Born in a Kenyan Refugee Camp in 1993, Mahdi Ali was trafficked to the United States when he was 9 years old as an unintended consequence of the complexities of the asylum / migration process and was ultimately abandoned on the streets of Minneapolis shortly after arriving. Bouncing through various foster homes and sleeping rough, in Mosques, or community centers, Mahdi managed to find a way to learn English and keep himself alive despite having all of the odds stacked against him.
At 9-years old it was expected that Mahdi would be able to establish a foothold in the United States (with the help of his traffickers) and would be able to start sending money to his family in Kenya so that they could join him in Minnesota as soon as possible. Mahdi came to the United States with the understanding that he was to be the family's "golden ticket" to the American Dream despite only being 9 at the time.
In 2011 while Mahdi was dropping a friend off at work at the Fairview Riverside Hospital, miles away, Mahdi's best friend Ahmed Ali (no relation) and Ahmed's cousin Abdisalan Ali attempted to rob the Seward Market in Minneapolis for whatever cash they could score quickly. Upon being recognized by the employee at the market, it is believed that Abdisalan panicked and shot the employee at the market in addition to two witnesses that were present during the botched robbery. Abdisalan may have threatened to kill Ahmed Ali if he ever told the police that Abdisalan was the real killer and a plan to point the finger at an innocent person was born out of a moment of desperation and panic.
Ahmed Ali ultimately did 8 years in prison as an accomplice in the murders and told the police and investigators that Mahdi Ali, not his cousin Abdisalan Ali, was the actual killer. Mahdi is currently serving 90 years at MCF Rush City with no possibility for parole. When Judge Peter Cahill was forced to re-sentence Mahdi when the US Supreme Court determined that a life sentence for a minor is cruel and unusual punishment, Cahill instead sentenced Mahdi to three consecutive 30-year terms with no possibility for parole meaning that Mahdi would be age 105 at release.
The Hennepin County Conviction Integrity Unit is currently investigating the case as the Coalition to Free Mahdi Ali and Mahdi's family call for real justice for both Mahdi and the victim's families.
