Twenty to Life: The Life & Times of John Sinclair

Twenty to Life: The Life & Times of John Sinclair

  • Overview
  • Cast
  • Crew

Status

Released

Release Date

Jun 19, 2004

Runtime

1h 26m

Genres

Documentary

Original Title

Twenty to Life: The Life & Times of John Sinclair

Production Companies

Big Chief Productions, Music Video Distributors

Director

Steve Gebhardt

Description

John Sinclair first emerged out of his small-town Michigan background to forge a legendary course through the 1960s as a cultural activist, manager of the MC5, and Chairman of the White Panther Party. An early victim of the War on Drugs who faced 20 years to life in prison for giving two joints to an undercover policewoman, Sinclair served 29 months of a 9-1/2-to-10-year sentence before his legal victory on appeal changed the law for good. The long campaign waged by Sinclair culminated in a massive John Sinclair Freedom Rally headlined by John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger, Phil Ochs, Allen Ginsberg and Bobby Seale that resulted in Sinclair's release from prison on December 13, 1971-just three days after the event (Clint Weiler)