Conviction of H. Rap Brown/Jamil El-Amin

DoggyStyle82 · #1 03-13-2002, 01:01 PM

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Did he get a fair trial? Will he get the death penalty? Why are so many prominent AA's supporting him after his conviction?

TLAW · #2 03-27-2002, 03:02 PM

Looking at the case, I think there is a lot that needs to be revisited. Though I am not a law expert, it would seem that there was a huge consequence for a crime verified by a minimum of visual witnesses.
A police officer died. This is a huge tragedy. If Brown was innocent, he had the fact that a police officer died. After 9/11, any crime against an officer of the law is practically unforgivable. Being a muslim didn't help, either.
On the flip side, I would love to be able to say that a conspiracy by our government is totally out of the question. Sadly, I cannot. Anyone remember FBI vs MLK? Hey, stuff still happens...

DoggyStyle82 · #3 03-30-2002, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TLAW
Looking at the case, I think there is a lot that needs to be revisited. Though I am not a law expert, it would seem that there was a huge consequence for a crime verified by a minimum of visual witnesses.
A police officer died. This is a huge tragedy. If Brown was innocent, he had the fact that a police officer died. After 9/11, any crime against an officer of the law is practically unforgivable. Being a muslim didn't help, either.
On the flip side, I would love to be able to say that a conspiracy by our government is totally out of the question. Sadly, I cannot. Anyone remember FBI vs MLK? Hey, stuff still happens...

He being a Muslim was immaterial since he was AA and not an Arab. The crime happened nearly two years before 9/11. The jury consisted of 9 AA's. Al Amin had no alibi. The getaway car was his and contained bullet holes from the the dead officers (also Black)gun. The surviving officer (also Black) positively identified Al Amin as the one who killed his partner and also shot him. The get away car and the murder weapons were found in the woods in Alabama where Al Amin was found hiding nearby. After nearly 30 years of uninterrupted living, why would the FBI go after him at this point ?

TLAW · #4 03-30-2002, 05:47 PM

I must admit to not having as good a grasp on this case as U seem to. It would seem that there is a wealth of evidence that even a charge of racism would be hard pressed to deny.
I do disagree with your points on the timing of the accident. If I do recall correctly, the defense were worried about the case in relation to 9/11. Thought the crime happened long before 9/11, it was virtually impossible to find a jury pool not sympathetic to the police. I think that the fact that the crime happened two years was almost nullified by the timing of the trial.
Also, the backlash against followers of Islam is far from being solely directed to Muslims of Arab descent. Today, being a Muslim is not very popular. This is true whether you are from Pakistan or Alabama. Granted, being a black Muslim might be easier in terms of "racial religous" profiling, but in the post-9/11 USA, it doesn't matter what "type" of Islam you practice.
That being said, with what you presented, it is hard to claim a miscarriage of justice.

DoggyStyle82 · #5 04-01-2002, 06:29 PM

You may be right on the anti-Muslim sentiment. From my perspective, I see it as more anti-Arab/Middle Eastern. I just haven't seen a backlash against African or Black American Muslims or even white Muslims, just Middle Easterners and Arabs.