RPCV Stephen Bingham starts new life after 13 years as a fugitive



RPCV Stephen Bingham starts new life after 13 years as a fugitive

Legal Career Goes on After Fugitive Life
By JOSEPH P. FRIED

Published: March 20, 2005

Stephen M. Bingham, the son of a prominent Connecticut family, pursued a course in the 1960's that was hardly rare for a person of such pedigree in those years of social ferment. But where that course led was rare - and it rocketed him into the headlines and into 13 years as a fugitive.

After graduating from Yale in 1964, Mr. Bingham - whose grandfather Hiram Bingham was an explorer and later a United States senator from Connecticut - went to Mississippi to register black voters.

He served in the Peace Corps in Africa and settled in the San Francisco area, where he campaigned against the Vietnam War and for causes like forming a farm workers' union. He graduated from law school and provided legal services to the poor and to black prisoners.

In August 1971, he visited San Quentin prison, where he saw George Jackson, an inmate he was helping on a lawsuit over conditions there. Mr. Jackson, a convicted robber awaiting trial on charges of murdering a guard at another prison, was a Black Panther Party member who had written a best-selling book about prison life.

Shortly after the visit, Mr. Jackson produced a gun he had concealed in a wig in what the authorities said was an escape attempt. It ended with Mr. Jackson, two other prisoners and three guards dead. Mr. Bingham vanished within hours; later he was charged with murder and conspiracy, accused of having smuggled the gun and wig to Mr. Jackson.

In 1984, Mr. Bingham voluntarily surfaced, denying the accusations and saying he had fled in fear that he would not get a fair trial. Tried in 1986, he was acquitted of all charges. He then retreated into a quiet life.

He still does not know how Mr. Jackson got the gun, Mr. Bingham, 62, above, said last week from San Francisco, where he works as a lawyer for a group that provides free legal services for low-income people. After the San Quentin violence, Mr. Bingham's family said he could have been used unwittingly by the Black Panthers; one of them had given him a tape recorder to deliver to Mr. Jackson. The authorities said the gun had been hidden in the recorder.

His years as a fugitive, most spent in France, "colored to some extent how I view things," Mr. Bingham said. "I have a much greater appreciation for the shortness of time."

Though he did "some interesting things" while a fugitive, he said, like working on documentary films, he "had a lot of time ripped out" from his social justice legal career.

On the positive side, he said, he met his wife, Francoise Blusseau, in France. They have a daughter.

Occasionally, people recognize his name or tell him they just learned about his involvement in the Jackson case from a television documentary, Mr. Bingham said. Their comments, he said, have always reflected "sympathy for what I went through."

When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:


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Crisis Corps arrives in Thailand After the Tsunami in Southeast Asia last December, Peace Corps issued an appeal for Crisis Corps Volunteers and over 200 RPCVs responded. The first team of 8 Crisis Corps volunteers departed for Thailand on March 18 to join RPCVs who are already supporting relief efforts in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and India with other agencies and NGO's. 19 Mar 2005

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March's Feature Stories - only on PCOL Dream Come True - Revisiting India after 34 years The Coyne Column: Read Winning Vanity Fair PCV Essay Tomas Belsky's paintings inspired by service in Brazil RPCV reunites with friend after 40 years RPCV reviews "Los Heraldos Negros" by Cesar Vallejo Photo Essay: Taking it to the Streets

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March 19, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News New Jersey RPCVs host exhibit in Maplewood on April 2 20 Mar Maryland RPCVs eat crab cakes in Annapolis 17 Mar Illinois RPCVs present "Life on the Big Red Island" 13 Mar San Diego RPCVs host reception with Gaddi Vasquez on March 6 4 Mar Western North Carolina's RPCVs sponsor Africa Night on March 6 3 Mar Connecticut RPCVs held fundraiser on March 5 3 Mar RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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March 19, 2005: This Week's Top Stories RPCV points out catalytic effect of Iraq 19 Mar PCVs set up Basketball pool in Ukraine 19 Mar Sam Farr introduces bill to monitor ocean fisheries 18 Mar Bridgeland does not rule out run for Congress 18 Mar Jim Doyle promotes Institute for Discovery 18 Mar Newspaper says Bangladesh is safe for PCVs 18 Mar Joan Ruddiman revisits Peter Hessler's "River World" 17 Mar Mark Schneider says Save Haiti from more violence 17 Mar Troy Johnson joins delegation to Indonesia 17 Mar Chris Shays says baseball not exempt from the law 17 Mar "Hurlyburly" benefits gypsy women in Romania 15 Mar Chris Matthews interviews Schwarzenegger 14 Mar Fred Burke dies in NJ, trained early PCVs 13 Mar Mike Honda introduces Student Privacy Protection Act 13 Mar FT details Cheney-McPherson relationship 13 Mar Tucker McCravy reports on Tsunami Reconstruction 10 Mar Dennis Braddock retires with record of accomplishment 9 Mar

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RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter.

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Add your info now to the RPCV Directory Call Harris Publishing at 800-414-4608 right away to add your name or make changes to your listing in the newest edition of the NPCA's Directory of Peace Corps Volunteers and Former Staff. Then read our story on how you can get access to the book after it is published. The deadline for inclusion is May 16 so call now.

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March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.

Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.

Read the stories and leave your comments.

By Kendall (ast-lambert-151-1-39-226.w82-120.abo.wanadoo.fr - 82.120.229.226) on Friday, April 08, 2005 - 12:10 pm: Edit Post

Could you help me get in touch with Stephen Bingham whom I beleive leaves in San Francisco? I am Anna, we met in France, at that time I was Jacques' girlfriend (whom I had met in filmschool) and I did the translation of his testimomy. I have often thought about him all these years and I would love to have fresh news.
AC Kendall.