Bilal Muhammad

Bilal H. Muhammad was born on November 27, 1981 in New Brunswick, NJ. He departed this life on January 4, 2025 suddenly and unexpected.
Bilal grew up in South Brunswick Township, NJ and attended the public schools there. During his childhood years, Bilal loved science, nature, history and his curiosity of life led him to be a light for all his family and friends.
At the age of 24 he moved to Durham, NC to attend a program at TROSA where he graduated as a Scholar, excelling as their manager for the transportation company there. He then moved on to become a manager at Noodles and Company in Durham NC. Bilal returned to New Jersey in 2011, when he suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Bilal always desired to do better and through the years he enrolled in universities and studied aviation, machinist, and later became a Manager at Sleepy's in Pennsylvania. He moved to Arizona briefly, then Pittsburg, and moved to El Paso, Texas in 2012 where he worked at the Hilton Garden Inn before he was wrongly incarcerated for a self-defense case.
Bilal unjustly spent the next nine years there in El Paso, Texas without a trial before being released on August 29, 2024. It was there that he studied law on his own over these years because of the injustices and civil rights issues, and he became very involved in his own case, along with becoming a passionate advocate for speaking out about the injustices of the criminal legal system and an advocate helping other inmates by providing them assistance with their cases. Bilal was a Commentor for Prison Radio where he published seven commentaries which can be heard at Prison Radio https://www.prisonradio.org/?s=bilal+muhammad
Bilal was a "gentle giant" who embodied courage, wisdom, and boundless compassion throughout his life. He loved people of all walks of life unconditionally and he touched countless lives. Bilal was a volunteer with the Fronteriez Fianza Fund, an organization in El Paso Texas who help inmates with bail, who supported him with his release, and he wanted to give back by volunteering to assist the organization.
Bilal's own attorney sent his mom an email recently stating "I hope you are incredibly proud of the great man he was. He had overcome some pretty big challenges, and in addition to his resilience, he was kind, and so smart! I don't know if he told you, but I had talked with him about going on to law school and returning to El Paso to work with our office as an attorney. I have a great deal of respect for him, for you and for your whole family. "
Bilal became friends with a group of supporters in El Paso, Texas whom he loved dearly and they loved him. They were always there to support him by attending court hearings, making visits, writing him letters, and assisted him during his release. They stood by Bilal in his fight for freedom. We will be forever grateful for the care, concern and kindness they had for him.
Bilal loved his family and loved spending time with his children. He would call or text everyone, one by one, just to talk, counsel or give advice. He even helped his daughter Ellie write a business plan for a school project spending hours on the phone with her. Bilal was a great father, son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend to all who knew him. He was special and unique. During his last two months, he got to spend time in New Jersey with his family, and best friend Arthur Wright whom he considered his brother. It was a joyous time for everyone, little did we know his life would be short lived, which left everyone devastated.
Bilal leaves to cherish his memories his Mother and Step Father, Giovanna Peterkin Trower and Colonial Trower, Biological Father Bilaal Muhammad, his brother Justin Peterkin and family of Lawrenceville, Ga., sisters Giowanna (Maiyah) Muhammad, and Tykeria Muhammad, three children Tyler Cleveland, Elysia Cleveland and Georgina Cleveland of Pennsylvania, and a host of Aunts, Nephews, Nieces, Cousins, step brothers and sisters and friends.
After this writing, we received the bitter sweet news from Bilal's attorney that his case has been dismissed as of January 13, 2025. We are sad that he was so close and did not get to hear the news. This will always be a part of his legacy which his Attorney Kelli Childress and Team fought so hard for, and we are thankful for Judge Kitty Schild to make this ruling.
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