What happened to Ricky Kinchen? H. Rap Brown convicted of killing Fulton County deputy dies in prison

H. Rap Brown, who was also known as Jamil Al-Amin, died on November 23 while in federal prison. Brown had been serving a sentence in relation to the killing of Fulton County Deputy Ricky Kinchen, as per Fox 5 Atlanta.

Deputy Sheriff Ricky Kinchen died at the age of 35 in 2000 after sustaining gunshot wounds while serving a warrant with his partner, Aldranon English. According to Officer Down Memorial Page, Kinchen and his partner arrived at a suspected offender’s workplace to serve a warrant for multiple charges, one of which was impersonating a police officer.

When the two police officers arrived at the location, they circled to the back and came across a vehicle with a person standing beside it. As per the Officer Down Memorial Page, the person was asked to show his hands, but he took a .223 caliber rifle and began shooting at the officers.

Kinchen was hit in his abdomen and leg despite wearing a vest. After being taken to a hospital, Kinchen died the following day. His partner survived the attack.

Never forget Deputy Sheriff Ricky Kinchen eow 3/17/2000 (shot) incident date 3/16/2000 FultonInfo FultonSheriff pic.twitter.com/nFa0MzDemy

— Shield 1631 (@Shield1631) March 17, 2017

Ricky Kinchen’s partner recounted the attack that killed the Fulton County Deputy and identified H. Rap Brown as the perpetrator in 2002

H. Rap Brown, who was known as Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin after he converted to Islam during an earlier sentence in the 1970s, was arrested in connection with Ricky Kinchen’s killing, after a shootout in Whitehall, Alabama, according to The New York Times.

Brown maintained his innocence, however. As per CBS News, he claimed that his arrest was part of a conspiracy. In an interview with the New York Times, he said,

“The FBI has a file on me containing 40,000 documents, but prior to this incident their investigation has produced no fruits, no indictments, no arrests. At some point, they had to make something happen to justify all the investigations and all the money they spent.”

According to CBS News, Brown was the leader of the National Ummah, a prominent black Muslim group in the U.S.

During H. Rap Brown’s trial in 2002, Ricky Kinchen’s partner, Aldranon English, who was wounded in the 2000 shootout, cried while giving his testimony, as per The Guardian. During the trial, it was recounted that Brown also allegedly employed a pistol to shoot three additional bullets at Kinchen.

According to The Guardian, while confirming that it was Brown who was the attacker, English said during the trial,

“The truth of the matter is that the defendant was the one who was standing on the sidewalk that night and shot me and my partner with the assault rifle. He is the only one I saw that night.”

Eventually, Brown was handed a life sentence, as per Associated Press.

While confirming Brown’s death, his son released a statement through a law firm (via Fox 5 Atlanta),

“On behalf of our entire family, I thank every single person who prayed, stood, marched, researched, wrote, advocated, and fought to clear my father’s name. Your love sustained us. Your belief in his innocence strengthened us. We ask for your continued prayers as we mourn a father, a husband, a brother, a leader, and a servant of the people.”

Imam Jamil Al Amin, the political prisoner formally known as H Rap Brown, has died, according to his son. He was 82. pic.twitter.com/jigk6cTLcr

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 23, 2025

Before receiving his life sentence for the killing of Kinchen, Brown was on the FBI's most-wanted list and had served a four-year-long sentence for an attempted robbery, according to The Guardian.