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Little took Alligood’s keys and escaped. It was believed that she took the ice pick from the guard, as it was a common tool used it for odd jobs around the jail. Although evidence the attempted assault was found at the scene, Little was charged with murder. After her capture, she was moved to the Women’s Prison in Raleigh out of fear of retaliation and hopes of a fair trial.

The case went public in 1974 and the explosive five-week trial began in July 1975. Little became a “cause célèbre” among feminists, civil rights activists and others worldwide. The case attracted the attention of local attorney Jerry Paul and Southern Poverty Law Center general counsel Morris Dees from Alabama. The pair created the “Joan Little Defense Fund” and raised $350,000 which she used to make bail.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Ralph Abernathy and activist Angela Davis were both vocal in their support for Little, which they argued had racial implications. When the trial began, Dick Gregory, Julian Bond and others protested outside the courts. On the final day of the trial, the jury handed down an acquittal after just 78 minutes of deliberation.

Despite Little’s good fortune, she couldn’t let go of her past. Just a month shy of making parole after returning to prison to finish her grand larceny time, she escaped. After her her recapture and serving out her sentence, she was arrested twice more in 1979 and in 1989 while living in New York.

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Little Known Black History Fact: Joan Little  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com

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