Willie Roger Holder

Released In Exile
Date of birth:14. 06. 1949
Date of death:06. 02. 2012
Age:62† Deceased
Gender:Male
Race:Black
Era:1970s
State:California
Time Imprisoned:
4 Years 3 Months 15 Days
Time in Exile:
14 Years 1 Month 23 Days
Support
Black Liberation Black Panther Party
Willie Roger Holder

Biography

Willie Roger Holder was a Black Panther and Vietnam veteran who went AWOL after being seriously wounded by a landmine and then subsequently jailed by the army for marijuana possession. In 1972, he and his accomplice, Catherine Marie Kerkow, hijacked Western Airlines Flight 701, demanding freedom for political prisoner Angela Davis and safe passage to North Vietnam in exchange for the passengers release. They ultimately received $500,000 in ransom and fled to Algeria where they were granted political asylum. Holder and Kerkow were arrested while attempting to enter France and were held for several months before being released. In 1980, a French court convicted Holder for the hijacking and imposed a five-year suspended sentence. In 1986, French authorities deported him to the United States, where he was arrested and prosecuted for the hijacking. He received a four-year prison sentence and was paroled in August 1989. In July 1991, Holder was arrested on parole violation after a police informant claimed he was planning another hijacking. Following his final release from prison in 1992, he spent the remainder of his life working as a day laborer.

Cases

Charges: Air piracy — the June 2, 1972 hijacking of Western Airlines Flight 701
Arrested: Jul 26, 1986
Incarcerated: Jul 26, 1986
Released: August 1989
In exile since: Jun 3, 1972
Exile ended: Jul 26, 1986
Sentence: Four years for the hijacking, imposed after French authorities deported him to the United States on July 26, 1986; held from that day in pretrial custody and then federal imprisonment, and paroled in August 1989. In exile from June 3, 1972 to July 26, 1986 — political asylum in Algeria, then France.
Convicted: Yes
Fleury-Mérogis Prison
Charges: Presenting falsified passports
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 fifteen days, imposed by a Paris court on June 2, 1975, for falsified passports — released for time served, his detention since the January 25, 1975 arrest alongside Catherine Marie Kerkow having already run about 128 days. France had refused the American extradition request on April 7, 1975, treating the hijacking as politically motivated. He never attempted escape.
Convicted: Yes
Institution State: France
Charges: Air piracy — tried in France for the 1972 hijacking
Sentenced: 1980
Sentence: Five years, suspended — imposed by a French court in 1980 for the hijacking itself; no time was served under it.
Convicted: Yes
Charges: Parole violation
Arrested: Jul 2, 1991
Incarcerated: Jul 2, 1991
Released: Jun 2, 1992
In exile since: Jun 2, 1992
Exile ended: Jun 2, 1992
Sentence: Rearrested July 2, 1991 on a parole violation after a police informant claimed he was planning another hijacking; held until June 2, 1992 — his final release from prison. He spent the remainder of his life working as a day laborer.

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