5/18 Update on Bro. Kamau Sadiki

[nattyreb]

PLEASE SUPPORT!

via: Freedom Archives
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May 18, 2009

TO: Friends and Supporters of Kamau Sadiki
FROM: Attorney Akil Secret
asecret@thesecretfirm.com

Attorney Teri Thompson
teri@terithompsonllc.com

RE: State of Georgia v. Freddie Hilton a/k/a Kamau Sadiki
Update - Motion for New Trial

On November 10, 2003, Judge Stephanie Manis sentenced Kamau Sadiki to life imprisonment for murder and ten (10) years to run consecutively for armed robbery after a Fulton County Superior Court jury found him guilty for the murder of Atlanta Police Officer James Green on November 3, 1971.

At the time of the murder, nineteen year old Kamau Sadiki was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA) which was led by John Thomas. Several members of the BLA, including Mr. Sadiki, left New York City and lived in the Atlanta area for a short period of time. On the night of the murder, two witnesses observed three black males run from a van where Officer Green sat at a gas station in downtown Atlanta. The witnesses failed to identify Mr. Sadiki from a photographic line-up. There was no physical evidence that implicated Mr. Sadiki. In 1971, the Atlanta police department closed the case as unsolved.

In 2001, following increased interest in terrorism, one such former BLA member gave a statement about the 1971 murder after being detained during a traffic stop. With no eyewitness testimony and no physical evidence, the State based its case entirely upon the statements of three former BLA members who were present in Atlanta at the time of Officer Green’s murder. Mr. Sadiki was arrested in 2002 in Brooklyn, New York some thirty one (31) years later after the murder.

After a lengthy jury trial in Fulton County Superior Court that began in September 2003, Mr. Sadiki is now serving his sentence in Augusta State Medical Prison in Augusta, Georgia. Appellate Attorney Stephen Scarborough filed a motion for new trial which was heard on April 23, 2009 in Fulton County Superior Court.

Among the many issues raised in his appeal, Mr. Sadiki is urging the court to reconsider her exclusion of the testimony of John Thomas’ former wife, Ignae Thomas, wherein she was present during two conversations where others admitted their participation in the murder of the officer. Mr. Thomas who is now deceased, made statements exonerating Mr. Sadiki and stated that he had nothing to do with the shooting. Judge Manis ruled such testimony by Ms. Thomas inadmissible and excluded the testimony from the jury’s consideration. Other issues raised on appeal include Judge Manis’ inclusion of a conspiracy charge to the jury when there was no evidence of such and Judge Manis’ admission into evidence inflammatory statements regarding Mr. Sadiki’s participation in the BLA and allegations of misdeeds by the BLA.

To date, Judge Manis has not ruled on the motion for new trial. Historically, few motions for new trial are granted. In the event she denies the motion, Mr. Sadiki can file an appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals and, thereafter, the Georgia Supreme Court. Mr. Sadiki also has a right to appeal to the highest court in the land, the United States Supreme Court.

For those who wish to extend greetings to Kamau Sadiki, his address is as follows:

Mr. Freddie Hilton, a/k/a Kamau Sadiki
No. 1150688
Augusta State Medical Prison
3001 Gordon Highway
Grovetown, GA 30813



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