Halt
of an Execution: Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman
Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman faced execution on April 10 for the 1986 murder of Patrick
Daniels. The U.S. Supreme Court stayed that execution on April 8. He would have
become the first African-American executed in Tennessee since 1960 and the first
person from Nashville in nearly half a century. Defense lawyers say he is mentally-ill
and possibly innocent. They say the prosecutor engaged in misconduct and that
his defense lawyer
failed to investigate or present key evidence. Prosecutors say defense claims
are baseless and that Abdur'Rahman is neither innocent nor psychotic. State
lawyers acknowledge a few trial mistakes but maintain they didn't affect the
outcome.
The court decided to look at the case in terms of whether further appeals should be allowed. Prosecutors have argued that rules governing death penalty appeals prevent any further hearings. But defense lawyers are alleging prosecutorial misconduct, and the Supreme Court feels the case warrants further attention.
Abdur'Rahman's lawyers say the combination of prosecutorial misconduct and
''deficient performance'' of defense counsel during the trial resulted in the
state pursuing a false and misleading prosecution. Lower courts have said that
rules that were in place at the time do not allow a death row inmate to appeal
on new grounds.
