Who was Shaka Sankofa?
Q: Who was Shaka Sankofa?
A: Shaka Sankofa, also known as Gary Graham, was born on September 5th, 1963 and put to death on June 22nd, 2000. He was convicted of the murder of Bobby Lambert in Houston, Texas in 1981 when he was seventeen.
Q: What evidence did the government have against him?
A: The government believed that Sankofa had committed up to 22 robberies in the area at the time of the murder. One of these robberies included using a shotgun to rob a man who he had given a ride to when his car stopped working on the highway. During this robbery, the man attempted to escape and was shot by Graham but survived. There was no physical evidence linking Graham to the murder but one woman said she saw him do it from 30 feet away in a dark parking lot.
Q: How did Sankofa's supporters bring attention to his case?
A: Supporters argued that his conviction was based solely on this single eyewitness testimony and brought international attention to his case. They also pointed out that there were six other apparent eyewitnesses who believed that Sankofa wasn't guilty of committing the murder.
Q: What legal attempts were made by his lawyers?
A: His lawyers appealed to the U.S Supreme Court and filed a civil suit saying that execution would be against his civil rights; however both attempts failed with District Court Judge James Nowlin rejecting their claim for civil rights violation.
Q: When did Shaka Sankofa die?
A: Shaka Sankofa died on June 22nd, 2000 after many legal attempts by his lawyers failed to stop it from happening.
Q: How old was Shaka Sankofa when he committed the crime?
A: Shaka Sankofa was seventeen years old when he committed Bobby Lambert's murder in 1981 in Houston, Texas
