The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. August 7, 2018 Former Black Panther Robert Seth Hayes Freed After 45 Years Behind Bars ----------------------------------------------------------------------- And in New York, former Black Panther Robert Seth Hayes has been released from prison after 45 years behind bars. He was convicted of the 1973 killing of a New York City transit officer. He has been eligible for parole since 1998, but had been denied parole 10 times before finally being set free.