The jury found Bear not guilty. From signing a letter to participating in public forums and being featured in Mother Jones magazine, nine of the twelve jurors took some level of proactive advocacy for Bear on the issue of retrial. Bear was not guilty, and the MEC was right to have played the role it did, supporting the people in the community working for justice and activated to join with others to prevent another brother of color from being framed and sent away.
Bear lost two plus years of his life in jail for a crime he didn't commit, and rose to a level of notoriety that he never sought. Now he is back in the news, accused of shooting into occupied residences. Someone else arrested on this charge would only appear in the newspaper's Sheriff Log, not on the front page. And while the particular circumstances are different then they were five years ago, some things haven't changed much. Some people can get away with shooting houses or cars or people, and others get into trouble merely for standing on the corner. For example, several years ago Bear's cousin was shot in both knees in front of witnesses, but no arrests were made.
Fortunately, the new sheriff and district attorney have acted much better with this current case against Bear; they deserve a great deal of credit for this, and it does not appear to be the gross injustice of the 1995 incident.
The issue of MEC's support for Bear on this occasion has arisen, and a concern that committing the organization to defending anyone against this current charge compromises the nonviolence principles with the MEC firmly stands by. Because of this, LPDA members will not be working out of the MEC this time around. Bear, who has been released on bail, will have his day in court. Hopefully everyone will keep an open mind, and whatever the outcome, the process of healing will continue.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2000
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited