Hartford Courant

July 29, 1978

To the Editor:

It was TheCourant that brought to light the irregularities in the trial ofJames E. Grant Jr., of Hartford, now under a sentence of 25 years inprison in North Carolina for a crime which he did not commit, and theevidence for which was based upon the perjured testimony of twoex-criminals. Each freely admitted they received $4,000 for theirefforts from a United States federal agency. Both have subsequentlybeen charged with crimes of their own; Theodore Hood being indictedfor murder, and Walter D. Washington being charged with theft on noless than five occasions.

At thepresent moment, all appeals to Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr., of NorthCarolina, for a pardon for Grant have fallen on deaf ears, and theusual appeal through the higher courts has been fruitless. It seemsthat a final appeal to the Supreme Court may be Grant's onlyremaining recourse.

While I mayfeel that Andrew Young may not be the best man to represent theUnited States in the United Nations, I can understand how he couldoffhandedly have said, "There are hundreds, maybe thousands ofpolitical prisoners in the United States. He surely had James GrantJr., in mind, whose only crime was years of anti-war and civil rightswork!

As long asGrant remains in jail, and others like him, no one, not even ourpresident, can honestly say that we have no political prisoners inthe United States. It wasn't only the president and the secretary ofstate who were embarrassed by Young's remark, all Americans were!

Charles E. Jacobson Jr., M.D.

45 Wyllys St.

Manchester, CT