so important
January 2, 2023
Riveting. I couldn’t believe that I was a Louisiana high school student during his release and recall no media attention to this. If you want to see the world through a lens probably not your own, start here. Enlightening.
October 21, 2020
A man with much to offer, gone too soon after wrongfully being deprived of his freedom for 27 years.
January 27, 2020
Inspiring heroic life.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews