Zürcher Nachrichten - US death row inmate stages jazz protest for release in London court

EUR -
AED 3.8756
AFN 72.200575
ALL 98.139539
AMD 411.532283
ANG 1.916419
AOA 962.319203
ARS 1053.188708
AUD 1.630218
AWG 1.899315
AZN 1.784231
BAM 1.955003
BBD 2.146925
BDT 127.068214
BGN 1.956891
BHD 0.397718
BIF 3140.020304
BMD 1.055175
BND 1.421121
BOB 7.348005
BRL 6.129194
BSD 1.063362
BTN 89.676253
BWP 14.428257
BYN 3.479882
BYR 20681.429409
BZD 2.143327
CAD 1.478495
CDF 3023.076626
CHF 0.936043
CLF 0.037472
CLP 1033.976525
CNY 7.638303
CNH 7.648689
COP 4726.12869
CRC 542.978712
CUC 1.055175
CUP 27.962137
CVE 110.22008
CZK 25.288011
DJF 189.351934
DKK 7.458214
DOP 64.043899
DZD 141.622416
EGP 52.009895
ERN 15.827625
ETB 129.779309
FJD 2.40258
FKP 0.83167
GBP 0.831235
GEL 2.880458
GGP 0.83167
GHS 17.173001
GIP 0.83167
GMD 74.917819
GNF 9164.265159
GTQ 8.216651
GYD 222.469334
HKD 8.212268
HNL 26.846059
HRK 7.526869
HTG 139.81302
HUF 408.163026
IDR 16774.7496
ILS 3.959224
IMP 0.83167
INR 89.068533
IQD 1392.932319
IRR 44414.948032
ISK 147.313122
JEP 0.83167
JMD 168.341393
JOD 0.748221
JPY 164.500191
KES 136.329796
KGS 90.952195
KHR 4308.244201
KMF 492.080753
KPW 949.658078
KRW 1481.418127
KWD 0.324772
KYD 0.886139
KZT 524.106404
LAK 23352.482837
LBP 95221.093219
LKR 310.793338
LRD 200.438313
LSL 19.102015
LTL 3.115657
LVL 0.638265
LYD 5.151876
MAD 10.572991
MDL 19.161191
MGA 4961.977776
MKD 61.584316
MMK 3427.167142
MNT 3585.4848
MOP 8.519528
MRU 42.330748
MUR 50.047248
MVR 16.302766
MWK 1843.848551
MXN 21.712439
MYR 4.735102
MZN 67.423993
NAD 19.102015
NGN 1777.041223
NIO 39.134051
NOK 11.764987
NPR 143.481165
NZD 1.799094
OMR 0.406253
PAB 1.063367
PEN 4.030158
PGK 4.274258
PHP 62.064863
PKR 295.443194
PLN 4.34422
PYG 8298.578641
QAR 3.87682
RON 4.97705
RSD 116.980897
RUB 103.919035
RWF 1459.505187
SAR 3.964662
SBD 8.846117
SCR 14.382386
SDG 634.688134
SEK 11.596378
SGD 1.419896
SHP 0.83167
SLE 24.073878
SLL 22126.461188
SOS 607.652355
SRD 37.226828
STD 21839.991486
SVC 9.304208
SYP 2651.158922
SZL 19.108032
THB 36.972803
TJS 11.329783
TMT 3.703664
TND 3.346836
TOP 2.471323
TRY 36.237853
TTD 7.226055
TWD 34.365466
TZS 2801.489873
UAH 43.929697
UGX 3902.409597
USD 1.055175
UYU 44.831729
UZS 13603.455994
VES 47.479192
VND 26796.168359
VUV 125.272516
WST 2.950778
XAF 655.689778
XAG 0.035082
XAU 0.000412
XCD 2.851663
XDR 0.801074
XOF 655.686672
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.580476
ZAR 19.275884
ZMK 9497.834156
ZMW 29.087146
ZWL 339.76591
  • CMSD

    -0.0200

    24.73

    -0.08%

  • RBGPF

    59.2500

    59.25

    +100%

  • CMSC

    0.0700

    24.61

    +0.28%

  • BCC

    1.4200

    142.55

    +1%

  • RIO

    -0.5800

    60.62

    -0.96%

  • SCS

    -0.3000

    13.37

    -2.24%

  • AZN

    0.1000

    65.29

    +0.15%

  • NGG

    -0.7800

    62.12

    -1.26%

  • BCE

    -0.4800

    27.21

    -1.76%

  • GSK

    -0.4100

    35.11

    -1.17%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0400

    7.07

    -0.57%

  • VOD

    0.2800

    8.75

    +3.2%

  • RELX

    -0.4700

    46.12

    -1.02%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.24

    +0.15%

  • BTI

    0.1800

    35.42

    +0.51%

  • BP

    0.4100

    28.57

    +1.44%

US death row inmate stages jazz protest for release in London court
US death row inmate stages jazz protest for release in London court / Photo: Adrian DENNIS - AFP

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

Some of Britain's most notorious cases have been tried at London's Old Bailey, including those attracting the death penalty until the punishment was abolished in the 1960s.

Text size:

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.

U.Ammann--NZN