Jalil Muntaqim’s release had been opposed by the families of the two police officers he was convicted of murdering in 1971

Jalil Muntaqim, a former Black Panther who has been in prison for 47 years, has been told he must spend at least another 15 months behind bars having been denied release for the ninth time by a New York state parole board.

The three-member parole panel voted this week by two-to-one to keep Muntaqim, AKA Anthony Bottom, incarcerated in the maximum-security Sullivan correctional facility in upstate New York. His release had been vociferously opposed by the New York City police unions and by the widow of one of the two police officers he was convicted of murdering in 1971.

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Muntaqim’s ninth denial since he became eligible for parole in 1998 was in stark contrast to the release in April of his fellow Black Liberation Army member and accomplice, Herman Bell. At his parole hearing, Bell had expressed revulsion for the 1971 killings, saying: “There was nothing political about the act, as much as I thought at the time. It was murder and horribly wrong.”

The Guardian in July profiled Muntaqim’s battle to get out of prison almost half a century after he was arrested for the murders of the two police officers, Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones, in a shooting in Harlem. The officers had been drawn to the spot for what they thought was a domestic dispute but were then ambushed.

At the time the Black Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Black Panthers, claimed responsibility for the attack. Within days, Muntaqim who was then 19, Bell and Albert “Nuh” Washington were arrested for the killings.

Muntaqim and Bell were convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life. Washington died in prison in 2000.

The parole board’s denial means that Muntaqim will continue for at least another year to be incarcerated. He is among 18 men and women who are still in prison for acts carried out in the 1960s and 70s as part of the black liberation struggle.

Since the Guardian reported on their collective plight in July one of the group, Mike Africa, has been released on parole from Graterford prison in Pennsylvania.

Mike Africa was allowed out to rejoin his wife Debbie Africa who had also been incarcerated for 40 years following a police siege of their black liberation commune in Philadelphia in 1978. Debbie Africa, like her husband a member of the Move organization that still exists today, was granted parole in June.

But Mike and Debbie Africa’s success stories remain very rare examples of lenient treatment from judicial authorities towards black radicals accused of violent acts dating back decades. Many of those still behind bars are ageing and suffering rapidly declining health; the oldest, Sundiata Acoli, is 81.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jalil Muntaqim, Herman Bell and Albert ‘Nuh’ Washington were convicted of killing NYPD officers Joseph Piagentini, left, and Waverly Jones in Harlem in 1971. Photograph: New York State Senate

Muntaqim had been hoping that recent reforms in parole regulations in New York state would work to his benefit, particularly after Herman Bell was allowed to leave prison. The changes require the authorities to give individualized reasons for refusing parole in cases where the prisoner has been classified a low risk of reoffending.

In this case, Muntaqim had been identified as low-risk. He also submitted a lengthy parole packet to the board summarizing his mentorship of other prisoners, his educational achievements and other accomplishments, and emphasising his remorse for the deaths of the two police officers.

The prisoner will now appeal against the board’s decision.

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Nora Carroll, an advocate with the Parole Preparation Project who supported Muntaqim in the parole process, said that his family and supporters were devastated that he had been knocked back again despite meeting all criteria for release. She said: “Jalil is a rehabilitated individual and a great-grandfather who has earned college degrees and served as a teacher and role model for other incarcerated people.”

She added: “Jalil has been in prison for 47 years and denied parole repeatedly in spite of his accomplishments and his expressions of remorse and acceptance of responsibility for the 1971 murders of two police officers.”

Muntaqim’s daughter and only child, Antoinette Russell, who was born six months after his arrest, said the outcome of the parole hearing was deeply hurtful but not entirely unexpected. “This has been my life. He has been denied so many times.”

Russell said she was baffled why the parole board would think it served any purpose to keep her father in prison. “He poses no risk to the public, that’s the craziest part of this. My dad has grown up in prison, he’s educated and has degrees. He was 19 when he went inside and now he’s 67 – what possible threat can he be, and to whom?”

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The Guardian contacted Diane Piagentini, widow of Joseph Piagentini, but did not receive an immediate reply. She made her case to the parole board in October when she argued strongly against Muntaqim’s release.

“Anthony Bottom never ever should be released from prison. My husband and Waverly Jones are not coming home, and Anthony Bottom should never be released,” she said.