Correctional Officer Jerry Sanders was stabbed and killed. Two inmates, both members of the radical Black Panthers, were charged with his murder. Their first trial ended with a hung jury. In the second trial both were found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to death. The California Supreme Court overturned their convictions and ordered a third trial which ended with another hung jury. In 1981 their fourth trial resulted in an acquittal for both. One inmate, serving a sentence for armed robbery, was released. The other inmate, serving a life sentence for a previous murder conviction, remained in prison.