Most people vote based on looks, publicity stunts etc. Clinton playing the saxophone on late night made his ratings soar. Kennedy got 90% of the female vote.

On August 6, 1974, Kathleen Smith, a 17-year-old Oakland native working as a underage sex worker was shot;[50] she died three months later. According to the prosecutor handling the case,[51] Newton shot Smith after a casual exchange on the street during which she referred to him as "Baby",[52] a childhood nickname he hated.[53]

Newton is also alleged to have assaulted his tailor, Preston Callins, after Callins called him "Baby." Newton posted bond after being arrested for pistol-whipping Callins, a crime for which he was later acquitted.[54] Newton was subsequently arrested a second time for the murder of Smith, but was able to post an additional $80,000 bond, thus securing his release until trial.[55]

Newton and his girlfriend (later his wife) Gwen Fontaine then fled to Havana, Cuba, where they lived until 1977,[56] which prevented further prosecution on the two charges. Elaine Brown took over as chairperson of the Black Panther Party in his absence.[57] Newton returned to the United States in 1977 to stand trial for the murder of Smith and the assault on Callins.[55]

In October 1977, three Black Panthers attempted to assassinate Crystal Gray, a key prosecution witness in Newton's upcoming trial who had been present the day of Kathleen Smith's murder. Unbeknownst to the assailants, they attacked the wrong house and the occupant returned fire. During the shootout one of the Panthers, Louis Johnson, was killed, and the other two assailants escaped.[58] One of the two surviving assassins, Flores Forbes, fled to Las Vegas, Nevada, with the help of Panther paramedic Nelson Malloy.[59]

In November 1977, Malloy was found by park rangers paralyzed from the waist down from bullet wounds to the back in a shallow grave in the desert outside of Las Vegas. According to Malloy, he and Forbes were ordered by "higher-ups" to be killed to eliminate any eyewitness accounts of the attempted murder of Crystal Gray. Malloy recovered from the assault and told police that fellow Panthers Rollin Reid and Allen Lewis were behind his attempted murder.[59] Newton denied any involvement or knowledge, and said that the events "might have been the result of overzealous party members."[51]

During Newton's trial for assaulting Preston Callins, Callins changed his testimony several times and eventually told the jury that he did not know who assaulted him.[55] Newton was acquitted of the assault in September 1978, but was convicted of illegal firearms possession.[60]

After the assassination attempt on Crystal Gray, she declined to testify against Newton. After two trials and two deadlocked juries, the prosecution decided not to retry Newton for Smith's murder.[61]