After being incarcerated for 40 years for the killing of a NJ state trooper, Sundiata Acoli has been granted parole

A man who has lived his life as a self proclaimed “freedom fighter” will get his first taste of freedom after four decades of incarceration.

Clark Edward Squire, who is known to most of his supporters as Sundiata Acoli, was granted parole yesterday for the 1973 killing of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster. He was sentenced in ’74 to life plus 20-30 years and was denied parole 1993, 2004, and 2011.

The appellate judges panel stated that the parole board ignored evidence that would help Acoli and gave consideration to past events that occurred decades earlier. It was reported that they dismissed a positive report from a prison psychologist and the fact that Acoli had no disciplinary actions since 1996.

Of all of the people in the car when it was stopped, the most notable is Joanne Chesimard aka Assata Shakur, who also was convicted of Foerster’s slaying, but sought asylum in Cuba. Last year, the FBI announced a $2 million reward to whoever could bring Shakur to justice and the FBI made her the first woman on its list of most wanted terrorists. Both she and Acoli were members of the militant organization known as the Black Liberation Army and Shakur was a proactive member of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.

“I am both disheartened and disappointed by the appellate decision in this matter. The mere passage of time should not excuse someone from the commission of such a horrendous act. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Foerster family whose lives have been deprived of a father and son,” said Col. Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the NJ State Police, in a statement released yesterday.

The state attorney general’s office vowed to appeal the decision and could seek a stay that would postpone Acoli’s parole.

-Sha Be Allah(@KingPenStatus)