A Brief History
On March 20, 2000, Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin was arrested for shooting 2 police officers, killing one of them.
Digging Deeper
Digging deeper we find Al-Amin the new name for the former Black Panther “Minister of Justice” known as H. Rap Brown. The erstwhile Hubert Gerold Brown was wanted for gunning down 2 Georgia deputy sheriffs that were attempting to arrest him on warrants for receiving stolen property, a traffic offense, and impersonating a police officer.
Al-Amin, or Brown, had led a difficult life, in trouble with the law through much of it. Jailed for a variety of crimes such as robbery, inciting riot, and federal firearms offenses he had been involved in the civil rights movement advocating for the rights of African-Americans.
He was even wounded by the police in a shoot out years before the fatal incident.
Well known for his radical brand of activism, Brown had once preached pacifism, but had made a complete turnaround with statements like, “If America don’t come around, we’re gonna burn it down!” Of course, there was also his assertion that “Violence is American as Cherry Pie.” Brown was not just upset with white people oppressing blacks, but equally angry with African-Americans he felt were “sell outs” (what others have called “Uncle Toms” and worse).
Converting to Islam during his 1971 to 1976 term in prison, Brown changed his name to Al-Amin and became a prayer leader, or Imam, on his release. Al-Amin also started a grocery store in Georgia where he lived.
In March of 2000, Al-Amin was stopped for a traffic offense driving a stolen car and displayed a police badge in an effort to avoid a ticket or arrest. Police later found out Al-Amin was not a policeman and warrants were issued for his arrest. On March 16, 2000 2 deputy sheriffs came to his store looking to arrest him on the warrants, and spotted him driving a black Mercedes-Benz. Stopping Al-Amin, the deputies were surprised by a hail of gunfire from an AR-15 style rifle, and both were wounded. One officer returned fire while the other fell helpless to the ground. Al-Amin walked over and fired 3 pistol shots into the helpless deputy, killing him. A cracked aspect of these shootings? Both victim deputies were African-American!
Having fled to Alabama, Al-Amin was captured on March 20, 2000 in possession of his bullet hole bearing car and both murder weapons. He was found wearing body armor and was thought to have intended to resist, but was foiled by the use of police dogs.
Al-Amin was tried and convicted in 2002 of the murder of the deputy and various other charges and received a sentence of life without parole, plus 35 years for good measure! In 2007 Al-Amin was transferred to a Federal “supermax” prison in Colorado at the request of Georgia officials who felt their prison system could not handle such a celebrity!
Of course, Al-Amin and his supporters maintain his innocence and claim that the entire incident, trial and incarceration is a big government conspiracy to frame him, and for that matter, so were his other arrests and convictions! Enough is written arguing both sides that you can read and make up your own mind!
Question for students (and subscribers): Do you think violence is as American as cherry pie? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Van Peebles, Mario, dir. Panther. Polygram Video, 1998. DVD.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1419 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1419">27 Comments
Its really hard to pick a side on something when you do not know the actual facts, and all you can do is assume. I would assume that he shot that he shot the police officers but you never know our government is corrupt so they could have framed him! I would like to look at this a little more in detail and try to understand it a little better.
Although it is difficult to take sides, I do believe that he was rightfully convicted. With a track record like he had, and action like that wouldn’t surprise.
This is hard to pick sides, because of the fact you don’t know all the facts. I do believe he was sentenced correctly for what they say he did and for shooting the police officer. Our government though could have framed him though I do believe, so i am unable to pick a side on this.
i would love to have more information on this topic before picking sides but i do feel that he was convicted correctly based on what we know here.
It is hard to pick sides since the lack of evidence, and we don’t know all the facts of what had actually happened. I feel his conviction is well deserved because of the track record he had. I would be able to pick a side better if i knew more of the facts and be able to evaluate the situation more.
I would need to know the whole story and all the facts before I could say he is guilty or innocent. But based on what I just read and with his track record, I would be more inclined to say he is guilty.
It is hard to pick a side in this discussion. Based on his current record, I would be inclined to say he was guilty. It is very likely someone could have framed him too though. He would have made a lot of enemies from his past record.
I think topics like this are interesting when there are two sides, but it is hard to figure out what the real truth is. I think based on this article he is guilty and it seems pretty elaborate that people came up with such big theories about this.
I don’t think enough information is given on this topic for me to pick a side. If I had to choose based on the information given, I would say that he is guilty. I don’t understand why people would make up everything that happened.
It’s always difficult to pick sides on such serious charges, however, if I needed too I would have to say he is guilty.
It is difficult to pick sides in this situation but I do feel he was rightfully punished in this case. With his past, this story makes complete sense and I think he is guilty based on the provided information.
Based on his past criminal record, I would say he was probably guilty, but I did not have all the facts. It is a shame that a police officer had to die in this situation.
There isn’t enough information to pick a side in my opinion.
If he isn’t guilty, then neither is Charles Manson. I will say one thing though, I think it’s sickening that people are stereotyped or characterized by the color of their skin.
Since he has already racked up such an impressive record, there does not even need to be a trial to prove that he was guilty. If he does he crime, he should do the time. He knew what he signed up for once he committed those actions.
If Brown has committed crimes such as theft, impersonating a cop, and shooting at police officers, then I would say he is guilty. No question about it. Then he deserves his sentence in prison.
Its hard to pick a side, but by looking at his record he seems that he is guilty.
I would also assume that he was likely guilty largely based on his past record.
He (Al-Amin) is a fishy figure, why do you pretend to be a cop if your not, and then you try to argue there is a conspiracy.
It seems like he is guilty and it is not a conspiracy.
I would definitely have to say he is guilty.
The Black Panther Party was an extremist party. The point was that the movement promoted hate crimes. Their need to arrest him was for a good reason, and for him to get out of it? there must be reason for him to be guilty
I definitely think that he is guilty. These are hate crimes and should be considered as such.
No matter what motive, i believe that violence always leads to more violence.
He appears to be guilty in my opinion.
definitely considered a hate crime to me
If you hate America and Americans, there are planes that leave this country every day. Get on one and move somewhere else, don’t kill people.