Two men were found guilty in the 2007 shooting death of the Oakland-based journalist, who was covering the troubled finances of Your Black Muslim Bakery when he was killed by a masked gunman.
The former head of the bakery, Yusuf Bey IV, and co-defendant Antoine Mackey were found guilty of murder, with prosecutors saying, “Bey felt he was above the law and was so desperate to protect the legacy of his family’s once-influential bakery that he ordered Bailey murdered,” according to the Associated Press. Their attorneys said they plan to appeal.
“I hope that it sends the message that the First Amendment is not going to be murdered by murdering journalists,” prosecutor Melissa Krum told the Associated Press. “You cannot kill the man and expect the message to be killed.”
Frank Smyth of the Committee to Protect Journalists echoed this sentiment, saying, “This sends a signal to those who would violently attack the press in the United States that they will not get away with it.”
After his death, a local media coalition called the Chauncey Bailey Project was set up to finish the stories Bailey never would and to investigate the Oakland police’s handling of the killing, which was criticized. Watch a 2008 “60 Minutes” piece on the case here.
