Mar 23, 2006 8:00 am US/Mountain
Outspoken Critic Of Police Jailed For T-Shirt
BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) ―
An outspoken critic of police in Aurora and Denver was sentenced Wednesday to 45 days in jail for contempt of court after he attended his trial on another charge wearing a T-shirt with Crips founder Stanley "Tookie" Williams on it.
Shareef Aleem's attorney, Mark Burton, said he will appeal the sentence handed down after Aleem refused to change his shirt during his assault trial March 1.
"He's serving 45 days for wearing a T-shirt," said Burton. "We filed a motion, asserting Mr. Aleem was within his rights of free speech to wear that T-shirt."
Aleem was arrested on Feb. 3, 2005, during a University of Colorado Board of Regents meeting where regents were considering the school's response to Ward Churchill, the professor who likened Sept. 11 victims to an infamous Nazi.
His trial for allegedly assaulting an officer ended in a hung jury on March 2.
The T-shirt he was wearing featured Williams, who was recently executed, with the word "Redemption" on it.
In a motion, Burton said shirts worn by at least two jurors had political implications, including one with NASCAR written on it and another featuring Rastafarian and reggae legend, Bob Marley.
Neither one of those people were asked to remove their shirts, according to the motion.
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