Dhoruba al-Mujahid bin Wahad

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Dhoruba al-Mujahid bin Wahad (born Richard Moore, 1945) is a writer and activist, who is a former political prisoner, Black Panther leader, and co-founder of the Black Liberation Army.

Contents

[edit] Early years

[edit] The shooting

On May 19, 1971 Thomas Curry and Nicholas Binetti two NYPD, police officers who were guarding the home of Frank S. Hogan (at the time, the Manhattan district attorney) were fired upon in a drive-by shooting, with a machine-gun [1]. The officers survived, but were seriously injured, sustaining shots to the head, neck, chest, and abdomen.

The shootings took place during a period of intense violence between black activist organizations and the New York City police department. Two days later, NYPD officers Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini, were shot and killed outside a housing project in Harlem [2], [3].

Bin Wahad who was arrested and charged for robbing a South Bronx social club, was later charged with the attempted murders of Curry and Binetti.

Mr. Wahad's first trial ended in a hung jury; his second in a mistrial. Two years later, in 1973:

“ ...after three trials, a Black Panther leader, Dhoruba Bin Wahad, was convicted of the crime by a jury that deliberated for less than one hour. He was sentenced to twenty-five years to life. ”

[4]

[edit] Nineteen years in prison

While in prison, Mr. Wahad learned about Congressional hearings that disclosed the existence of a covert F.B.I. operation known as Cointelpro. In December of 1975 he filed a lawsuit against the F.B.I., and the police department of the City of New York.

As a direct result of his lawsuit, over the next fifteen years the F.B.I. released more than 300,000 pages of documents regarding Cointelpro. The Cointelpro documents were the basis on which Mr. Wahad appealed his conviction, and on March 15, 1990, Justice Peter J. McQuillan a Supreme Court justice in Manhattan reversed it, ruling that the prosecution had failed to disclose evidence that could have helped Mr. Wahad's defense[5].

While Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, stated that he planned to appeal the ruling that overturned Mr. Wahad's conviction, and would obtain a retrial if his appeal fails; Dhoruba was freed and released without bail.

Morgenthau's attempt to appeal was rejected by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court[6], and on January 20, 1995 the Manhattan district attorney's office stated there would be no retrial; indicating that the current condition of the evidence would make this impossible[7].

[edit] Lawsuits

In 1995, the F.B.I. settled with Mr. Wahad; the U.S. government paid him $400,000 dollars[8].

On December 4th, 2000, Dhoruba's suit against the New York Police Department, seeking $15 million in damages was scheduled to begin[9]. On December 8th, 2000, the city of New York laid to rest a 25 year legal battle, and agreed to pay Mr. Wahad an additional $490,000 in damages[10]

[edit] Aftermath

Dhoruba Bin Wahad lived in Accra, Ghana where he organized on Pan-Africanism and the prison system. Using the funds from his settlements for personal damages from the FBI, and City of New York, he established the Campaign to Free Black and New African Political Prisoners (formerly the Campaign to Free Black Political Prisoners and Prisoners-of-War) and founded the Institute for the Development of Pan-African policy in Ghana.

He currently lives in New York City and continues his work.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Books

[edit] Essays

[edit] References

[edit] Books

[edit] Magazines and newspapers

[edit] Film

  • Jon Valadez (1992) Passin' it On iMDB

[edit] Music

  • Resist and Exist (2001) Human, Earth, Animal Liberation (HEAL), features the track: Dhoruba bin Wahad

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ City Agrees to Settle Suit By Former Panther Leader [1]
  2. ^ The Badge of the Assassin, Robert K. Tanenbaum (ISBN 0-52-506070-7)
  3. ^ Joseph Piagentini And Waverly Jones [2]
  4. ^ Rush Transcript [3]
  5. ^ Court Erupts As Judge Frees An Ex-Panther [4]
  6. ^ State Appeals Court Narrows Right to a New Trial When Evidence Is Withheld [5]
  7. ^ No Retrial in Shootings [6]
  8. ^ Imprisoned Intellectuals: America's Political Prisoners Write on Life, Liberation, and Rebellion, Page 95 (ISBN 0-74-252027-7)
  9. ^ Defiant Ex-Black Panther Sues Defiant New York Police [7]
  10. ^ City Agrees to Settle Suit By Former Panther Leader [8]


Persondata
NAME bin Wahad, Dhoruba al-Mujahid
ALTERNATIVE NAMES bin Wahad, Dhoruba
SHORT DESCRIPTION writer and activist, who is a former Black Panther leader, and co-founder of the Black Liberation Army
DATE OF BIRTH 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City, New York, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH