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NEWS & LETTERS, June 2002
Abdur'Rahman reprieveMemphis—Anti-death penalty activists in Tennessee were greatly cheered and relieved by the U.S. Supreme Court decision to grant a full hearing in the case of Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman. Mr. Abdur'Rahman had been scheduled for execution April 10, and was 36 hours away from being killed when the court granted a stay. The Court will consider procedural issues relating to Mr. Abdur'Rahman's attempts to get the federal courts to hear his claims of prosecutorial misconduct in his case. Despite a rule issued by the Tennessee Supreme Court making it clear that Mr. Abdur'Rahman has preserved the issue for appeal, the federal courts have refused to hear it. The Supreme Court's ruling will influence other cases as well as Mr. Abdur'Rahman's. In this case, as in that of Philip Workman last year, activists in Tennessee played an important role in resisting the executions. There is an active moratorium movement in Tennessee with support from the Nashville Metro Council and the Legislative Black Caucus. Although the fight is far from finished, we are hopeful that there will be few—if any—more legal murders in Tennessee. —Margaret Vandiver |
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