JoAnn Debra Chesimard, infamously known as Assata Shakur, was an activist linked to the Black Liberation Army (BLA). Assata and a couple members of the BLA were pulled over by troopers. What started off as a traffic infraction, turned into a murderous scene. State Trooper Werner Foerster along with BLA member Zayd Shakur were murdered.
Assata was convicted of Trooper Foerster’s murder after 7 trials. Despite all the evidence Assata had in court, she was sentenced to life in prison. After a few years in prison, Assata escaped. A few years later she fled to Cuba where she was granted political asylum.
There’s always 3 sides to a story, and one side is the truth. We’ve heard the narrative in the United States that she was part of a bank heist and killed the trooper. She was labeled a criminal, a terrorist, and became the 1st woman to make it on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for $1 Million.
Assata is currently living in Cuba and has presented her truth of what happened at the crime scene.
Check out this documentary “Eye’s on the Rainbow” to hear Assata’s side.