Sawt Falasteen - US death row inmate stages jazz protest for release in London court

This week, capital crimes returned to the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, with a musical protest proclaiming the innocence of a prisoner who has spent decades on death row in the United States.

Tuesday's jazz concert in the hallowed halls of the imposing court featured Spanish pianist Albert Marques, with Keith LaMar joining from his cell at a maximum state prison in Youngstown, Ohio, reading poems.

"Concerts create an empathy that sometimes encourages people to get involved," Marques told AFP in an interview before the show. "That's the power of music."

Marques, 38, has lived in New York since 2011 and learned about LaMar's story from a book that he wrote from solitary confinement, "Condemned", published in 2014.

In it, LaMar mentions that the music of jazz musician John Coltrane kept him sane. "So I came up with the idea of doing concert-demonstrations," said the pianist, who grew up near Barcelona.

LaMar, who is black, was convicted by an all-white jury in 1995 of playing a key role in the deaths of other inmates in a 1993 prison riot, one of the worst in US history.

Marques said he is convinced of his innocence and joined forces with a campaign group calling for his release.

"I think everything we're doing will lead to his release, which will also clear up similar cases," he added.

"That's why they (the US authorities) are so resistant. It's a house of cards and if he succeeds, everything falls."

- Execution postponed -

LaMar was due to be executed on November 16, 2023 but he earned a reprieve until January 2027 because of a lack of component chemicals for his lethal injection, according to the Ohio authorities.

Ten people -- nine inmates and a prison guard -- died in the riot. LaMar, who was convicted of killing five, was said to have organised the unrest.

But Marques said: "There's no material evidence, only accusations from other prisoners against him in exchange for sentence reductions."

LaMar had been in prison since he was 19 for the murder of an old friend in a drug dispute in the 1980s in his native Cleveland but his supporters say that conviction is also unsafe.

The first concert-demonstration for LaMar's release was held in August 2020 at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York.

Marques played music while LaMar recited verse from his cell.

From street concerts, the pair have since played in venues, particularly universities, across the United States, in Latin America and Europe.

- Close friendship -

Marques describes LaMar as "one of my best friends" and has visited him several times, despite the 400 miles (640 kilometres) that separates New York and Youngstown.

"Freedom First", the name of the concerts, is also the name of the pair's first album, which came out in 2022.

LaMar, now 55, told AFP in a phone interview last year that music can help get his case known to a wider audience. "With that comes more support and more public demand," he added.

Some 80 musicians have since been involved in the project. On Tuesday, the pair were joined by American saxophonist Jean Toussaint, who lives in London.

The gig was organised by British charity Amicus, which campaigns against the death penalty in the United States.

The project has earned Marques and LaMar two awards and led to a book about the experience. The pair's second album is due out in May next year.

W.Mansour--SF-PST