Biography
Bashir Hameed was a Black liberation activist who worked within the Black Panther Party and later became associated with the Black Liberation Army, part of a generation that combined political organizing with a confrontationist stance toward policing and state power in the United States. His public profile grew from both movement involvement and the criminal proceedings that followed a 1981 armed confrontation with police.
He was arrested and ultimately convicted in connection with that incident, receiving a lengthy-to-life sentence. He remained incarcerated until his death in custody in 2008.
Queens Two arrest-date evidence
Abdul Majid's 1992 interview dates Hameed's arrest to August 1981. A Queens Two defense leaflet specifies August 17 in Sumter, South Carolina; the database previously asserted August 26 without supporting evidence. Pending independent confirmation of the day, arrest and initial custody now use month precision, not a fabricated August 1 day. The April 1 arrest on another apparent duplicate record was removed: it precedes the April 16 shooting underlying this prosecution. The three existing records have not been populated with duplicate custody spans. His August 30, 2008 death remains a death in custody, not a living release; the release field mirrors that endpoint for database accounting.
Sources: Abdul Majid interview, Arm the Spirit, October–December 1992; Queens Two defense leaflet, pages 1–2; Jericho Movement memorial.
The committee refers to James York’s capture and calls his prosecution a frame-up. Existing aliases identify York as Basheer Hameed. This is attributed defense commentary without a newly dated arrest, sentence or custody endpoint.
Tip of the Iceberg, December 1981 (surviving twelve-page scan), PDF page 2.
