NASHVILLE – A Tennessee inmate who faces execution in April signed an agreement Wednesday that could reduce his sentence to life in prison, if the judge approves it.
The agreement comes after Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman filed a petition to reopen his case. Abdur’Rahman, who is black, argued the prosecutor deliberately eliminated black potential jurors from the jury pool, violating his rights under the U.S. and Tennessee constitutions.
Nashville Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins said he will make a decision by Thursday morning.
At a Wednesday hearing, Abdur’Rahman’s attorney introduced a 2015 letter from Nashville’s current district attorney general, Glenn Funk, about John Zimmerman, who prosecuted Abdur’Rahman’s case but now works in another district.
Funk’s letter to the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference described Zimmerman’s comments during a continuing education panel on jury selection where he offered “blatant advice to use race in jury selection.” His comments included seeking black jurors for a case where the defendants were Hispanic because “all blacks hate Mexicans.”