32 years ago, the FBI, under the leadership of the infamous J. Edgar Hoover, assassinated the Deputy Chairman of Illinois Black Panther Party in his sleep. His pregnant wife, sleeping next to him, was spared. Today, their son, Fred Hampton, Jr., is a political prisoner in Joliet, Illinois, serving 18 years on a conviction from an arson trial which featured no physical evidence and no reliable witnesses.

It is believed that he was convicted because of his work with the National Democratic Peoples Uhuru Movement (NPDUM), a nonviolent Black-led activist group. NPUDUM is an organization working for the democratic rights of the African community through economic development, and community control of institutions such as the police department and educational system. Since its inception in 1991, NPDUM has never advocated any violent act.

Currently, the governor of Illinois is reviewing Fred Hamptons case for possible clemency. What follows is an interview with Mahdee Nabawi, the Oakland Chair of the Free Fred Hampton Jr. Defense committee and the political action coordinator for the International Campaign to Free Fred Hampton Jr.

--What was the basis for the conviction? You say there was no physical evidence.
-- That's right. There was no physical evidence
linking Fred to the crime. Christopher Harris, who was
the fingerprint expert for the Chicago Police
Department Crime Lab, testified he used powders, red
dye staining and a method called super-gluing to test
the milk crate and the seven 40 ounce beer bottles
used in the firebombing and not one of Fred's
fingerprints was found.

In lieu of physical evidence, the state's
attorney Miss Lacy used a article written in the
Burning Spear Newspaper, which was critical of the way
some Korean merchants practice business in the African
community. Since the stores that were firebombed -
Lee's Fashions and MJM Jewelry - were owned by Korean
merchants, the state argued incorrectly that this
implied a motive. The state's attorney also stated
that the Uhuru Movement is a gang and that therefore,
Fred was a gang member. We are not a gang. Our stated
purpose in the constitution of the National People's
Democratic Uhuru Movement is to defend the democratic
rights of the domestically colonized African
population in the United States. Anyway, the
government used Fred's first amendment right to
freedom of the press and political association as
ideological evidence to convict him in the absence of
any physical evidence. This point was made by Mumia
Abu-Jamal, a political prisoner on death row, in a
article he wrote attempting to muster support for the
campaign to free Fred Hampton Jr.

--What about the one eyewitness?
--The person you are referring to is Warren Gilbert.
Fred was known to be the peacemaker in Chicago between street organizations like the Black Stone Rangers,
Black Gangsta Disciples, and the Vicelords. A couple of weeks
before his arrest, Fred had stepped between Gilbert and
another man during an altercation and Gilbert told
Fred he would "catch up with him later." Gilbert made
a statement to the police that the "guy who sells the
Burning Spear Newspaper probably did it".

He said he saw Fred running from the direction of the
firebombing, that Fred was knocking people down and almost got
hit by a bus while making his getaway. Despite the fact
that it 4pm the day before Mother's Day and the
streets were crowded with shoppers, none of them
identified Fred. Also, there is only one bus
that runs down South Halsted, the street the bombings
took place on, and that is the number 8. Guess what,
the state could not produce a driver who said he nearly hit
someone between 4 and 4:05 pm on that date. That's
because Fred was exactly where he said he was, at home
with his mother and daughter.

This becomes really important when we look at the fact
that on May 11, 1992, twelve plainclothes police
from local, state and federal agencies arrested Fred. Detective Fred Wheat of the Chicago police department testified that at the time of his arrest, Fred Hampton Jr. was not violating any laws, had
no outstanding warrants out for his arrest and was not
under warrant for arrest in this case. In fact, he
testified that they were never sent to arrest him,
just to determine his location.

He also testified that after determining Fred's
Location, no attempt was ever made to get an arrest
warrant. Judge Robert Toomin upheld the arrest based
on Warren Gilbert's unsubstantiated testimony that he
saw Fred running away, knocking people down and almost
being hit by a bus. Clearly this is a violation of his
fourth amendment right to protection against illegal
seizure of one's person.


--Did Fred have a criminal record?
--No, Fred had no criminal record. He had nothing more
than citations. And anyone who has done any day to day
political organizing in the black community is going
to get cited for things like failure to disperse or
other frivolous charges--like inciting a riot when a
person begins to publicly agitate the community to
organize independent, community initiated, community
controlled institutions such as Fred Hampton Jr. was
doing. When I was a teenager we used to talk about how
the police would "give a brother a case."

In 1989 the state tried to give Fred two first degree
murder cases and an armed robbery. All charges were
dropped because at the time of the crimes hundreds of
people placed Fred at a local park with his family.
The judge stated he had doubts whether or not a
robbery had even taken place and called Fred an
"exemplary citizen."

What I'm going to say now will sound outlandish, but
it's true. When Fred was acquitted the DA totally blew
it by shouting, "Fred Hampton, we'll get you yet!" So
that's what they did. They gave the brother a case and 18 years.


--So, then, what other evidence was used to convict Fred Hampton?
--Well, the only other evidence, and it really wasn't
given much weight by the jury, was a picture of the
back of Fred's hands. Fred is a mechanic by trade and
scarred the back of his hands removing a heat throttle
from his car. When Fred was arrested, Officer
Grubisic--the same officer who lead the massacre on
the Panther headquarters where Fred Sr. was shot twice in the head while he slept--had a stain put on these bruises, pictures taken of the back of his hands, and then had the pictures blown up.
Fred's attorney objected in a motion to quash the
Photos, and even asked Judge Toomin
to allow him to call in doctors to examine Fred's
hands to determine if they were in fact burns. The
judge refused. But again, the jury was not
convinced.

--Does NPDUM advocate violence?
--No, NPDUM does not promote violence. We promote
democratic rights for the African community such as the right to vote.
Did you know that the right of African people to vote
will expire in the year 2007. I'm not kidding. The
Voter's Right Act, signed in 1965 by Lyndon Baines Johnson, was not a
law. It is an act, and every 25 years Congress convenes
to determine if it will continue to give black people permission
to vote. Ronald Regan was the last president to extend
it. That was in 1982. The NPDUM believes
that democratic rights such as the right to vote, free
speech and political association should not be up for
discussion, review or evaluation. That's what we are
about. Defending basic democratic rights.

--Is this a normal sentence for an arson conviction?
--No, it isn't. The judge gave accused Fred of a
racially motivated terrorist act and called NPDUM as a
terrorist organization. That was the basis for the outrageous
sentence of 18 years. And remember, Fred is innocent.

--What happened in the appeals process?
--There was one attempt at an appeal and that was a
shambles. Legal experts tell us their should never
have been an appeal filed, rather a post-conviction
should have been filed. An appeal is a trial of the
trial: no new evidence or witnesses can be produced.
It basically argues that based on the evidence
presented, the judge should not have decided the case
the way he did. The problem is, Fred's attorney screwed
the trial up royally. He countered an eyewitness
prosecution with an alibi defense which rested with
Fred and his mother. He never called any neighbors who could have
testified that they had seen Fred around the neighborhood
at the time of the bombings. So the appeal could only
be based on what was presented in the trial. In a post-conviction, new evidence and witnesses could have been presented. The case that wasn't made in court could have been made.

So Fred's defense team entered a motion for an appeal.
The state filed a response. The motion for the appeal
was denied, because it was based on a document that
could not possibly win because it is based on what was
presented during the trial. So the appeal never
happened, and, worst of all, the deadline for the post
conviction passed before oral arguments were heard
about the appeal. Finally, the appellate team failed
to file anything with the Illinois Supreme Court, and Fred's supporters weren't even notified that the motion to appeal had been denied until after the deadline for filing with the Supreme Court.

--What is going on with Fred and his case today?
--On April 4, the Illinois Board Of Pardons and
Paroles reviewed Fred's petition for clemency. I think
two things are important. First, Fred's attorney,
Carlos Weedon, met with Fred and recommended he not
file for clemency based on complete innocence because
that is the hardest kind to be granted, but Fred
refused, because he is completely innocent. The second
thing is that Fred's petition for clemency was selected
from between 5,000 to 10,000 petitions, according to
the attorney. That gives us reason for optimism.

At the clemency hearing Fred's mother, his attorney, a
current U.S. congressman and a Michigan State
University law professor testified on Fred's behalf
before a packed courtroom. They will decide whether or not to
forward the case to Governor George Ryan to deny or
grant Fred clemency.

--What can people do to support clemency?
--People can still write letters to the Illinois
Prisoner Review Board, c/o Chairperson Anne
Taylor. The address is 319 East Madison, Suite A
Springfield, IL. 92701, or fax them at 217-524-0012.
Tell them you support clemency for Fred. Another
urgent thing people should do is to participate in the
daily call-ins to Governor Ryan's office, again,
saying you support clemency. His phone number is
217-782-5189 and the fax is 217-524-4049.

The campaign needs funds, and we definitely encourage
people to invite us to come to their area to share
Freds case.

--Is there anything else youd like to say?
--Yes, there is. Fred's arrest is unlawful because it violated the
fourth amendment. His conviction was unlawful because
it used first amendment rights to imply motive. Every unlawful act
committed by the local, state or federal government is
an act of tyranny. And people who believe in justice, whether they
live in America or elsewhere, have a duty to respond
to acts of governmental tyranny in order to preserve, protect and
enhance those rights, freedoms and liberties outlined
in the United States Constitution. This is why we are calling on
people to join the campaign to free Fred, and to join in
the May 12 demonstrations to free Mumia.