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Joyce Tillerson

Released In Exile
Date of birth:06. 06. 1951
Date of death:15. 04. 2000
Age:48 Deceased
Gender:Female
Race:Black
Era:1970s
Time Imprisoned:
2 Years 5 Months 29 Days
Time in Exile:
27 Years 8 Months 15 Days
Support
Black Liberation Black Liberation Army Black Panther Party
Joyce Tillerson

Biography

Joyce Tillerson was a black revolutionary who on July 31, 1972 hijacked Delta Air Lines Flight 841 with a group of four others after it departed Detroit in order to get passage to Algeria so she could join the International Section of the Black Panther Party. Tillerson eventually relocated to France where she was arrested and held for the hijacking with other members of the group. After serving a French prison sentence she remained in Paris and worked for La Cimade, an organization assisting migrants and refugees. She later worked for the South African embassy in Paris until her death from cancer in 2000.

Case

Fleury-Mérogis Prison
Charges: Air piracy.
Arrested: May 26, 1976
Sentenced: Nov 24, 1978
Incarcerated: May 26, 1976
Released: Nov 24, 1978
In exile since: Jul 31, 1972
Exile ended: Apr 15, 2000
Sentence: Five years, two years suspended — imposed by the Paris Assize Court on November 24, 1978, for the July 31, 1972 hijacking of Delta Air Lines Flight 841. Having spent approximately two and a half years at Fleury-Mérogis Prison since her May 26, 1976 arrest in Paris, she was released within days of the verdict, having already served nearly the entire custodial portion. The French proceedings reportedly did not establish that she or Jean McNair had personally carried a weapon.
Convicted: Yes — convicted by the Paris Assize Court, November 24, 1978; France tried the case rather than extradite
Institution State: France