Abu-Ali’s Last Hope
Gov. Phil Bredesen says he doesn’t want Tennessee “to turn into Texas”
by Liz Murray Garrigan
A recent meeting between Gov. Phil Bredesen and two of the state’s three Catholic bishops fell short of the governor’s ideological conversion but offered some optimism that death row inmate Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman, who was the undisputed victim of an incompetent defense, has a shot at being granted clemency.
“Obviously, [the bishops] have strong feelings on the subject, which is that the death penalty is generally inappropriate and it’s particularly inappropriate in this case that’s coming up,” says the governor, himself a Presbyterian who sometimes attends church with his Catholic wife. “What I told them was that, number one, I want to reaffirm that I’m a believer that the death penalty is the appropriate punishment for some crimes. I absolutely accept the fact that there have been terrible inequities in how it’s been applied—everything from defenses of highly variable quality and misconduct on the part of prosecutors to racism and a host of other kinds of issues have entered into it in ways that shouldn’t.”
But the governor went on to assure Nashville Bishop Edward Kmiec and Knoxville Bishop Joseph Kurtz that he would seriously consider commuting death sentences when and if those appeals reach his desk.
“I have nothing to say about any of the cases that are coming up,” the governor tells the Scene. “But I will say to you I will treat every one of them absolutely seriously and review the record and seek recommendations from people about what ought to be done and certainly not shrink from commuting a sentence if it seems to be the appropriate thing to do.”
Abdur’Rahman’s lawyers recently appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court, essentially asking for a review of the case that courts have acknowledged included an incompetent defense on Abdur’Rahman’s behalf and even prosecutorial misconduct. But that pleading was rejected. The inmate, who is also widely considered to be mentally ill, is set to die June 18 for the 1987 stabbing death of a local drug dealer. He was convicted, even though there was virtually no hard evidence to suggest he committed the crime—no blood on any of his clothes, no fingerprints on any murder weapon and not a single eyewitness, except for a shady accomplice who made a sweetheart deal with the prosecution.
Bredesen says he’s well aware of the disturbing facts surrounding the case. “I look at my job and take very seriously the fact that we’ve provided in our constitution kind of a final round of appeal,” he says. “If we think something is fundamentally wrong with the system, and the system has not worked, there’s a way of dealing with it.”
Bredesen’s willingness to meet with the bishops and consider clemency is in stark contrast to his predecessor, Don Sundquist, who last met with the state’s bishops in 2000, primarily to discuss tax reform. In 2001 and 2002, Sundquist’s office declined meetings with Tennessee’s bishops, saying he had scheduling conflicts.
Abdur’Rahman’s defense team submitted a clemency request to Sundquist in 2002, receiving only a terse one-line response saying clemency was denied.
Bredesen seems to have a more thoughtful approach. “I don’t want to turn into Texas where we’re just lining people up,” he says.
