Skip to content

Odell Bennett

Released
Gender:Male
Race:Black
Era:1970s
State:Kansas
Support
Prison Abolition
No image available

Biography

Odell Bennett was one of the "Leavenworth Brothers" — six prisoners (four Black and two Chicano) charged in connection with the July 31, 1973 rebellion at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. As The Black Panther reported (September 7, 1974), their supporters, organized as the Leavenworth Brothers Offense/Defense Committee and joined by antiwar priest Philip Berrigan at an August 16, 1974 rally, held that the men had been framed and made scapegoats by the prison administration because of their leadership in protesting the penitentiary's inhumane conditions. Mutiny charges against Odell Bennett were dropped in August 1974.

Case

United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth
Charges: Charged in connection with the July 31, 1973 rebellion at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas; supporters said the Leavenworth Brothers were framed and scapegoated for leading protests of inhumane prison conditions (mutiny)
Sentence: Verdict as recorded: No — mutiny charges dropped (August 1974)
Convicted: No — charges dismissed
Institution State: Kansas