Geraldine Robinson Pointer
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Geraldine Robinson Pointer | |
|---|---|
| Add a Photo | |
| Born | 1944/5 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Book store worker |
Geraldine Robinson Pointer (born Geraldine Robinson in 1944/5)[1] is an American book store worker with a criminal conviction from 1967. After the main witness against her recanted his testimony, a campaign to overturn her conviction was launched in 2024.
Biography
Geraldine Robinson Pointer was born in 1944 or 1945.[1]
As an adult, she worked, mostly unpaid,[2] in the radical[3] Afro Asian Book Shop[4] located on Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo, New York.[3] The store was owned by Martin Sostre.[3] Days after the 1967 Buffalo riot, Pointer and Sostre were arrested on July 15, 1967 accused of drugs-related crimes.[3]
Earlier the same month, police had directed firefighter to maliciously damage the shops.[5] On 8 August 1969, University Newspaper The Spectrum reprinted an article from Black newspaper The Challenger that described a pattern of "intimidation" by authorities towards the Afro Asian Book Shop.[5]
One year and ten months later at trial,[5] Arto Wiliams testified as a witness against Pointer and Sostre.[5]Pointer was found guilty of selling heroin and sentenced to 15 years.[3] She was released after serving two years and nineteen days in custody.[3][1] During her incarceration she lost custody of her five children.[1]
The main witness, Wiliams, later recanted his testimony.[1] In 2022, Pointer told the communist newspaper Workers World that she was framed.[6] In 2024, ArtVoice stated that Buffalo Police Department "fabricated evidence and pressured a man to falsely testify" at the trial.[3] A campaign to clear her conviction was launched in 2024.[3][1] The Editorial Board of The Buffalo News called on the Erie County's District Attorney to overturn her conviction.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Natalie, Brophy (2024-08-05). "Effort begins to overturn decades-old drug convictions of Buffalo civil rights activists". Buffalo News. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ↑ Sostre in Solitary: The Writings of William Worthy (PDF). 2022. p. 20.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Moses, Jamie (2024-08-11). "Why Does Racism Inspire Artists to Respond?". Artvoice. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ↑ Shapiro, Joseph (April 14, 2017). "How One Inmate Changed The Prison System From The Inside". National Public Radio. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "The Spectrum 8 August 1969 — The NYS Historic Newspapers". nyshistoricnewspapers.org. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ↑ Dorritie, Ellie (2022-09-19). "Jeanette Merrill ¡Presente! – 'You have to be a partisan in the class struggle'". Workers World. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ↑ Editorial Board (2024-08-14). "The Editorial Board: DA should review 1960s drug conviction of Geraldine Pointer". Buffalo News. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
External links
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