EDUCATORS PASS RESOLUTION: FREE MAHDI ALI

The Minneapolis Federation of Educators, Local 59 has passed a resolution in support of freedom for former South High School student Mahdi Ali.  
 
"Mahdi Ali was 15 years old when he was framed for the killing of three men during a botched robbery at the Seward Market on Jan. 6, 2010," according to a statement released by Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB). " From the beginning, he has maintained his innocence.  Minneapolis police failed to secure a videotape that showed Mahdi at least two miles away at the time of the murders.  His co-defendant, who was given a lenient sentence for testifying against Mahdi, has since recanted his testimony.  There is no physical evidence definitively tying Mahdi to the crime.  Target Corporation played a key role by funding the prosecution in this case."
 
Mahdi recently submitted an application to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit, which will investigate his case.
 
Mahdi’s educator at Stadium View School, Brenda Johnson, remembers him as a respectful, quiet yet curious young man with a quest for learning. She said, “I stand with Mahdi because I am certain he is innocent and because we must dismantle the school to prison pipeline.”
 
Other prominent individuals have endorsed the effort to free Mahdi Ali including former city council member Cam Gordon of Seward, civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, Black Lives Matter Minnesota co-founder Monique Cullars-Doty, city council candidate and prisoner rights activist Marvina Haynes, and CUAPB president Michelle Gross.
 
South High teacher and MFE 59 rank-and-file member Nick Nelson helped to get the resolution passed by the union. He said, "Our union is a place where we can contribute to movement-building, and I am proud this resolution passed with overwhelming support."