Supporting Prisoners: Russell Maroon Shoatz

By Payday men’s network

Black Panthers member Russell Maroon Shoatz was jailed in 1972 in connection with the death of a police officer. He spent 29 years in solitary confinement (22 consecutive), but never stopped opposing injustices inside and outside prison. In 2012, with the GWS we supported the launch of an international campaign to free Maroon, a struggle his daughter Theresa and other family members have waged for years. Two years after, he was released from solitary. In 2021, Maroon was finally released from prison, and died of cancer surrounded by loved ones two months after his release.