Catherine Kerkow

In Exile
Full name:Catherine Marie Kerkow
Date of birth:06. 10. 1951
Age:74
Gender:Female
Race:White
Era:1970s
State:Oregon
Time Imprisoned:
4 Months 8 Days
Time in Exile:
54 Years 3 Months 9 Days
Support
Black Liberation Black Panther Party
Catherine Kerkow

Biography

Catherine Kerkow was a Black Panther affiliate who in 1972, hijacked Western Airlines Flight 701 with accomplice Willie Roger Holder, demanding freedom for political prisoner Angela Davis and safe passage to North Vietnam in exchange for the release of the plane and its passengers. They ultimately received $500,000 in ransom and fled to Algeria where they were granted political asylum. In 1975, she and Holder were arrested attempting to enter France and held for several months while American authorities attempted to have her deported to stand trial in the U.S for the hijacking. France refused extradition on the grounds the crime was politically motivated. In 1977 she fled to Switzerland and has not been seen since. She is currently wanted by the FBI as a fugitive.

Cases

Charges: Air piracy
In exile since: Jun 2, 1972
Sentence: Verdict as recorded: No — granted asylum in Algeria; France refused extradition Charges as recorded: Air piracy — the June 2, 1972 hijacking of Western Airlines Flight 701
Convicted: No
Fleury-Mérogis Prison
Charges: Presenting a falsified passport
Arrested: Jan 25, 1975
Sentenced: Jun 2, 1975
Incarcerated: Jan 25, 1975
Released: Jun 2, 1975
In exile since: Jun 2, 1975
Exile ended: Jun 2, 1975
Sentence: Three months and one day in prison and a 1,000-franc fine, imposed by a Paris court on June 2, 1975, for presenting a falsified passport. By then her detention — about 128 days since the January 25, 1975 arrest alongside Willie Roger Holder — had already exceeded the sentence, and Le Monde reported that she was to be released. France had refused the American extradition request on April 7, 1975, treating the hijacking as politically motivated; French authorities then opened their own hijacking prosecution, but the investigating judge did not keep her incarcerated — she was placed under judicial supervision after release.
Convicted: Yes
Institution State: France

Related Cases

Willie Roger Holder Willie Roger Holder George Brown George Brown Joyce Tillerson Joyce Tillerson Jean McNair Jean McNair Melvin McNair Melvin McNair