Mutulu Shakur — an acupuncturist and Black liberation activist, and stepfather of Tupac Shakur — was prosecuted in federal court in the 1980s for his role in the 1981 Brink's robbery and a broader pattern of underground activity, including the 1979 prison escape of Assata Shakur. Captured in 1986 after years as a fugitive, he was convicted under federal racketeering (RICO) statutes.
Sentenced to sixty years, Shakur became one of the most prominent BLA-linked political prisoners, and his repeated, long-denied bids for parole drew wide support. He was finally released on compassionate grounds in December 2022, gravely ill with cancer, and died in July 2023 — his case a touchstone for campaigns against the indefinite imprisonment of aging political prisoners.