Malaika Tamu Griffin is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 woman serving a life sentence for murder at the La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo, Colorado

Pueblo, Colorado

Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....

 for shooting her neighbor Jason Patrick Horsley to death in May 1999. After the shooting, Malaika became a fugitive from justice for six years, but shortly after she was profiled on America's Most Wanted

America's Most Wanted

America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...

, Malaika was captured in El Cajon, California

El Cajon, California

-History:El Cajon is located on the Rancho El Cajon Mexican land grant made in 1845 to María Antonia Estudillo, wife of Miguel Pedrorena. In 1876 Amaziah Lord Knox , a New Englander who had recently moved to California, established a hotel there to serve the growing number of people traveling...

, a suburb of San Diego, in June 2005.

Background

Malaika Tamu Griffin was born on May 11, 1971. She attended Jackson State University

Jackson State University

Jackson State University is a historically black university founded in 1877 in Natchez, MS by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. The Society moved the school to Jackson in 1882, renaming it Jackson College, and developed its present campus in 1902. It became a state supported...

 and received a Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 in chemistry. Malaika was known to be a 'loner', and after her graduation

Graduation

Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...

 from JSU, she went on a solo backpacking journey in Europe. In 1999, she moved to Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, where she was working in a pharmacy and was renting a room in a house nextdoor to a white couple: Jason Patrick Horsley and his girlfriend Deborah Loiselle. Jason Horsley was a carpenter, and Malaika became angry when Jason laid his tools on her lawn after work. A bitter argument ensued on May 18, 1999, and Malaika's anger boiled over into a heinous crime.

Crime

After arguing with Jason Horsley on May 18, 1999, Malaika came out of her apartment with a 9 mm handgun with a laser sight and shot Jason point blank in the back, killing him instantly. Immediately after the incident, Malaika fled to the nearby home of an acquaintance, Monique Thomas. Malaika stole Monique's car at gunpoint and then drove away. The car was later found abandoned in Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...

.

Inside Malaika Griffin's apartment, police found a 9 mm assault rifle, ammunition, hand grenades and the library of a terrorist, with books about terrorism and bomb making including "The Anarchist Cookbook

The Anarchist Cookbook

The Anarchist Cookbook, first published in 1971, is a book that contains instructions for the manufacture of explosives, rudimentary telecommunications phreaking devices, and other items...

", "Home Workshop Silencers" and "The Poor Man's James Bond

The Poor Man's James Bond

The Poor Man's James Bond is a four book series originally intended for the survivalist-minded, compiled by Kurt Saxon. They were marketed toward the survivalist movement of the 1970s and 1980s, and as a counterpoint to The Anarchist Cookbook which Saxon claimed contained inaccurate information...

". In addition, Malaika's diary was also discovered. In it, Malaika expresses her deep hatred for white people.

Six Years as a Fugitive, But Caught

Malaika Griffin had last been seen boarding a bus to Chicago, Illinois. After that, there had been no sighting of her for years. On May 22, 2004, more than five years after the murder, Malaika was profiled on America's Most Wanted for the first time, and then again a year later on June 4, 2005. After the second showing, authorities received a tip from Malaika's co-workers. The FBI and the El Cajon Police Department contacted the suspect, who had been going by the name "Lake Griffin." After the FBI confronted her, Malaika admitted her identity. She had been working at a biotech firm as a lab assistant, at a fast-food restaurant and thrift store. Malaika was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated motor vehicle theft. She waived her extradition and was returned to Colorado to stand trial.

Trial

Malaika Griffin's trial began on February 27, 2006. During the trial, Malaika's jury read excerpts from her diary about her hatred of white people. One of her entries reads: "I am so sick of looking at white people!! I am so goddamn tired of them!! I wish I could kill those no good fagot, pedophilic, rapists, thieves & make it painful, (very)." Prosecutors also entered into evidence the weapons found in Malaika's apartment after she fled. Malaika decided to testify in her own defense at the trial. She claimed to be innocent of the offenses, and said her diary was about a play she was writing. After a one-week long trial and seven hours of jury deliberations, Malaika Griffin was convicted on all counts. Under Colorado law, a first-degree murder conviction results in an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.

Aftermath

Malaika's case was profiled on the Oxygen Network program Snapped

Snapped

Snapped is an American true crime television series that airs on the Oxygen Network. Snapped debuted on August 6, 2004 and is produced in conjunction with Jupiter Entertainment.-Synopsis:...

 on February 3, 2008.

Malaika filed an appeal in April 2009 to the Colorado Court of Appeals

Colorado Court of Appeals

The Colorado Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Colorado. It was established by statute by the Colorado General Assembly under Article VI, Section 1 of the Constitution of Colorado.-Jurisdiction:...

. She argued that her convictions should be overturned because her trial attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 was not licensed to practice law in Colorado, her notebook entries, self-defense instructions, and prosecutorial misconduct

Prosecutorial misconduct

In jurisprudence, prosecutorial misconduct is a procedural defense; via which, a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for actions which may have broken the law, because the prosecution acted in an "inappropriate" or "unfair" manner. Such arguments may involve...

. All of her claims were denied, and her convictions were all affirmed on April 16, 2009.