Military Law
May 19, 2026
A decorated veteran, a hidden informant and a wrongful conviction
Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt's case shows how political targeting and hidden informants can destroy an innocent man--and why the justice system still hasn't fully learned the lesson.
In 1972, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt--a decorated Vietnam veteran who served two
combat tours with the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper and long-range
reconnaissance specialist--was convicted of murdering schoolteacher Caroline
Olsen during a 1968 tennis court robbery in Santa Monica. Her husband was
wounded in the attack. Reaching the rank of sergeant, Pratt earned the
Soldier's Medal for heroism in saving fellow soldiers. Pratt always maintained
his...
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