Free Republic

former captain of the Black Panther Party, who was convicted of killing a park ranger near San Francisco 31 years ago, has been granted parole, though law enforcement officials made a last-ditch attempt Wednesday to block his release. Veronza Leon Curtis Bowers Jr., 59, is expected to walk free from a federal prison in Coleman, Fla., on June 21, according to officials at the U.S. Parole Commission. "If he gets into trouble, he could be kept in," said Tom Hutchison, a spokesman for the Maryland-based Parole Commission. But most inmates close to their release date, he said, "just bide their...

A former Black Panther convicted of murdering a Point Reyes National Seashore ranger 31 years ago is set to be released from prison in two weeks, raising the ire of law enforcement officers. Ranger Kenneth Patrick was the first U.S. park ranger murdered in the line of duty when he was shot by deer poachers in the Point Reyes National Seashore in August 1973. Veronza Bowers was convicted of the murder in April 1974. Bowers and two other men went to Point Reyes to hunt deer with a crossbow and when Patrick, 40, shined his flashlight into their car, he...