Rush to judgment in Al-Amin case
Many still believe he's innocent
By Dianne Mathiowetz
Atlanta
The brother of Imam Jamil Al-Amin, Ed Brown, told the press
outside the Fulton County Courthouse here on March 11: "We have
not been defeated. Many of those wrongly imprisoned have been
vindicated. And so we will fight for his life--in the courts
and on the streets. The struggle continues."
Representatives of many national Islamic groups who had come
to Atlanta joined Brown in expressing their belief that the
facts as presented in court did not warrant a conviction of
Al-Amin on charges of killing a Fulton County sheriff and
wounding another on March 16, 2000.
In a decision that shocked and puzzled many who have been
following the case, the jury took less than 10 hours to convict
Al-Amin on all 13 counts of the indictment. Both seasoned
television reporters and casual observers were asking how, with
all the discrepancies in the case against him, no one on this
jury of six men and six women had "reasonable doubt" about his
guilt. Votes were taken on 13 separate charges in less than 10
hours, meaning there could have been little or no substantive
discussion of the evidence.
The most glaring problem area is that of the identification
of Al-Amin as the assailant by the wounded deputy, Aldernon
English. Although he gave four differing accounts of the
incident and the physical description of the shooter, two
elements remained consistent in all versions. English
steadfastly claimed that the suspect had gray eyes and that he
had been wounded by police fire. The dying sheriff, Ricky
Kinchen, also stated that the assailant had been shot.
Police and media all focused on the "trail of blood" as they
searched the neighborhood for the killer. This same blood trail
was used as a basis for a search of Al-Amin's property.
Al-Amin, however, has brown eyes and was uninjured when
arrested in Alabama four days later on March 20, 2000.
Another set of facts should have created "reasonable doubt"
about English's identification of Al-Amin. Police came to the
deputy's hospital room within hours of life-saving surgery to
show him a picture line-up. The prosecution claims that English
was coherent enough to identify Al-Amin's photo, but has no
explanation for why English insists that the mayor of Atlanta
and the police chief were in his hospital room at the time.
They were not.
Facts still fishy
Still another set of contradictory testimony should have
caused the jury "reasonable doubt." FBI agents claimed that
Al-Amin fired on them before running into some woods in White
Hall, Ala. This element was needed to show that Al-Amin had
possession of guns.
Area residents who witnessed the pursuit testified that the
only shots came from the agents. Some hours later, Al-Amin was
taken into custody by a local police officer who shielded him
with his body as FBI agents came bursting out of the woods.
Al-Amin's hands were never tested for gunpowder residue to
establish that he had fired a gun.
Two weapons linked to the Atlanta shooting were supposedly
found the next day by FBI agents. They also were not tested to
verify that they had been recently fired and no fingerprints
were found on the guns. The same agent who kicked and spat on
Al-Amin as he lay handcuffed on the ground directed the search
that found the guns.
It is these inconsistencies and others that lead Mahdi Bray
of the Muslim Public Affairs Council to ask whether the
standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt" for conviction no
longer applied in U.S. courts.
The trial entered the penalty phase on March 11. The
prosecution is asking the jury to sentence Al-Amin to death.
The jury has three options to consider-death, life without
parole, and life with parole.
Kinchen's widow, mother and sister were the first to address
the jury. The state is expected to conclude its presentation
with Al-Amin's New York conviction in 1971 of attempted
robbery. The judge in the trial, Stephanie B. Manis, disallowed
the use of testimony by police in that 30-year-old case, which
happened when Al-Amin was the Black Power leader H. Rap
Brown.
For most of the rest of the week, the defense will present
character witnesses. Lead defense attorney Jack Martin told the
jurors that in assessing the punishment, they need to "judge
the totality of his life." Speaking on Al-Amin's behalf will be
many who participated alongside him in the movement, risking
death and physical assaults to register African-Americans to
vote in Alabama and Mississippi. Residents of White Hall, Ala.,
will testify to the difference the young H. Rap Brown made in
their lives and to his continued efforts as a Muslim cleric to
improve their conditions.
Respected in community
Members of the West End neighborhood of Atlanta will detail
his role in organizing the community to get rid of drug dealing
and prostitution, of his programs to engage children in sports
and education and away from gangs and violence.
Attendants of the Community Mosque he founded will take to
the stand to describe his spiritual leadership and other Muslim
clerics will describe the many positions of responsibility he
holds in Islamic organizations.
Mobilizing efforts to win Al-Amin's freedom have
redoubled.
A rally at the Fulton County Courthouse will start on
Monday, March 18, at 11 a.m. Initiated by the Peace and Justice
Foundation, it is expected to draw supporters from around the
country.
Another national event is being called for early April by a
coalition of Islamic groups.
Al-Amin, who has always said he is innocent and the victim
of a government conspiracy, released a statement read at the
news conference on Monday. After thanking all those who have
supported him, he said, "This decision should pierce the
consciousness of many people and let them see the intensity of
the struggle. We should raise our level of struggle."
Reprinted from the March 21, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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