Muslim cleric found guilty in deputy's murder

Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (l), the prominent muslim cleric once known as H. Rap Brown, and lawyer Michael Warren listen in Atlanta court as Al-Amin is convicted of murder in the 2000 shooting death of a sheriff's deputy and wounding of another in Atlanta (JET, April 10, 2000). In the courtroom gallery, Al-Amin's brother, Ed Brown, wives Karima and Amira Habibah, and son Kiari react to the verdict.

A jury found the 58-year-old guilty of 13 counts, including murder and aggravated assault on a police officer. Deputy Aldranon English testified that Al-Amin pulled an assault rifle from his car and opened fire when English and slain partner Ricky Kinchen tried to serve him with an arrest warrant on a minor offense. At JET press time, jurors began to decide whether to recommend execution or life in prison for Al-Amin, leader of the National Ummah, one the nation's largest Black Muslim groups. In the 1960s, Al-Amin, known then as H. Rap Brown, was an outspoken leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and affiliated with the Black Panther Party. In 1967 he was charged with inciting a riot and in 1973 he was sentenced to five years in prison for armed robbery in New York. Following his release, Al-Amin moved to Atlanta and gained a reputation as a spiritual leader who helped to rid the West End of drugs and prostitution.