A Chronology of Imam Jamil Al-Amin’s Cases and Activities
Imam Jamil Al-Amin was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana/USA, on October 4, 1943. He attended primary and high school in the city of his birth. Following is a chronology of Imam Jamil’s civil and human rights history.
1960-1964 Imam Jamil Al-Amin attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During the summers of 1962 and 1963, he worked with the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG) in Washington, D.C. After completing three years at Southern University, he left Louisiana to work with NAG whereupon in 1964, he was elected chairperson and worked to bring the college students and African American community together.
Imam Jamil then spent much of the summer of 1964 with the Mississippi Summer Project and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. He attended the Atlantic City Democratic Convention as part of the MFDP.
1964-1965 Imam Jamil was employed by the Department of Agriculture during the year and, also, worked as a neighborhood worker for an anti-poverty program in D.C.
1966-1967 Imam Jamil, then known as H. Rap Brown, was appointed Director of the Greene County Project in Alabama for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and was responsible for organizing projects in the state of Alabama. Law enforcement agencies immediately monitored his activities and leveled several infractions against him, especially during times of county and state elections. Imam Jamil was instrumental in organizing the Black vote.
May 1967 Imam Jamil was elected Chairman of SNCC, succeeding Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture); guided the organization to focus on human rights issues.
July 24, 1967 Imam Jamil was invited by a local civil rights group to address a rally in Cambridge, Maryland. Immediately following the speech, and while walking with a group down Race Street, Imam Jamil received a gunshot wound to his forehead as local police officers fired shots into the group of Black community residents. About four hours after the Imam left the state, the Pine Street Elementary School burned. This school had burned twice before, and was a shell at the tie of the July 24th burning.
The Imam was treated for his gunshot wound immediately after being shot, and prepared for a drive to Washington, D.C. The police followed his auto to the Maryland state line and watched him leave the state. A fugitive warrant was issued, and then translated into a federal warrant—a descendant of the Fugitive Slave Law.
The U. S. Attorney issued the federal warrant, and the Imam was charged with counseling to arson, and inciting to arson and riot.
July 25, 1967 The FBI made arrangements with Attorney William Kunstler to have his client, Imam Jamil, surrender to the FBI in lower Manhattan (New York City), at 11:00 AAM, on July 26, 1967.
July 26, 1967 The FBI arrested Imam Jamil at the National Airport in Virginia, while he was en route to New York to surrender at the prearranged time and place. He was taken to Alexandria, Virginia, released by the federal authorities, but arrested again by Alexandria, Virginia police officials. The Imam later was released on $10,000 bail.
August 1, 1967 While on a trip Dayton, Ohio to make a speech, officials charged the Imam with “advocating criminal syndicalism.” No indictment was pressed.
August 14, 1967 The Imam traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from New York City to visit his parents. During his travel, he carried a rifle and checked it with airline authorities.
August 18, 1967 Imam Jamil returned to New York City.
August 19, 1967 The Imam was arrested at 2:00 AM in New York City and charged with two violations of the Federal Firearms Act, which makes it “unlawful for any person who is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year...to ship, transport...in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm or ammunition.” (The new charge was based on the August 14th indictment; the arson Maryland charge carried an imprisonment term of more than one year.)
The Imam was taken to New Orleans, and bail was set at $25,000. It later was reduced to $15,000 and the Imam was released with a bond restriction confining him to the Southern District of New York—Manhattan, Bronx, and nine counties within the Westchester jurisdiction. The District Court stipulated that Imam Jamil could only travel when permitted by the Court at its discretion.
1968 - 1970 Broker of peace treaties with street organizations.
January 11, 1968 Imam Jamil was charged with intimidating/assaulting a New York City police officer as he and another SNCC worker were leaving the lobby of the Cuban Mission. The incident occurred after the officer inquired about a package the SNCC worker was carrying. Imam Jamil remained in the Embassy for hours and was released after his attorneys held legal discussions with the NYPD. This charge finally was dropped in February 1968.
February 18-20, 1968 Imam Jamil traveled to California to confer with his attorneys. While in California, he was invited to speak at a Black Panther rally and did so with his attorneys present.
February 20, 1968 Imam Jamil returned to New York City and was arrested approximately seven hours later. He was charged with violating the terms of his previous bond, which restricted him to the Southern District of New York. Imam Jamil’s attorneys maintained that trips to confer with attorneys were allowed by the Court. He was released in New York and required to appear in New Orleans the following day.
February 21, 1968 Judge Lansing Mitchell set a $50,000 bail in New Orleans. During the court recess, the Imam was charged with threatening an FBI agent in the court hallway. Witnesses took the stand on the Imam’s behalf describing the incident; however, the judge, a former FBI agent, set a $50,000 bail on that charge and the Imam was jailed on a total of $100,000 bail.
April 11, 1968 While the Imam was in New Orleans Parish Prison, the “Rap Brown” Federal Anti-Riot Act was passed. The legislation, passed several days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was tagged onto a fair housing law at the last minute by Strom Thurmond.
April 19, 1968 Imam Jamil remained in Parish Prison, fasting a total of 48 days, until April 19th, when bail finally was reduced by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals from $100,000 to a total of $30,000; $15,000 on the travel violation, and $15,000 on the intimidation charge. Bond was posted and the Imam was taken directly to Virginia where the judge refused to set bail. The Imam waived extradition and was taken immediately to Maryland and released on bond.
May 13-22, 1968 Over objections from Imam Jamil’s attorneys, trial on the Federal Firearms charge was held less than a month from his release in New Orleans. The jury found the Imam innocent of carrying the rifle to New Orleans while under indictment, but guilty of carrying the rifle back to New York while under indictment. The government presented news clippings, and television and radio personnel as witnesses whom stated that stories concerning the Maryland indictment were carried during August 16-18, 1967. Judge Mitchell sentenced the Imam to the maximum sentence of five years and a $2,000 fine. The Imam was continued on the original $15,000 bond, pending appeal. He returned to New York City and was confined to the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
August 29, 1968 The New York Times reported that the Republican Party leader of the House, Gerald Ford of Michigan, stated it was time to “slam the door” on H. Rap Brown and other Black power advocates. Gerald Ford and Everett McKinley Dirksen of Illinois cited Republican backing of the House-passed anti-riot bill. Ford maintained that the anti-riot bill could be used against the Imam, while Dirksen felt there were existing laws on the books that could be used against the Imam.
April 3, 1969 Imam Jamil’s five-year sentence on the technical firearms charge was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and the matter remanded to the District Court for an electronic surveillance hearing.
1969 Author, Die Nigger Die!
March 9, 1970 Almost three years after the Cambridge, Maryland incident, the state of Maryland selected Bel Air, Maryland, as the site for the Imam’s trial on counseling and inciting to arson and riot. Pre-trial hearings were scheduled over the objections of the Imam’s attorneys.
During the morning hours, a vehicle carrying two SNCC organizers, Ralph Featherstone and William Che Payne, exploded; both men were killed.
March 10, 1970 Imam Jamil failed to appear for a hearing in Bel Air, Maryland.
April 20, 1970 The trial site was changed to Ellicott City, Maryland. The Imam did not appear for trial.
May 6, 1970 Based on the federal charge of violating the Federal Firearms Act, the Maryland charge of inciting to arson and riot, and the federal charge of intimidating an FBI agent, the FBI placed the Imam on the “10 Most Wanted List.”
Hearing on wiretap issue was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Court ruled that all wiretap material was irrelevant to the Federal Firearms indictment, conviction, and sentence.
September 24, 1970 Judge Lansing Mitchell imposed the maximum sentence of five years, $2,000 fine in the Imam’s absence.
January 11, 1971 Reporter Robert Woodward revealed that Dorchester County state’s attorney, William B. Yates, stated to the Howard County state’s attorney, Richard J. Kinlein, that the arson charge against the Imam was fabricated to insure involvement of the FBI. This arson charge, a felony, also was essential to the Federal Firearms arrest, indictment, and conviction.
October 16, 1971 Imam Jamil was shot and beaten on a rooftop on the westside of New York City by police officers. He subsequently was charged with 24 counts of robbery, attempted murder, and possession of weapons, and was held under a $250,000 bail.
October 19, 1971 The Maryland State Attorney Kinlein, who revealed to Robert Woodward that he was told the Maryland charge against the Imam was fabricated, was convicted of contempt of court and fined $350.00 for making a statement “prejudicial to a fair trial.” No action was taken against the prosecutor who admitted the fabrication to Kinlein; however, later the prosecutor, William Yates, denied the allegation.
December 1971 Imam Jamil takes his shahada in the Rikers Island, New York jail and proclaims he is a Muslim with the name Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin.
March 17, 1972 Imam Jamil moved to reinstate his appeal on the federal firearms conviction. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals set aside the sentence based on the fact that Judge Mitchell sentenced the Imam in absentia—an improper act.
June 2, 1972 Although the Imam was recovering from wounds sustained in October 1971, Judge Mitchell obtained a writ to have the Imam moved for resentencing to New Orleans from New York City, where he was awaiting trial. The Imam’s attorneys argued for Judge Mitchell to reduce the sentence. At the time of sentencing and in 1968, the Imam did not have a record of prior convictions. Mitchell, however, imposed the maximum sentence of five years and a $2,000 fine, and stipulated that this sentence not begin until New York released the Imam. This was ordered even though the Imam was awaiting trial in New York and was electing not to post the $200,000 bail, reduced from $250,000 in February 1972.
October 23, 1972 One week before the scheduled start of the New York trial, New York Magazine published an article written by a former Commissioner of the New York City Police Department. The article was an attempt to describe dramatically the events of the morning of October 16, 1971, as told by police officers; it was highly prejudicial to the Imam and extremely inaccurate. The attorney representing the magazine and writer conceded that various sections of the article contained misrepresentations. The District Attorney maintained he had not encouraged the printing of the story and the trial judge refuses the defense'’ motion for dismissal. The Imam filed a damage suit against the magazine, writer, and New York City Police Department.
January 15, 1973 After preliminary trial hearings in November and December, and after three weeks of selecting a jury, the Imam and three codefendants began trial in New York.
March 29, 1973 The jury returned a guilty verdict on six counts of robbery, three counts of assault in the first degree, and, two counts of possession of a weapon. The jury remained deadlocked on the three counts of attempted murder, and was dismissed from any further deliberation.
April 1973 The government dismissed the 1968 indictment charging the Imam with intimidating an FBI agent; the government was ordered to prosecute or dismiss. Judge Mitchell recused himself from hearing the case based on the fact he was a former FBI agent and therefore would be partial. He refused, however, to recuse himself from any hearings on the 1968 federal firearms conviction.
May 9, 1973 The Imam was sentenced in New York to concurrent terms of 0-15 years on each robbery count, five to 15 years on the assault count, and 0 to 7 years on each weapon count.
September 1973 The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to overturn the New Orleans conviction.
October 1973 The Imam filed a brief before the Supreme Court based on the wiretap issue in the New Orleans case. The Supreme Court subsequently rejected to review the case. Justice William O. Douglass dissented.
November 2, 1973 The Imam was transported from Attica Correctional Facility to Baltimore, Maryland, to stand trial on the 1967 charge of inciting to riot and arson.
November 6, 1973 The Maryland Prosecutor, who admitted the fabrication of the arson charge to Kinlein, announced during preliminary hearings that the state would not prosecute. The Imam was arraigned on a misdemeanor charge of failing to appear after forfeiture of bond. He received the maximum one year imprisonment sentence and a $1,000 fine to run concurrently, as of October 16, 1971, with the New York sentence.
April 29, 1974 A New Orleans patent attorney wrote William Kunstler stating that prior to the 1968 trial in New Orleans he overheard the trial judge, Lansing Mitchell, state to a group of friends at a Louisiana Bar Convention in Biloxi, Mississippi, that since he was just told he would preside over the “Rap Brown” trial, he wanted to take care of his health so that he could “get that nigger.” The Imam’s attorneys immediately filed timely motions challenging the conviction and sentence.
January 24, 1975 The Imam was transported to New Orleans for a hearing on overturning the 1968 conviction or reducing the five-year maximum sentence based on Mitchell’s prejudicial pretrial statement and recently revealed governmental misconduct (COINTELPRO). Another judge heard the argument, believed the patent attorney, and stated that Judge Mitchell probably made the statement. Months later, however, the judge refused to overturn the conviction or reduce the sentence. The government was forced, at the January 24th hearing, to admit the Imam was mentioned as a “target” in sections of the COINTELPRO document.
September 1975 The Imam’s attorneys filed an appeal in New York challenging the New York conviction.
December 17, 1975 The Imam’s attorneys filed an appeal on the New Orleans conviction before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal raised the validity of the 1968 conviction and sentence based on Mitchell’s “get that nigger” statement and the government’s admitted COINTELPRO misconduct. Additional surveillance memos from the U.S. Navy Department were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and incorporated into the appeal.
May 13, 1976 The Imam’s attorneys, William M. Kunstler and Elizabeth Schneider, engaged in oral argument before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the 1968 New Orleans conviction and sentence.
May 28, 1976 The State of New York answered the Imam’s New York appeal and oral argument before the Appellate Division was scheduled for June 1976.
June 1976 The Appellate Division refused to overturn the Imam’s 1973 New York conviction.
October 11, 1976 The Imam appeared before the New York State Parole Board. He served the five-year minimum sentence ordered by the New York trial judge. Hundreds of letters were sent to the parole board in support of his release. The Imam was released. In addition, the federal government dropped the Louisiana charges, and New York permitted the Imam to transfer his parole to Atlanta, Georgia.
November 1976 Imam Jamil travels to Saudi Arabia for his hajj and returns to Atlanta, Georgia to organize a Muslim community in the southwest part (West End) of Atlanta.
1977 – 2000 Imam, The Community Mosque, Atlanta, GA.
1983 Convenor, the first Riyaadah, a national annual sports competition, held in Atlanta, Georgia.
October 1986 The Imam completed his parole supervision in Atlanta, Georgia, and was released from parole.
1987 National participant of the “Stop the Killing Movement,” which produced community empowerment drug patrols.
1990 Founder and co-convener of the National Majlis Ash-Shura, a council of Muslim leaders representing the majority of Muslims in the United States.
1991 Member of peace envoys to Chicago, Los Angeles, and other major cities to engage in truce and cease fire negotiations among street (gang) organizations.
1992 Member of peace envoy that produced a national truce and peace treaty signed by major street gangs.
1990s Vice president and president of the American Muslim Council that established innovative programs, such as the Military Muslim Chaplaincy, Muslim Census, National Prison Chaplaincy Board member, Islamic Society of North America, Plainfield, Indiana Organizer of the National Community Hajj Project responsible for coordinating hajj for hundreds of Muslims from the U.S. and traveling with the groups during the 1990s.
1993 Co-convener of first National Urban Peace and Justice Summit, Kansas City, that developed an urban peace treaty and policy initiative
1994 Author, Revolution by the Book: The Rap is Live
August 7, 1995 Imam Jamil was arrested in Atlanta by the ATF, FBI, and a police officer on loan to the FBI’s counter-terrorism task force, on suspicion of aggravated assault on a neighborhood resident. He was charged with aggravated assault, and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. The alleged victim never identified the Imam as the suspect, although city and government agents attempted to pressure him in doing so.
August 8, 1995 The Imam was released from jail on $27,500 bail. The City of Atlanta and the federal government failed to indict the Imam on the alleged charges. The victim became Muslim and is a worshipper at the Imam’s mosque in the West End area of Atlanta, Georgia.
May 31, 1999 Imam Jamil was stopped by a Cobb County police officer while driving in Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia. He was cited and arrested for driving a reported stolen vehicle, and having no proof of insurance. The police officer searched Imam Jamil’s wallet and saw a badge, and without questioning the Imam further, the officer added the charge of impersonating a police officer. The Imam was released on a $10,000 bond. After the arrest, the Imam presented evidence from the mayor of Whitehall, Alabama, to the Cobb County prosecutor’s office that confirmed the Imam’s appointment as an auxiliary officer for youth in the town of Whitehall, Alabama. In addition, affidavits were submitted that countered the "theft by receiving” a stolen car charge.
January 28, 2000 Imam Jamil’s Cobb County case was scheduled for a trial call. A storm caused the Superior Court of Cobb County to experience delays in the calendar calls. Imam Jamil did not have legal representation that day, and the Imam received no further notification concerning the case.
March 16, 2000 Shortly before 10:00 PM, two deputies of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department approached the Imam’s store in the West End area of Atlanta, Georgia to serve a bench warrant for the Imam’s failure to appear in Cobb County for trial stemming from the May 31, 1999 stop, search, and arrest. The store was closed, and they left. The deputies returned and upon seeing an individual in the street outside of the store, shots were fired. One deputy was killed and the other remained in the hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. Although conflicting identification details were given of the assailant, none matching those of Imam Jamil, the surviving deputy purportedly identified Imam Jamil. As a result, various state, local, and federal law agencies launched a massive manhunt for the Imam.
March 20, 2000 Imam Jamil was arrested in White Hall, Alabama, and subsequently charged with the murder of one deputy and the wounding of another. During the capture, the Imam is beaten and spat upon by an FBI agent who has a history of misconduct. Imam Jamil is taken to Montgomery, Alabama, where he stayed for one month while fighting extradition to Georgia. While in the Montgomery Detention Center, Imam Jamil was indicted in Georgia on 13 counts including felony murder, aggravated assault upon a peach officer, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during a commission of a felony. Imam Jamil remained in Montgomery, Alabama, fighting extradition to Georgia. He was represented by Alabama attorneys J. L. Chestnut, Rose Sanders, and Georgia attorney, Musa Dan-Fodio.
April 21, 2000 Imam Jamil was moved from Montgomery, Alabama, to Cobb County, Georgia, and placed in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
April 24, 2000 Imam Jamil appeared before a Cobb Magistrate who explained the Cobb County charges.
May 4, 2000 Imam Jamil made his first appearance in Fulton County Superior Court. Two Georgia attorneys, Jack Martin and Bruce Harvey, were approved and appointed by the Superior Court of Fulton County to represent the Imam on the Fulton County charges. The Fulton County DA announced that it would seek the death penalty, and the attorneys for Imam Jamil filed numerous motions.
May 31, 2000 Imam Jamil appeared in Fulton County Superior Court, and among the issues addressed was the violation by Sheriff Jackie Barrett of a restrictive order in that she released transmission tapes of one of the deputies calling for help while shots were being fired on the evening of March 16, 2000. The Superior Court judge found Sheriff Barrett in “constructive contempt” of the restrictive order.
June 22, 2000 Imam Jamil is transferred to the Fulton County Jail from the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
June 28, 2000 Imam Jamil appeared in Fulton County Superior Court where Judge Stephanie Manis announced she had been randomly selected to be the presiding judge at trial. Issues were discussed relative to the discovery process and a time table for the District Attorney to produce scientific findings and photographs.
January-March 9, 2002 Jury selection begins in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, with Imam Jamil’s team of four attorneys—Jack Martin, Bruce Harvey, Tony Axam, and Michael Warren of New York. The trial ultimately lasts for just three weeks, with the jury taking less than 10 hours to reach a guilty verdict on all 13 counts.
March 11, 2002 The sentencing phase began. Imam Jamil’s defense team called 20 character witnesses, including Andrew Young, civic, academic, and religious leaders, and human rights activists, to testify in his behalf to prevent imposition of the death penalty.
March 14, 2002 The jury announced a sentence of life without the possibility of parole on the two counts of murder and felony murder, while the judge imposed an additional 30 years to the sentence as punishment on the remaining 11 counts. Imam Jamil is moved immediately to Jackson, Georgia, and then to the Reidsville State Prison.
May 24, 2004 Georgia Supreme Court affirms Imam Jamil’s convictions.
June 28, 2004 The Georgia Supreme Court denies Imam Jamil’s Motion for Reconsideration.
November 2004 In response to grievances filed by Imam Jamil, The Georgia Department of Corrections ruled that Reidsville violated standard operating procedures by opening mail clearly marked “legal” from Imam Jamil’s wife who is an attorney.
November 14, 2005 Counsel for Imam Jamil filed a habeas corpus (Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin v. Hugh Smith) in Superior Court of Tattnall County, State of Georgia. The habeas corpus cited 14 grounds for reversal of Imam Jamil’s conviction and sentence, including the failure of his trial and appellate attorneys to investigate of the individual who confessed to the charges immediately after the March 2000 incident.
February 27, 2007 Habeas hearing held in Tattnall County where Imam Jamil is able to testify. Imam Jamil is able to highlight the ineffective assistance of counsel.
August 2, 2007 The public learns that Imam Jamil has been moved, without notice to his attorneys or family members, to Oklahoma City, and then to the Supermax federal prison in Florence, Colorado.
August 15, 2007 Imam Jamil is able to communicate with his attorneys that he was moved from Reidsville to an airport where he became ill. He was taken to the Atlanta Medical Center for two days of exploratory tests for chest pains, and then placed in federal custody. This move to a federal prison without a federal charge, conviction, or sentence, was possible based on a March 1990 Agreement between the Georgia Department of Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons to accept a state prison for monthly compensation.
Prior to this move, Georgia Muslim inmates initiated an effort to name Imam Jamil as the Imam for all Muslim inmates in the Georgia prison system. The Department of Corrections requested that Imam Jamil ask the inmates to discontinue this effort; however, the FBI initiated an investigation in 2007, labeling its report, “The Radicalization of Muslim Inmates in the Georgia Prison System.” It becomes clear that the retaliatory move into federal custody is a direct outgrowth of the FBI involvement.
September 20, 2007 Attorneys from Kilpatrick Stockton argue before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Imam Jamil, citing a First Amendment violation when the staff at Reidsville opened his legal mail.
January 7, 2008 The 11th Court of Appeals ruled the Reidsville warden and staff violated Imam Jamil’s First Amendment rights by opening legal mail from his wife outside of his presence.
July 28, 2011 After six years, Judge Rose of Tattnall County, Georgia, denied Imam Jamil’s habeas corpus.
August 29, 2011 Imam Jamil’s attorneys filed an appeal to the Georgia State Supreme Court of the habeas denial.
Imam Jamil remains incarcerated in Florence, Colorado, housed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The State of Georgia continues to pay a daily per diem rate to the Bureau of Prisons for his incarceration.
March 2013 A FOIA request is submitted to the FBI by Attorney Karima Al-Amin to produce documents on Imam Jamil. The FBI responded that it had identified and would produce 21,649 pages of records from more than 44,000 pages.
May 2013 Imam Jamil became ill with a dental problem, which escalated into major medical problems.
June 2014 With the intervention of family members, attorneys, Congressional reps and the public, the FBOP conducted blood and other tests.
July 2014 After further public pressure and urging the FBOP to stop the “execution by medical neglect” of the Imam, he is moved out of the supermax prison in Florence, Colorado to the federal Butner Medical Center, in North Carolina. Imam Jamil has a bone marrow biopsy that confirmed that he has smoldering myeloma, an intermediate pre-cursor stage of multiple myeloma.
October 2014 Imam Jamil is moved from the Butner Medical Center to the USP Canaan federal prison, in Waymart, PA, where he was placed in general population. After 14 years of incarceration consisting of administrative and solitary confinement, Imam Jamil was able to attend in general population religious services and events.
September-October 2015 The FBI released the 4th FOIA interim CD to Karima Al-Amin which contained a BOLO (“be on the lookout”) bulletin issued the day after the March 16, 2000 with a description of the shooter of the sheriff’s deputies not matching that of Imam Jamil. The newly-disclosed FOIA documents were presented to the Court as a supplement to the habeas.
December 2015 Imam Jamil is moved from the USP Canaan federal prison to the USP Tucson, Arizona federal prison after requesting a move to a warmer climate closer to Atlanta, GA. Since the move is approximately 1,700 miles from his legal team, family, and supporters, he will continue to request a suitable transfer.
January-August 2016 Imam Jamil remains in the USP Tucson federal prison while waiting for his federal habeas to be argued.
The work of Imam Jamil Al-Amin (formerly known as H. Rap Brown) during the late 1960s, 1980s and ‘90s, with community-based and gang organization leaders and the development of an urban peace treaty and policy initiative resulted in a 10% drop in crime nationally and a 25% reduction in homicides among Black and Brown youth in the 1990s. Imam Al-Amin’s work in this area also gave him the opportunity to assist in initiating the national hip hop peace treaty and rappers pledge signed in Chicago which created peace between east coast and west coast rappers.
The work of the urban peace and justice movement has continued in many cities throughout the country. Imam Al-Amin was one of the architects and sustaining influences of this movement. Community organizers relate that Imam Al-Amin’s dedication to bringing peace is attributed to “saving thousands of lives.”
1960-1964 Imam Jamil Al-Amin attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During the summers of 1962 and 1963, he worked with the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG) in Washington, D.C. After completing three years at Southern University, he left Louisiana to work with NAG whereupon in 1964, he was elected chairperson and worked to bring the college students and African American community together.
Imam Jamil then spent much of the summer of 1964 with the Mississippi Summer Project and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. He attended the Atlantic City Democratic Convention as part of the MFDP.
1964-1965 Imam Jamil was employed by the Department of Agriculture during the year and, also, worked as a neighborhood worker for an anti-poverty program in D.C.
1966-1967 Imam Jamil, then known as H. Rap Brown, was appointed Director of the Greene County Project in Alabama for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and was responsible for organizing projects in the state of Alabama. Law enforcement agencies immediately monitored his activities and leveled several infractions against him, especially during times of county and state elections. Imam Jamil was instrumental in organizing the Black vote.
May 1967 Imam Jamil was elected Chairman of SNCC, succeeding Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture); guided the organization to focus on human rights issues.
July 24, 1967 Imam Jamil was invited by a local civil rights group to address a rally in Cambridge, Maryland. Immediately following the speech, and while walking with a group down Race Street, Imam Jamil received a gunshot wound to his forehead as local police officers fired shots into the group of Black community residents. About four hours after the Imam left the state, the Pine Street Elementary School burned. This school had burned twice before, and was a shell at the tie of the July 24th burning.
The Imam was treated for his gunshot wound immediately after being shot, and prepared for a drive to Washington, D.C. The police followed his auto to the Maryland state line and watched him leave the state. A fugitive warrant was issued, and then translated into a federal warrant—a descendant of the Fugitive Slave Law.
The U. S. Attorney issued the federal warrant, and the Imam was charged with counseling to arson, and inciting to arson and riot.
July 25, 1967 The FBI made arrangements with Attorney William Kunstler to have his client, Imam Jamil, surrender to the FBI in lower Manhattan (New York City), at 11:00 AAM, on July 26, 1967.
July 26, 1967 The FBI arrested Imam Jamil at the National Airport in Virginia, while he was en route to New York to surrender at the prearranged time and place. He was taken to Alexandria, Virginia, released by the federal authorities, but arrested again by Alexandria, Virginia police officials. The Imam later was released on $10,000 bail.
August 1, 1967 While on a trip Dayton, Ohio to make a speech, officials charged the Imam with “advocating criminal syndicalism.” No indictment was pressed.
August 14, 1967 The Imam traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from New York City to visit his parents. During his travel, he carried a rifle and checked it with airline authorities.
August 18, 1967 Imam Jamil returned to New York City.
August 19, 1967 The Imam was arrested at 2:00 AM in New York City and charged with two violations of the Federal Firearms Act, which makes it “unlawful for any person who is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year...to ship, transport...in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm or ammunition.” (The new charge was based on the August 14th indictment; the arson Maryland charge carried an imprisonment term of more than one year.)
The Imam was taken to New Orleans, and bail was set at $25,000. It later was reduced to $15,000 and the Imam was released with a bond restriction confining him to the Southern District of New York—Manhattan, Bronx, and nine counties within the Westchester jurisdiction. The District Court stipulated that Imam Jamil could only travel when permitted by the Court at its discretion.
1968 - 1970 Broker of peace treaties with street organizations.
January 11, 1968 Imam Jamil was charged with intimidating/assaulting a New York City police officer as he and another SNCC worker were leaving the lobby of the Cuban Mission. The incident occurred after the officer inquired about a package the SNCC worker was carrying. Imam Jamil remained in the Embassy for hours and was released after his attorneys held legal discussions with the NYPD. This charge finally was dropped in February 1968.
February 18-20, 1968 Imam Jamil traveled to California to confer with his attorneys. While in California, he was invited to speak at a Black Panther rally and did so with his attorneys present.
February 20, 1968 Imam Jamil returned to New York City and was arrested approximately seven hours later. He was charged with violating the terms of his previous bond, which restricted him to the Southern District of New York. Imam Jamil’s attorneys maintained that trips to confer with attorneys were allowed by the Court. He was released in New York and required to appear in New Orleans the following day.
February 21, 1968 Judge Lansing Mitchell set a $50,000 bail in New Orleans. During the court recess, the Imam was charged with threatening an FBI agent in the court hallway. Witnesses took the stand on the Imam’s behalf describing the incident; however, the judge, a former FBI agent, set a $50,000 bail on that charge and the Imam was jailed on a total of $100,000 bail.
April 11, 1968 While the Imam was in New Orleans Parish Prison, the “Rap Brown” Federal Anti-Riot Act was passed. The legislation, passed several days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was tagged onto a fair housing law at the last minute by Strom Thurmond.
April 19, 1968 Imam Jamil remained in Parish Prison, fasting a total of 48 days, until April 19th, when bail finally was reduced by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals from $100,000 to a total of $30,000; $15,000 on the travel violation, and $15,000 on the intimidation charge. Bond was posted and the Imam was taken directly to Virginia where the judge refused to set bail. The Imam waived extradition and was taken immediately to Maryland and released on bond.
May 13-22, 1968 Over objections from Imam Jamil’s attorneys, trial on the Federal Firearms charge was held less than a month from his release in New Orleans. The jury found the Imam innocent of carrying the rifle to New Orleans while under indictment, but guilty of carrying the rifle back to New York while under indictment. The government presented news clippings, and television and radio personnel as witnesses whom stated that stories concerning the Maryland indictment were carried during August 16-18, 1967. Judge Mitchell sentenced the Imam to the maximum sentence of five years and a $2,000 fine. The Imam was continued on the original $15,000 bond, pending appeal. He returned to New York City and was confined to the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
August 29, 1968 The New York Times reported that the Republican Party leader of the House, Gerald Ford of Michigan, stated it was time to “slam the door” on H. Rap Brown and other Black power advocates. Gerald Ford and Everett McKinley Dirksen of Illinois cited Republican backing of the House-passed anti-riot bill. Ford maintained that the anti-riot bill could be used against the Imam, while Dirksen felt there were existing laws on the books that could be used against the Imam.
April 3, 1969 Imam Jamil’s five-year sentence on the technical firearms charge was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and the matter remanded to the District Court for an electronic surveillance hearing.
1969 Author, Die Nigger Die!
March 9, 1970 Almost three years after the Cambridge, Maryland incident, the state of Maryland selected Bel Air, Maryland, as the site for the Imam’s trial on counseling and inciting to arson and riot. Pre-trial hearings were scheduled over the objections of the Imam’s attorneys.
During the morning hours, a vehicle carrying two SNCC organizers, Ralph Featherstone and William Che Payne, exploded; both men were killed.
March 10, 1970 Imam Jamil failed to appear for a hearing in Bel Air, Maryland.
April 20, 1970 The trial site was changed to Ellicott City, Maryland. The Imam did not appear for trial.
May 6, 1970 Based on the federal charge of violating the Federal Firearms Act, the Maryland charge of inciting to arson and riot, and the federal charge of intimidating an FBI agent, the FBI placed the Imam on the “10 Most Wanted List.”
Hearing on wiretap issue was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Court ruled that all wiretap material was irrelevant to the Federal Firearms indictment, conviction, and sentence.
September 24, 1970 Judge Lansing Mitchell imposed the maximum sentence of five years, $2,000 fine in the Imam’s absence.
January 11, 1971 Reporter Robert Woodward revealed that Dorchester County state’s attorney, William B. Yates, stated to the Howard County state’s attorney, Richard J. Kinlein, that the arson charge against the Imam was fabricated to insure involvement of the FBI. This arson charge, a felony, also was essential to the Federal Firearms arrest, indictment, and conviction.
October 16, 1971 Imam Jamil was shot and beaten on a rooftop on the westside of New York City by police officers. He subsequently was charged with 24 counts of robbery, attempted murder, and possession of weapons, and was held under a $250,000 bail.
October 19, 1971 The Maryland State Attorney Kinlein, who revealed to Robert Woodward that he was told the Maryland charge against the Imam was fabricated, was convicted of contempt of court and fined $350.00 for making a statement “prejudicial to a fair trial.” No action was taken against the prosecutor who admitted the fabrication to Kinlein; however, later the prosecutor, William Yates, denied the allegation.
December 1971 Imam Jamil takes his shahada in the Rikers Island, New York jail and proclaims he is a Muslim with the name Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin.
March 17, 1972 Imam Jamil moved to reinstate his appeal on the federal firearms conviction. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals set aside the sentence based on the fact that Judge Mitchell sentenced the Imam in absentia—an improper act.
June 2, 1972 Although the Imam was recovering from wounds sustained in October 1971, Judge Mitchell obtained a writ to have the Imam moved for resentencing to New Orleans from New York City, where he was awaiting trial. The Imam’s attorneys argued for Judge Mitchell to reduce the sentence. At the time of sentencing and in 1968, the Imam did not have a record of prior convictions. Mitchell, however, imposed the maximum sentence of five years and a $2,000 fine, and stipulated that this sentence not begin until New York released the Imam. This was ordered even though the Imam was awaiting trial in New York and was electing not to post the $200,000 bail, reduced from $250,000 in February 1972.
October 23, 1972 One week before the scheduled start of the New York trial, New York Magazine published an article written by a former Commissioner of the New York City Police Department. The article was an attempt to describe dramatically the events of the morning of October 16, 1971, as told by police officers; it was highly prejudicial to the Imam and extremely inaccurate. The attorney representing the magazine and writer conceded that various sections of the article contained misrepresentations. The District Attorney maintained he had not encouraged the printing of the story and the trial judge refuses the defense'’ motion for dismissal. The Imam filed a damage suit against the magazine, writer, and New York City Police Department.
January 15, 1973 After preliminary trial hearings in November and December, and after three weeks of selecting a jury, the Imam and three codefendants began trial in New York.
March 29, 1973 The jury returned a guilty verdict on six counts of robbery, three counts of assault in the first degree, and, two counts of possession of a weapon. The jury remained deadlocked on the three counts of attempted murder, and was dismissed from any further deliberation.
April 1973 The government dismissed the 1968 indictment charging the Imam with intimidating an FBI agent; the government was ordered to prosecute or dismiss. Judge Mitchell recused himself from hearing the case based on the fact he was a former FBI agent and therefore would be partial. He refused, however, to recuse himself from any hearings on the 1968 federal firearms conviction.
May 9, 1973 The Imam was sentenced in New York to concurrent terms of 0-15 years on each robbery count, five to 15 years on the assault count, and 0 to 7 years on each weapon count.
September 1973 The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to overturn the New Orleans conviction.
October 1973 The Imam filed a brief before the Supreme Court based on the wiretap issue in the New Orleans case. The Supreme Court subsequently rejected to review the case. Justice William O. Douglass dissented.
November 2, 1973 The Imam was transported from Attica Correctional Facility to Baltimore, Maryland, to stand trial on the 1967 charge of inciting to riot and arson.
November 6, 1973 The Maryland Prosecutor, who admitted the fabrication of the arson charge to Kinlein, announced during preliminary hearings that the state would not prosecute. The Imam was arraigned on a misdemeanor charge of failing to appear after forfeiture of bond. He received the maximum one year imprisonment sentence and a $1,000 fine to run concurrently, as of October 16, 1971, with the New York sentence.
April 29, 1974 A New Orleans patent attorney wrote William Kunstler stating that prior to the 1968 trial in New Orleans he overheard the trial judge, Lansing Mitchell, state to a group of friends at a Louisiana Bar Convention in Biloxi, Mississippi, that since he was just told he would preside over the “Rap Brown” trial, he wanted to take care of his health so that he could “get that nigger.” The Imam’s attorneys immediately filed timely motions challenging the conviction and sentence.
January 24, 1975 The Imam was transported to New Orleans for a hearing on overturning the 1968 conviction or reducing the five-year maximum sentence based on Mitchell’s prejudicial pretrial statement and recently revealed governmental misconduct (COINTELPRO). Another judge heard the argument, believed the patent attorney, and stated that Judge Mitchell probably made the statement. Months later, however, the judge refused to overturn the conviction or reduce the sentence. The government was forced, at the January 24th hearing, to admit the Imam was mentioned as a “target” in sections of the COINTELPRO document.
September 1975 The Imam’s attorneys filed an appeal in New York challenging the New York conviction.
December 17, 1975 The Imam’s attorneys filed an appeal on the New Orleans conviction before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal raised the validity of the 1968 conviction and sentence based on Mitchell’s “get that nigger” statement and the government’s admitted COINTELPRO misconduct. Additional surveillance memos from the U.S. Navy Department were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and incorporated into the appeal.
May 13, 1976 The Imam’s attorneys, William M. Kunstler and Elizabeth Schneider, engaged in oral argument before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the 1968 New Orleans conviction and sentence.
May 28, 1976 The State of New York answered the Imam’s New York appeal and oral argument before the Appellate Division was scheduled for June 1976.
June 1976 The Appellate Division refused to overturn the Imam’s 1973 New York conviction.
October 11, 1976 The Imam appeared before the New York State Parole Board. He served the five-year minimum sentence ordered by the New York trial judge. Hundreds of letters were sent to the parole board in support of his release. The Imam was released. In addition, the federal government dropped the Louisiana charges, and New York permitted the Imam to transfer his parole to Atlanta, Georgia.
November 1976 Imam Jamil travels to Saudi Arabia for his hajj and returns to Atlanta, Georgia to organize a Muslim community in the southwest part (West End) of Atlanta.
1977 – 2000 Imam, The Community Mosque, Atlanta, GA.
1983 Convenor, the first Riyaadah, a national annual sports competition, held in Atlanta, Georgia.
October 1986 The Imam completed his parole supervision in Atlanta, Georgia, and was released from parole.
1987 National participant of the “Stop the Killing Movement,” which produced community empowerment drug patrols.
1990 Founder and co-convener of the National Majlis Ash-Shura, a council of Muslim leaders representing the majority of Muslims in the United States.
1991 Member of peace envoys to Chicago, Los Angeles, and other major cities to engage in truce and cease fire negotiations among street (gang) organizations.
1992 Member of peace envoy that produced a national truce and peace treaty signed by major street gangs.
1990s Vice president and president of the American Muslim Council that established innovative programs, such as the Military Muslim Chaplaincy, Muslim Census, National Prison Chaplaincy Board member, Islamic Society of North America, Plainfield, Indiana Organizer of the National Community Hajj Project responsible for coordinating hajj for hundreds of Muslims from the U.S. and traveling with the groups during the 1990s.
1993 Co-convener of first National Urban Peace and Justice Summit, Kansas City, that developed an urban peace treaty and policy initiative
1994 Author, Revolution by the Book: The Rap is Live
August 7, 1995 Imam Jamil was arrested in Atlanta by the ATF, FBI, and a police officer on loan to the FBI’s counter-terrorism task force, on suspicion of aggravated assault on a neighborhood resident. He was charged with aggravated assault, and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. The alleged victim never identified the Imam as the suspect, although city and government agents attempted to pressure him in doing so.
August 8, 1995 The Imam was released from jail on $27,500 bail. The City of Atlanta and the federal government failed to indict the Imam on the alleged charges. The victim became Muslim and is a worshipper at the Imam’s mosque in the West End area of Atlanta, Georgia.
May 31, 1999 Imam Jamil was stopped by a Cobb County police officer while driving in Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia. He was cited and arrested for driving a reported stolen vehicle, and having no proof of insurance. The police officer searched Imam Jamil’s wallet and saw a badge, and without questioning the Imam further, the officer added the charge of impersonating a police officer. The Imam was released on a $10,000 bond. After the arrest, the Imam presented evidence from the mayor of Whitehall, Alabama, to the Cobb County prosecutor’s office that confirmed the Imam’s appointment as an auxiliary officer for youth in the town of Whitehall, Alabama. In addition, affidavits were submitted that countered the "theft by receiving” a stolen car charge.
January 28, 2000 Imam Jamil’s Cobb County case was scheduled for a trial call. A storm caused the Superior Court of Cobb County to experience delays in the calendar calls. Imam Jamil did not have legal representation that day, and the Imam received no further notification concerning the case.
March 16, 2000 Shortly before 10:00 PM, two deputies of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department approached the Imam’s store in the West End area of Atlanta, Georgia to serve a bench warrant for the Imam’s failure to appear in Cobb County for trial stemming from the May 31, 1999 stop, search, and arrest. The store was closed, and they left. The deputies returned and upon seeing an individual in the street outside of the store, shots were fired. One deputy was killed and the other remained in the hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. Although conflicting identification details were given of the assailant, none matching those of Imam Jamil, the surviving deputy purportedly identified Imam Jamil. As a result, various state, local, and federal law agencies launched a massive manhunt for the Imam.
March 20, 2000 Imam Jamil was arrested in White Hall, Alabama, and subsequently charged with the murder of one deputy and the wounding of another. During the capture, the Imam is beaten and spat upon by an FBI agent who has a history of misconduct. Imam Jamil is taken to Montgomery, Alabama, where he stayed for one month while fighting extradition to Georgia. While in the Montgomery Detention Center, Imam Jamil was indicted in Georgia on 13 counts including felony murder, aggravated assault upon a peach officer, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during a commission of a felony. Imam Jamil remained in Montgomery, Alabama, fighting extradition to Georgia. He was represented by Alabama attorneys J. L. Chestnut, Rose Sanders, and Georgia attorney, Musa Dan-Fodio.
April 21, 2000 Imam Jamil was moved from Montgomery, Alabama, to Cobb County, Georgia, and placed in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
April 24, 2000 Imam Jamil appeared before a Cobb Magistrate who explained the Cobb County charges.
May 4, 2000 Imam Jamil made his first appearance in Fulton County Superior Court. Two Georgia attorneys, Jack Martin and Bruce Harvey, were approved and appointed by the Superior Court of Fulton County to represent the Imam on the Fulton County charges. The Fulton County DA announced that it would seek the death penalty, and the attorneys for Imam Jamil filed numerous motions.
May 31, 2000 Imam Jamil appeared in Fulton County Superior Court, and among the issues addressed was the violation by Sheriff Jackie Barrett of a restrictive order in that she released transmission tapes of one of the deputies calling for help while shots were being fired on the evening of March 16, 2000. The Superior Court judge found Sheriff Barrett in “constructive contempt” of the restrictive order.
June 22, 2000 Imam Jamil is transferred to the Fulton County Jail from the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
June 28, 2000 Imam Jamil appeared in Fulton County Superior Court where Judge Stephanie Manis announced she had been randomly selected to be the presiding judge at trial. Issues were discussed relative to the discovery process and a time table for the District Attorney to produce scientific findings and photographs.
January-March 9, 2002 Jury selection begins in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, with Imam Jamil’s team of four attorneys—Jack Martin, Bruce Harvey, Tony Axam, and Michael Warren of New York. The trial ultimately lasts for just three weeks, with the jury taking less than 10 hours to reach a guilty verdict on all 13 counts.
March 11, 2002 The sentencing phase began. Imam Jamil’s defense team called 20 character witnesses, including Andrew Young, civic, academic, and religious leaders, and human rights activists, to testify in his behalf to prevent imposition of the death penalty.
March 14, 2002 The jury announced a sentence of life without the possibility of parole on the two counts of murder and felony murder, while the judge imposed an additional 30 years to the sentence as punishment on the remaining 11 counts. Imam Jamil is moved immediately to Jackson, Georgia, and then to the Reidsville State Prison.
May 24, 2004 Georgia Supreme Court affirms Imam Jamil’s convictions.
June 28, 2004 The Georgia Supreme Court denies Imam Jamil’s Motion for Reconsideration.
November 2004 In response to grievances filed by Imam Jamil, The Georgia Department of Corrections ruled that Reidsville violated standard operating procedures by opening mail clearly marked “legal” from Imam Jamil’s wife who is an attorney.
November 14, 2005 Counsel for Imam Jamil filed a habeas corpus (Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin v. Hugh Smith) in Superior Court of Tattnall County, State of Georgia. The habeas corpus cited 14 grounds for reversal of Imam Jamil’s conviction and sentence, including the failure of his trial and appellate attorneys to investigate of the individual who confessed to the charges immediately after the March 2000 incident.
February 27, 2007 Habeas hearing held in Tattnall County where Imam Jamil is able to testify. Imam Jamil is able to highlight the ineffective assistance of counsel.
August 2, 2007 The public learns that Imam Jamil has been moved, without notice to his attorneys or family members, to Oklahoma City, and then to the Supermax federal prison in Florence, Colorado.
August 15, 2007 Imam Jamil is able to communicate with his attorneys that he was moved from Reidsville to an airport where he became ill. He was taken to the Atlanta Medical Center for two days of exploratory tests for chest pains, and then placed in federal custody. This move to a federal prison without a federal charge, conviction, or sentence, was possible based on a March 1990 Agreement between the Georgia Department of Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons to accept a state prison for monthly compensation.
Prior to this move, Georgia Muslim inmates initiated an effort to name Imam Jamil as the Imam for all Muslim inmates in the Georgia prison system. The Department of Corrections requested that Imam Jamil ask the inmates to discontinue this effort; however, the FBI initiated an investigation in 2007, labeling its report, “The Radicalization of Muslim Inmates in the Georgia Prison System.” It becomes clear that the retaliatory move into federal custody is a direct outgrowth of the FBI involvement.
September 20, 2007 Attorneys from Kilpatrick Stockton argue before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Imam Jamil, citing a First Amendment violation when the staff at Reidsville opened his legal mail.
January 7, 2008 The 11th Court of Appeals ruled the Reidsville warden and staff violated Imam Jamil’s First Amendment rights by opening legal mail from his wife outside of his presence.
July 28, 2011 After six years, Judge Rose of Tattnall County, Georgia, denied Imam Jamil’s habeas corpus.
August 29, 2011 Imam Jamil’s attorneys filed an appeal to the Georgia State Supreme Court of the habeas denial.
Imam Jamil remains incarcerated in Florence, Colorado, housed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The State of Georgia continues to pay a daily per diem rate to the Bureau of Prisons for his incarceration.
March 2013 A FOIA request is submitted to the FBI by Attorney Karima Al-Amin to produce documents on Imam Jamil. The FBI responded that it had identified and would produce 21,649 pages of records from more than 44,000 pages.
May 2013 Imam Jamil became ill with a dental problem, which escalated into major medical problems.
June 2014 With the intervention of family members, attorneys, Congressional reps and the public, the FBOP conducted blood and other tests.
July 2014 After further public pressure and urging the FBOP to stop the “execution by medical neglect” of the Imam, he is moved out of the supermax prison in Florence, Colorado to the federal Butner Medical Center, in North Carolina. Imam Jamil has a bone marrow biopsy that confirmed that he has smoldering myeloma, an intermediate pre-cursor stage of multiple myeloma.
October 2014 Imam Jamil is moved from the Butner Medical Center to the USP Canaan federal prison, in Waymart, PA, where he was placed in general population. After 14 years of incarceration consisting of administrative and solitary confinement, Imam Jamil was able to attend in general population religious services and events.
September-October 2015 The FBI released the 4th FOIA interim CD to Karima Al-Amin which contained a BOLO (“be on the lookout”) bulletin issued the day after the March 16, 2000 with a description of the shooter of the sheriff’s deputies not matching that of Imam Jamil. The newly-disclosed FOIA documents were presented to the Court as a supplement to the habeas.
December 2015 Imam Jamil is moved from the USP Canaan federal prison to the USP Tucson, Arizona federal prison after requesting a move to a warmer climate closer to Atlanta, GA. Since the move is approximately 1,700 miles from his legal team, family, and supporters, he will continue to request a suitable transfer.
January-August 2016 Imam Jamil remains in the USP Tucson federal prison while waiting for his federal habeas to be argued.
The work of Imam Jamil Al-Amin (formerly known as H. Rap Brown) during the late 1960s, 1980s and ‘90s, with community-based and gang organization leaders and the development of an urban peace treaty and policy initiative resulted in a 10% drop in crime nationally and a 25% reduction in homicides among Black and Brown youth in the 1990s. Imam Al-Amin’s work in this area also gave him the opportunity to assist in initiating the national hip hop peace treaty and rappers pledge signed in Chicago which created peace between east coast and west coast rappers.
The work of the urban peace and justice movement has continued in many cities throughout the country. Imam Al-Amin was one of the architects and sustaining influences of this movement. Community organizers relate that Imam Al-Amin’s dedication to bringing peace is attributed to “saving thousands of lives.”
