Joseph Bowen
JOSEPH BOWEN
#AM-4272
1 Kelley Drive
Coal Township, PA 17866-1021
“Joe-Joe” Bowen is a Black Liberation Army (BLA) Prisoner of War, serving two life sentences for the assassination of a prison warden and deputy warden, as well as an attempted prison break which resulted in a five-day standoff.
Personal Background
A native of Philadelphia, Joe-Joe was a young member of the “30th and Norris Street” gang, before his incarceration politicized him. Released in 1971, his outside activism was cut short a week following his release when Joe-Joe was confronted by an officer of the notoriously brutal Philadelphia police department. The police officer was killed in the confrontation, and Bowen fled. After his capture and incarceration, Bowen became a Black Liberation Army combatant, defiant to authorities at every turn.
Warden Assassination
In 1973, Bowen and Philadelphia Five prisoner Fred “Muhammad Kafi” Burton assassinated Holmesberg prison’s warden and deputy warden as well as wounded the guard commander in retaliation for intense repression against Muslim prisoners in the facility.
Prison Standoff
In October 28, 1981 Joe-Joe led a mass liberation attempt from the state’s largest prison at Graterford, after arming other prisoners with two shotguns and two revolvers. Bowen and three others attempted to scale the prison’s 40-foot wall and were stopped by a rifle shot from a guard tower. After returning fire they captured three guards and retreated into the prison kitchen where they captured three kitchen employees and 29 inmates. Three other inmates joined in the action.
Bowen and the six others held off the prison’s guards, State Police and FBI for five days until an agreement was struck. In the end, the men were charged with assault, attempted escape, kidnapping and one other offense. Joe-Joe was sent to the Federal Prison in Marion, IL where he met up with other political prisoners and prisonersof war such as Sundiata Acoli, Hanif Shabazz Bey and Ray Luc Levasseur.
Life in Prison
Much of Joe-Joe’s time in prison has been spent in and out of control units, solitary confinement and other means of being isolated from the general prison population. He is currently being kept in the control unit at the State Correctional Institution at Coal Township, with no prospects of ever being released into general population.
During his time in prison he has raised the consciousness of thousands of Pennsylvania prisoners through his powerful history and political/military education classes. Many of these prisoners become away of his story just by arriving at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, named after the warden and deputy killed in 1973.
Just double checked with Pennsylvania DOC, and it is correct.
We sure this is the right address and number? Birthday card i sent him last month got sent back.
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