Biography
Omar Askia Ali was a member of the Nation of Islam who was leading a political campaign to improve conditions in his neighborhood in Philadelphia and remove drugs from the area. Local residents reported that a group of corrupt cops had been robbing addicts and dealers to steal their supply and resell the drugs themselves. While working on this campaign Omar was harassed by police and eventually arrested for a furniture store robbery in which an employee was shot and killed. The head investigator for the robbery Detective William O'Brien had previously threatened Omar to stop his campaign of ending the drug trade and was known in the area as a corrupt cop who would steal and sell drugs. Detective O'Brien was later sentenced to 5 years in prison for bribery and drug dealing. Detective O'Brien claimed he had arrested Omar after a witness identified him as one of the robbers from a photograph of Omar he had shown them. During the trial it was revealed that the witness never identified Omar and instead prosecutors changed their story to claim a police informant told them Omar had committed the robbery. The alleged informant was never allowed to be cross-examined by the defense and Omar was convicted of murder by an all-white jury and sentenced to life in prison.
He died in custody in 2021 after more than fifty years of imprisonment.
Documented case history
The Third Circuit opinion identifies Edward Sistrunk as Omar Askia Ali and discusses his 1981 retrial. On March 30, 2004 it affirmed denial of habeas relief. The retrial and appellate decision do not establish a new jail admission or a break in custody.
