Julius C Julio Butler

Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. assaulted the credibility of Julius C. "Julio" Butler on Tuesday in an effort to show that the key prosecution witness against former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt did not tell the truth in 1972 when he denied being a law enforcement informant. Cochran focused on Butler's comments in interviews with investigators earlier this year that he either had been given a gun or paid money to buy one by a district attorney's office detective in 1970.

A retired Los Angeles Police sergeant testified Monday that he was "set up" when he was handed a letter implicating former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt in the December 1968 slaying of a schoolteacher in Santa Monica. Duwayne Rice said Julius C. "Julio" Butler, who later became the key prosecution witness against Pratt, gave him an envelope Aug. 10, 1969, saying it was an "insurance policy" to be opened only in the event of Butler's death.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge who as a deputy district attorney prosecuted Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt in 1972 testified Thursday that he knew his key witness against the former Black Panther Party leader was a felon who illegally carried a loaded gun. Judge Richard P. Kalustian said he did not think it was right for Julius C. "Julio" Butler to violate the law by carrying the pistol, but said he did nothing to stop Butler because "his life was in danger."

The scene in Orange County Superior Court was a replay of a confrontation nearly a quarter-century earlier. Julius C. "Julio" Butler, the key prosecution witness against former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, was testifying. Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., Pratt's lead defense attorney in the 1972 murder trial, was again asking the questions.

As hundreds of worshipers filed into the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles' oldest and most prominent black congregation, several dozen protesters stood across the street, waving picket signs. One read: "The snitch got to go. Free Geronimo." The demonstrators were an unsettling challenge to a venerable institution, and their target on that Sunday in January was no less than the 61-year-old chairman of First A.M.E.'s Board of Trustees: Julius C. (Julio) Butler.

A retired Los Angeles Police sergeant testified Monday that he was "set up" when he was handed a letter implicating former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt in the December 1968 slaying of a schoolteacher in Santa Monica. Duwayne Rice said Julius C. "Julio" Butler, who later became the key prosecution witness against Pratt, gave him an envelope Aug. 10, 1969, saying it was an "insurance policy" to be opened only in the event of Butler's death.

Confronted by a sheaf of FBI documents containing information agents said he provided, the key witness against former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt briefly conceded Wednesday that he could be called an informant under certain circumstances, but maintained that he did not provide confidential information to FBI agents. Julius C. "Julio" Butler, a former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy and an ex-Panther, testified that he merely had "conversations" with FBI agents.

Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. assaulted the credibility of Julius C. "Julio" Butler on Tuesday in an effort to show that the key prosecution witness against former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt did not tell the truth in 1972 when he denied being a law enforcement informant. Butler's testimony is seen as crucial in Pratt's effort to win a retrial of his 24-year-old murder conviction.

The scene in Orange County Superior Court was a replay of a confrontation nearly a quarter-century earlier. Julius C. "Julio" Butler, the key prosecution witness against former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, was testifying. Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., Pratt's lead defense attorney in the 1972 murder trial, was again asking the questions.

Testimony on whether imprisoned former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt's murder conviction should be overturned concluded Friday, leaving Pratt's lawyers optimistic that their client has been given his best chance to win a new trial in the nearly 25 years since his conviction. The thrust of Pratt's request for a new trial was that the key witness against him, Julius C.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge who as a deputy district attorney prosecuted Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt in 1972 testified Thursday that he knew his key witness against the former Black Panther Party leader was a felon who illegally carried a loaded gun. Judge Richard P. Kalustian said he did not think it was right for Julius C. "Julio" Butler to violate the law by carrying the pistol, but said he did nothing to stop Butler because "his life was in danger."

Confronted by a sheaf of FBI documents containing information agents said he provided, the key witness against former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt briefly conceded Wednesday that he could be called an informant under certain circumstances, but maintained that he did not provide confidential information to FBI agents. Julius C. "Julio" Butler, a former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy and an ex-Panther, testified that he merely had "conversations" with FBI agents.

Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. assaulted the credibility of Julius C. "Julio" Butler on Tuesday in an effort to show that the key prosecution witness against former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt did not tell the truth in 1972 when he denied being a law enforcement informant. Butler's testimony is seen as crucial in Pratt's effort to win a retrial of his 24-year-old murder conviction.

Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. assaulted the credibility of Julius C. "Julio" Butler on Tuesday in an effort to show that the key prosecution witness against former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt did not tell the truth in 1972 when he denied being a law enforcement informant. Cochran focused on Butler's comments in interviews with investigators earlier this year that he either had been given a gun or paid money to buy one by a district attorney's office detective in 1970.

As hundreds of worshipers filed into the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles' oldest and most prominent black congregation, several dozen protesters stood across the street, waving picket signs. One read: "The snitch got to go. Free Geronimo." The demonstrators were an unsettling challenge to a venerable institution, and their target on that Sunday in January was no less than the 61-year-old chairman of First A.M.E.'s Board of Trustees: Julius C. (Julio) Butler.

Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, the former Black Panther Party leader convicted of murder in 1972, will have to wait a little longer to get the justice he says was denied 25 years ago. Santa Ana Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey said he will wait until March 13 to hear final arguments in Pratt's bid to overturn his conviction because Los Angeles prosecutor Brentford Ferreira has not returned to work following a minor stroke two weeks ago.

A retired Los Angeles district attorney's office investigator who kept a confidential informant card on a key witness against former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt testified Monday he does not recall whether he was even aware that the informant was a witness at Pratt's trial. Clayton R. Anderson, retired chief of the district attorney's Bureau of Investigation, said he was aware that Pratt was being tried for murder in 1972 in a high-profile case.