Warren Kimbro made headlines in 1969 for murdering a fellow Black Panther, which triggered criminal charges against the national leader of the Panthers and an enormous New Haven protest on May Day in 1970.
He is making headlines again. Warren Kimbro, 74, died Tuesday night at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Kimbro plead guilty to second degree murder for the New Haven killing of fellow Black Panther Alex Rackley, whom Kimbro suspected was a police informant. Kimbro served four years in prison.
The historic murder led to criminal charges against Bobby Seale, the leader of the Black Panthers.
"I think Warren Kimbro was an outstanding brother, a person who in the history of that trial got caught up in a bad situation," Seale told The Associated Press Wednesday. "He was a socially conscious person, I liked him."
After his prison sentence Kimbro spent his life working to help ex-convicts improve their lives. After obtaining a master's in education degree from Harvard University in 1975 , Kimbro led Project More, which worked to reduce recidivism by helping former inmates with drug treatment and job training.
"I don't want to see young people doing something that is beyond their capacity," Kimbro said at a gathering of former party members in 2001. "I don't want you to pick up a gun like me. I want you to pick up your degrees, your positions in the Legislature."
