It was May 2, 1973, not long after midnight when Troopers James Harper and Werner Foerster were patrolling the New Jersey Turnpike and stopped a car with three occupants, two men and a woman. The car had been running only slightly above the speed limit but had a non-functioning taillight. Details of various accounts differ, but there is no doubt that a gunfight involving semi-automatic weapons erupted and Trooper Foerster was fatally wounded, first by shots from the weapons carried by those in the car and then shot in the head with his own service weapon.
On November 2, 1979, Chesimard was taken from her cell to the visitor’s area to meet with several people who had come to see her. It was a setup. In a daring daylight prison break, the visitors produced weapons, took a Corrections Officer and a prison driver hostage, and drove off the prison grounds into a nearby parking lot where other vehicles awaited them.
Despite an intensive search spanning several years, Chesimard was not apprehended before making her way to Cuba.
On numerous occasions attempts have been made to persuade Cuba to extradite Chesimard, to no avail. Now, regardless of any potential normalizing of relations, Cuba has indicated that it has no intention of returning Chesimard to the US.
Chesimard, by the way, has long since chosen to go by a different name, and we have chosen not to use it. We have also chosen not to use a photo of her, choosing instead to honor Trooper Foerster by using his photo with this story.
No matter her name or her appearance, Joanne Chesimard remains a convicted killer and a fugitive from justice.
