CNN’s commentator Marc Lamont Hill posted a photo on Instagram praising Assata Shakur, a woman convicted of killing a law enforcement officer back in 1977, in an Instagram post on Monday.
“She wrote the second book that changed (and saved) my life. She taught me about the value and power of Freedom Dreams,” Lamont Hill wrote.
“I pray for her continued safety and protection. I continue to work to demonstrate her innocence. And I implore the State to stop prosecuting an unjust and unfair campaign against one of our most treasured Freedom Fighters,” he continued.
The post ended with the hashtag “freeallpoliticalprisoners.”
Shakur was a member of the Black Liberation Army, which was an offshoot of the Black Panthers.
She was indicted ten times between 1973 and 1977 which led to seven different criminal trials. She was charged with murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and bank robbery during that period. The murder charges stem from a 1973 shootout with New Jersey State Troopers, in which one officer was killed.
She escaped from prison, fled to Cuba and was granted political asylum in the 1980s. She has remained there even after the United States government tried having her returned. The FBI has added her to its list of most-wanted terrorists.