CHICAGO, April 9 (IslamOnline) – An American Muslim, Abu-Ali, is due to be executed at 1:00 AM on Wednesday, April 10, 2002, by lethal injection in Tennessee. Abu Ali was denied clemency last week by Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist. Abu Ali’s lawyers say that Tennessee is ''about to execute a man who has never had a fair trial.''

The European Union last week had asked the Governor Sundquist to halt the execution, saying the “execution of people with mental disorders is contrary to human dignity.”

Abu-Ali, formerly known as James Lee Jones, was physically abused and neglected as a child and ran away from home in his early youth. In 1969, while in the military, he was charged with robbery and sent to a youth reformatory. There, he stabbed an inmate to prevent being a victim of a homosexual assault and was subsequently charged with murder. Even though he pleaded insanity, the court convicted him of 2nd degree murder in a one-day trial.

Since 1969, Abu-Ali has been out of jail for less than three years. While in prison he was sexually assaulted numerous times. As a result of constant abuse and deprivation, Abu-Ali suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder. He has never received any treatment for his mental illness.

He was paroled in 1983 and lived and worked in Chicago where he was also involved in volunteer community work. In 1985, he discovered the whereabouts of his brother and moved to Nashville to be near him.

In Nashville Abu-Ali joined the Southeast Gospel Ministry (SGM), a Christian-based racial-identity political group that was devoted to improving the condition of the African-American community. Abu-Ali became a foot soldier of SGM's paramilitary wing, which was guided by Allan Boyd and William Beard.

Members of the group acted as private vigilantes confronting and kicking out drug dealers and other criminals from African-American communities. On February 17, 1985, Abu-Ali and another man, Harold Devalle Miller, were dispatched by Boyd and Beard to enter the apartment of Patrick Daniels, a known drug dealer, and frighten him into quitting. They were told not to physically harm Daniels, but the plan went afoul and Daniels was killed.

Abu-Ali has consistently maintained that he did not kill Daniels, but it was his companion, Miller, who committed the act. Miller, however, identified Abu-Ali as the killer.

Abu-Ali was subsequently sentenced to death and Miller was released on parole after serving six years. Abu-Ali's current lawyers and supporters insist that he did not get a fair trial and that there were several inconsistencies during the trial. They claim the presentation of proof to the jury was inaccurate and highly prejudicial because the prosecutor withheld information and documents favorable to Abu-Ali.

His supporters also charge that his trial lawyer did nothing of substance in his defense and didn't even investigate the case. His employer, the Baptist Publishing Board, who only paid partial fees for his lawyer, also abandoned Abu-Ali. The balance of the fee was never paid.

In 1989, Abu-Ali converted to Islam while in prison. Linda Manning, who is part of an Abu-Ali support campaign told IslamOnline: "He has studied extensively with materials that he has received from both South Africa and Pakistan. He has taught himself the Arabic alphabet and correct pronunciation."

"He credits Islam with helping him to stabilize and discipline his mind, and helping him to cope and ‘maintain’ every day. He is a devoutly spiritual person and has been an inspiration to many," she said.

A federal judge in 1998 threw out Abu-Ali's death sentence concluding his lawyer's failure to tell jurors about his troubled background and mental history was "a miscarriage of justice." However, a federal appeals court in 2000 voted 2-1 to reinstate the death sentence claiming the trial counsel's failures did not affect the outcome.

Eight of the original 12 trial jurors have signed affidavits saying that hearing about Abu-Ali's mental history and childhood would probably have made a difference at sentencing.

Last week, the Tennessee Supreme Court, in a 4-1 vote, rejected Abu-Ali's attempt to halt the execution so that claims of racial prejudice during jury selection could be explored. In dissent, Justice Adolpho Birch said: ''It is plainly unconscionable in a death penalty case to ponder our errors, declare that our hands are tied and yet send Abdur' Rahman to be executed. Our duty clearly calls for us to relentlessly pursue a just result.''

In last-ditch attempts, Abu-Ali's lawyers are preparing legal action Monday and Tuesday in the Metro courthouse, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. His lawyers will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the appeal that alleges racial discrimination during jury selection.