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Jean Ford

Released
Era:1980s
State:New York
Time Imprisoned:
5 Months 28 Days
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New York 8+ grand jury resisters Sunrise Collective Mobilization Committee Against Police Brutality
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Biography

Jean Ford was a Harlem Hospital physician and political activist involved in campaigns against apartheid and police brutality. He refused to testify before the grand jury investigating the New York 8+, invoking spousal privilege and political opposition to the investigation. He spent nearly six months at the Metropolitan Correctional Center before the court ordered his release.

Case

Charges: Civil contempt — refusal to testify before the grand jury investigating the New York 8+
Incarcerated: Jan 28, 1985
Released: Jul 26, 1985
Sentence: Civil confinement for refusing grand-jury testimony; released 1985-07-26. This was coercive civil contempt, not a conviction on the New York 8 defendants' criminal charges.