Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt (September 13, 1947 – June 2, 2011), also known as Geronimo Ji-Jaga and Geronimo Ji-Jaga Pratt, was a decorated military veteran and a high-ranking member of the Black Panther Party in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Born in Louisiana, he served two tours in Vietnam, receiving several decorations. He moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at UCLA under the GI Bill and joined the Black Panther Party. The Federal Bureau of Investigation targeted Pratt in a COINTELPRO operation in the early 1970s, intended to "neutralize Pratt as an effective BPP functionary." Pratt was tried and convicted in 1972 for the 1968 murder of Caroline Olsen; he served 27 years in prison, eight of which were in solitary confinement. Pratt was freed in 1997 when his conviction was vacated due to the prosecution's having withheld exculpatory evidence that tended to prove his innocence. This decision was upheld on appeal. He worked as a human rights activist until the time of his death. Pratt was also the godfather of the late rapper Tupac Shakur. He died of a heart attack in Tanzania, on June 3, 2011. Early years and military service Elmer Pratt was born in Morgan City, Louisiana, where his father was in the scrap metal business. Pratt was raised Catholic. Pratt was a star quarterback at Sumpter Williams High School. He served two combat tours as a soldier in the Vietnam War, reaching the rank of sergeant. He was highly decorated, earning two Bronze Stars, a Silver Star, and two Purple Hearts.<ref name="nyt-obit">Douglas Martin, "Elmer G. Pratt, Jailed Panther Leader, Dies at 63", The New York Times (June 3, 2011); Retrieved June 4, 2011.</ref> He later moved to Los Angeles. UCLA and Black Panther Party After leaving the Army, Pratt studied political science at UCLA, using a grant provided by the GI Bill. Pratt became politically active and was recruited into the Black Panthers by Bunchy Carter and John Huggins. When Pratt joined the Black Panthers, his years in the army proved useful. He rose to become Deputy Minister of Defense of the local organization, after Bunchy Carter and John Huggins were killed by COINTELPRO infiltrators in the Us Organization. He took the name "Geronimo," after a prominent Apache chief and leader of resistance to US domination, and "Ji-Jaga," after a Central African tribe. In 1971, his wife Saundra was killed