'Radical' unpacks the murder conviction of Imam Jamil Al-Amin

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'Radical', a podcast about the surveillance and trial of H. Rap Brown/Imam Jamil Al-Amin, launches Tuesday, December 5, 2023.

In March of 2000, two sheriff's deputies were shot outside a mosque in Atlanta. One of them later died and police arrested Imam Jamil Al-Amin, the leader of that mosque, and he was later convicted of murder. But what seems like an open and shut case to prosecutors is actually a more complicated story. And for more on why we turn to investigative reporter Mosi Secret. His new podcast explores the lesser-known reasons why Imam Jamil was implicated. The podcast, which is out today. It's called Radical. He spoke with GPB’s Peter Biello.

Peter Biello: Before he was known as Imam Jamil, he was H. Rap Brown, who in the 1960s and '70s was a Black Power activist. This podcast spends a lot of time focusing on why the FBI deemed him radical. What was he doing at the time that attracted the attention of the FBI?

Mosi Secret: Imam Jamil Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, as you said, was a part of communities that were essentially oppressed at that time, suffering from a lot of police violence and, and other types of — other forms of oppression. And he had a really bold response to that, which was to advocate violent armed self-defense of those communities. And that, to no surprise, upset law enforcement at all levels.

Peter Biello: And how did those statements about violence in the past affect him later when he was arrested for the murder of that one deputy and the injuring of the other?

Mosi Secret: Well, he had this reputation throughout his life as being an advocate for violent self-defense. And we know because of that, there was a long trail of surveillance throughout his life, through the many stages of his life. And some of that surveillance was involved in his apprehension for the — for the shooting of the two deputies.

Peter Biello: Mm hmm. The evidence against him seemed damning to prosecutors, including Robert McBurney, who is now a judge and involved in the 2020 election interference case against former President Trump. Why did McBurney and others think this case was so solid?

Mosi Secret: Well, they had what in the court of law tends to be very strong evidence. Primarily, there was an eyewitness — or there was testimony from someone who was there, a victim who happened to be a police officer. That's a very hard burden for any defense lawyer to overcome. There was also evidence in the case presented of ballistics that matched the bullet from Jamil Al-Amin's gun to those found in the bodies of the deputies and on the scene of the crime. So these are very difficult things for a jury to cast aside.

Peter Biello: But there are those who defend him, including former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young. What did Andrew Young have to say in his defense?

Mosi Secret: Well, just as there was a lot of evidence presented against Iman Jamil Al-Amin, there was a lot of evidence that undercut the prosecution's case. There has been a confession that's been floating around for decades at this point from someone who says that he was there. The identification of Imam Jamil by one of the victim police officers or sheriff's deputies was — had its own problems. And there were seven or eight different points that cumulatively really called into question the veracity of the findings. So Mayor Ambassador Young, as a — you know, I won't say colleague, but as a comrade in the movement, wanted to call attention to these problems with the case.

Peter Biello: Can I ask you to tell us a little bit about your — your personal investment in this story?

Mosi Secret: In a weird way, this story kind of chose me. Imam Jamil Al-Amin had a community in Atlanta where I'm from. Many of the people in the community were converts to Islam. My family converted to Islam and was a part of this community for a short while when I was a kid. So his case is something that I knew about. The people who were around him are people who my family knows. And so there is that connection. And then if we extend later into my life, I've done investigations into, in one case, what turned out to be a wrongful conviction. And I've done a lot of writing and work on the criminal justice system. So there was a way that the lens that I bring to this story felt like a natural one. And in some ways it was a story that was waiting to be retold by me.

Peter Biello: You weren't able to talk to him for this podcast, but you did reach out.

Mosi Secret: Yeah, definitely. We wrote him a letter and we — and we tried to contact him through some of his representatives but did not hear back.

Peter Biello: Imam Jamil is currently incarcerated in federal prison. What can you tell us about how he's doing there?

Mosi Secret: Imam Jamil is 80 years old, I believe. He is in declining health. He's had a number of serious health issues, but he's — he still seems to be going strong. He has supporters who are in touch with him pretty regularly and he's making it.