Acoli was born on January 14, 1937, in Decatur, Texas, and raised in Vernon, Texas. He graduated from Prairie View A&M University of Texas in 1956 with a degree in mathematics and for the next 13 years worked for various computer-oriented firms, mostly in the New York area. During the summer of 1964 he participated in civil rights work in Mississippi. In 1968, Acoli joined the Harlem Black Panther Party as its finance minister. He was arrested on April 2, 1969, in the Panther 21 conspiracy case, in which members were accused of planned coordinated bombing and long-range rifle attack on two police stations and an education office in New York City. A group called Computer People for Peace raised $50,000 bail for him but it was rejected by the judge. He and all his co-defendants were ultimately acquitted of all charges in that case.
In May 1973, while driving the New Jersey Turnpike, his car was stopped by N.J. state troopers. Zayd Malik Shakur, was killed and Assata Shakur, was wounded and captured. One state trooper, Werner Foerster, was killed and the other wounded. Sundiata was captured days later. He was convicted of the death of the state trooper and was sentenced to New Jersey State Prison for life plus 30 years consecutive.
Prison
Upon entering New Jersey State Prison he was subsequently confined to a new and specially created Management Control Unit created for him and other politically associated prisoners. He remained in MCU almost five years. In September 1979, Sundiata was transferred to Marion, Illinois, federal prison despite having no federal charges or sentences. In July 1987 he was transferred to the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. In the fall of 1992, Sundiata was denied parole. He was up for parole again in 2012. On September 29, 2014, a discredited New Jersey state appeals court officially granted Acoli's request for parole, though the state of New Jersey appealed this ruling. A higher court reversed this ruling in February, 2017. On November 21, 2017, the appeals board denied parole, and Acoli will not be eligible to apply again until 2032 when he will be 94 years old.
