Former Black Panther Elmer “Geronimo” Pratt has Died

Radio Facts: After spending 27 years in prison for a murder conviction that was overturned, former Black Panther leader Elmer “Geronimo” Pratt made national headlines when he was released in 1997 after his conviction was overturned. After 14 years of freedom, Pratt has died at the age of 63.

Elmer “Geronimo” Pratt, a former Los Angeles Black Panther leader who spent 27 years in prison on a murder conviction that was overturned in 1997, has died. He was 63. Pratt was living in a small village in Tanzania where he succumbed. No details on  how he died are currently available. Pratt was convicted in 1972 of robbing and fatally shooting schoolteacher Caroline Olsen on a Santa Monica tennis court. He always maintained his innocence, claiming he was targeted because he was a Panther.