Condemned inmate waits to hear whether he will be spared
Posted August 29, 2019 2:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NASHVILLE — A condemned Tennessee prisoner is waiting to hear whether he will be spared the death chamber after he claimed prosecutors illegally excluded African Americans from the jury pool.
Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman (ah-BOO’-ah-LEE’) (AHB’-dur-RAK’-mahn), who is black, faces an April 16 execution date for the 1986 murder of Patrick Daniels.
But Nashville’s district attorney has agreed to convert Abdur’Rahman’s sentence to life. The judge promised to decide on Thursday whether to accept the agreement.
Abdur’Rahman’s claim relies on a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Georgia case where prosecutors illegally excluded African Americans from a jury.
In general, the high court has been making it tougher for defence attorneys to overturn verdicts because of mistakes made at trial. But the court has made it easier when it comes to biased juries.
The Associated Press
