Biography
Marshall "Eddie" Conway was a leader of the Baltimore chapter of the Black Panther Party who spent roughly 44 years in prison — among the longest-held political prisoners in the United States — for a 1970 killing he always insisted was a frame-up. Conway was convicted in 1971 of the ambush murder of Baltimore Police Officer Donald Sager. He maintained that he had been targeted for his Panther organizing under the FBI's COINTELPRO program; there was no physical evidence linking him to the shooting, and the case leaned heavily on a jailhouse informant. He was released on parole in March 2014 after a Maryland appellate court ruled that his jury had been given improper instructions. In prison Conway earned three college degrees and founded a prisoners' literacy program; after his release he became a producer at The Real News Network and hosted the show "Rattling the Bars." He died in February 2023.
Minister of Defense of the Baltimore chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1970 who also worked at the U.S. Postal Service. Some Baltimore chapter founders were undercover Baltimore Police officers reporting daily on his activities, while the FBI maintained simultaneous surveillance. After an April 23, 1970 police shooting Conway was identified by Officer Nolan from a photograph and arrested at the Post Office the next day, charged with the homicide and attempted homicide of officers.
Marhsall Eddie Conway was a former Black Panther Party leader framed for the murder of a Baltimore police officer and the shooting of two other officers. He is currently serving a life a sentence, continues to assert his innocence and his fighting for parole. “Eddie” Conway was born and raised in Baltimore. As a young man he joined the Army. In 1966, while stationed in Germany he saw a play on Malcolm X, which lead to him reading his autobiography. Disilusioned with the Army, Conway returned to Baltimore in 1967 with an Honorable Discharge. He joined the Congress of Racial
Equality (CORE). He was instrumental in integrating the Sparrows Point Fire Department, where he was one of the first black firefighters amidst a department notorious for its racism. Working in such a hostile workplace and his experience with organizing lead Eddie to step up his work for black liberation by joining the Baltimore 1969.
