Saturday, June 02, 2007

As lawyers appeal for new trial, rally demands: `FREE MUMIA'

By Betsey Piette
Philadelphia
Published May 24, 2007 12:38 AM

Over a thousand people rallied in support of death row, political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal on May 17 outside the Federal Building in downtown Philadelphia, where a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit convened to hear oral arguments on his right to a new trial.

Around 200 Mumia supporters, including Dick Gregory, former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Lynne Stewart, Kathleen Cleaver, and international delegates from France and Germany, were also eyewitnesses on Mumia's behalf inside the courtroom. Abu-Jamal was prohibited from attending this oral hearing.

Participants included busloads from New York and Boston; youth organized by FIST (Fight Imperialism, Stand Together) and Students for a Democratic Society, who traveled overnight from North Carolina; a car caravan from Georgia led by McKinney; and supporters from Richmond, Cleveland and as far away as Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, the overwhelming majority were from the Philadelphia area, many who took off from work to attend.

There were rallies supporting Abu-Jamal in several other U.S. cities (see page 7 round-up article) and demonstrations in many countries around the world, including France, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden and Britain.

The oral arguments were presented before Chief Judge Anthony Scirica and Judge Robert Cowen, both Reagan appointees, and Judge Thomas Ambro, a Clinton appointee. All three appeared to be familiar with the arguments contained in written briefs filed by attorneys prior to the hearing. During their time on the Third Circuit all three have overturned capital convictions based on the same claim Abu-Jamal is making about race-based exclusion of jurors by the prosecution.


Abu-Jamal was represented by Attorneys Robert Bryan and Judith Ritter, along with NAACP Attorney Christina Swarns. They argued that racial bias in jury selection and improper instructions by the prosecutor to the jury during the sentencing phase of Abu-Jamal's 1982 murder trial provided grounds for a new trial. Arguing for the prosecution, Assistant District Attorney Hugh Burns presented the state's appeal of the December 2001 decision by Federal Judge William Yohn that overturned Abu-Jamal's death sentence even though he remains on death row.

Burns, who was the first to present, often referred to Abu-Jamal's court appointed attorney Anthony Jackson and his failure to file a complaint about racism in jury selection during the trial. Jackson, assigned to "represent" Mumia by Judge Albert Sabo, was disbarred in 1992 for drug abuse, yet the state is still using this attorney to prosecute Mumia 25 years later.

Jackson did file a pre-trial motion in March of 1982 requesting information on the racial composition of the entire venire (jury pool) because he strongly suspected that there would be a problem. However, his motion was denied by Sabo, and the fact that Jackson did not raise this concern again during the trial proceedings was used by Burns to argue that it should not be considered today.

The appellate judges devoted considerable time debating whether racism in jury selection could be determined if the racial makeup of the jury pool was unknown. When asked about the racial composition of the jury pool at Abu-Jamal's PCRA (Post Conviction Relief Act) hearing in 1995, Prosecutor Joseph McGill claimed he didn't remember. However, given that African Americans made up 44 percent of the population of Philadelphia in 1982, the fact that less than 15 percent (two out of fourteen) of the jurors at Abu-Jamal's trial were Black should be evidence enough.

The racial composition of the final pool of jurors is known. Twenty-eight out of forty-three were white and fifteen Black. Each side in a trial can use twenty challenges to eliminate potential jurors without stating why; however, these peremptory challenges may not be used to keep members of a particular race off the jury. McGill used 15 peremptory challenges to remove 10 of the 15 remaining Black jurors, but only five of the 28 whites.

An added factor in support of defense claims was the systematic pattern of exclusion of African Americans from juries by Philadelphia prosecutors around the time of Mumia's 1982 trial. This was addressed by Swarns, who presented oral arguments contained in an amicus brief on behalf of Abu-Jamal by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The LDEF pioneered the affirmative use of civil actions to end jury discrimination. Their 31-page brief, which underscores the seriousness of the evidence of racial discrimination, can be found at www.naacpldf.org/content/pdf/jury/Abu-Jamal_v_Horn_amicus_brief.pdf.

The LDEF brief cites the 1986 case of Batson v. Kentucky, in which the Supreme Court declared that a criminal defendant who is able to prove that his trial prosecutor used peremptory challenges to exclude potential jurors on the basis of race is entitled to a new trial. Attorneys on behalf of Abu-Jamal are asking the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to consider the combination of factors that infer that his was unquestionably a racially charged case.


Case tainted with racism

Abu-Jamal is African-American and the victim was a white policeman. In the months between the Dec. 9, 1981, shooting death of Daniel Faulkner and the July 1982 trial, the local media continually emphasized the racial aspects of the case, particularly Abu-Jamal's membership in the Black Panther Party and his support of the MOVE organization, including the political prisoners known as the MOVE 9.

In his work as a journalist, Abu-Jamal often reported on prisons and police brutality and in one instance publicly challenged then Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo. He also wore his hair in dreadlocks at the time and the LDEF brief cites a Philadelphia Inquirer article from June 10, 1982, which stated, "Several prospective jurors left the courtroom Tuesday saying they were too upset and afraid to serve after being questioned by Abu-Jamal, who wears his hair in the dreadlocks style of the MOVE sect."

Swarns argued that the trial prosecutor in Abu-Jamal's case, Joseph McGill, had a history of systematically striking Black jurors. The LDEF brief notes that "a survey of homicide cases tried by Mr. McGill between September of 1981 and October 1983 reveal that he excluded prospective African-American venire persons approximately three times as often as he excluded non-black prospective jurors."

The brief points out that "A comprehensive statistical study of Philadelphia County death penalty cases tried between 1981 and 1997 reveals that, `in 317 capital trials in Philadelphia between 1981 and 1997, prosecutors struck 51 percent of black jurors and 26 percent of non black jurors.'" Both Swarns and Bryan made reference to a notorious video training tape prepared by Philadelphia D.A. Jack McMahon advocating the systematic exclusion of African-American prospective jurors based on his experience in the D.A.'s office.

Swarns also noted that African-American jurors were struck from the jury pool because they were unemployed, divorced or single parents, yet these criteria were not applied to white jurors. Black jurors were asked if they had heard Abu-Jamal on Black radio stations, yet white jurors were not asked if they had heard Abu-Jamal's commentaries that played on NPR. One African-American man was dismissed because he admitted to having a hearing problem, while a white juror who had to turn up his hearing aid to listen to Prosecutor McGill's questions was allowed to remain.

One African-American woman whom McGill picked for the jury because "she hated Abu-Jamal" was later thrown off by Sabo when she had to attend to a dying pet. She'd asked for a brief time off but was refused. Meanwhile Sabo adjourned the proceedings for an entire afternoon so that a white, male juror could take a civil service exam.

The issue of McGill's clearly inappropriate instructions to jurors during the July 1982 sentencing phase was addressed by Ritter who also questioned the legality of McGill's three-page verdict form.

Each death sentence must rest on two findings: proof beyond a reasonable doubt of at least one aggravating circumstance that would have increased the seriousness of the crime; and the finding that there are no mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to call for leniency in sentencing. The verdict form in Abu-Jamal's case consisted of a list of aggravators without any instructions on their application.

While the law doesn't require jurors to be unanimous when it comes to considering mitigating circumstances (for example, positive character witnesses or the fact that the defendant in this case had never been convicted of a crime), the verdict form provided no space for jurors to indicate that some jurors felt these were relevant even if not all agreed upon them.

In fact McGill's instructions gave jurors the impression that they had to be unanimous in order for mitigating circumstances to be considered. In addition, Ritter challenged the constitutionality of McGill's charge to the jury that it was alright if they gave Abu-Jamal the death sentence because he would have "appeal after appeal."

A third appeal by Abu-Jamal's attorneys argued that his 1995 PCRA hearing was constitutionally flawed because the judge—the same Judge Albert Sabo who tried Mumia's original case—was biased in favor of the prosecution. The PCRA transcript shows that Sabo denied subpoenas of witnesses requested by the defense, cut off defense lines of questioning and threatened Abu-Jamal's attorneys with contempt of court when they challenged him. One defense witness who testified to being coerced by prosecutors to lie in the 1982 trial, found herself arrested in the courtroom while she was still on the witness stand in the PCRA hearing.

Sabo's racism and bias against Abu-Jamal is also evidenced by his comment to another judge, "I'm going to help them fry the n****r," overheard by court stenographer Terri Maurer Carter.


`The Mumia rule'

While many of the cases cited as legal precedent by Abu-Jamal's attorneys have been grounds for the reversal of a number of convictions in capital cases, that is no guarantee of a new trial for Abu-Jamal. In a May 15, article by author Dave Lindorff and columnist Linn Washington Jr. titled "Justice System on Trial as Mumia Case Reaches Climax," they point out that over the course of Abu-Jamal's more than two-decade-long appeals process, the courts have shown a willingness to create special exceptions that apply only to him.

They note an example of what might be called `The Mumia Rule' that occurred in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The state's top judges in 1986 overturned a death sentence where McGill had made the same closing arguments to jurors at the conclusion of a murder trial presided over by none other than Sabo.

The state's top court declared that McGill's language had "minimized the jury's sense of responsibility for a verdict of death" and ordered a new trial. Three years later in 1989, this court reversed itself when it came to upholding Abu-Jamal's conviction. Eleven years later in 1997 the court flip-flopped again and barred such language by all prosecutors "in all future trials."

In his closing arguments during the May 17th hearing, defense attorney Robert Bryan made a point of this when he listed defendants whose capital cases have come before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals—Donald Hardcastle, Arnold Holloway, Curtis Brinson and Harold Wilson—whose convictions were overturned because of racial discrimination in the proceedings. "Are we to believe that there was no racism in this highly charged case in which a political Black defendant was accused of killing a white police officer; that his is the exception to the rule?" Bryan charged.

The three white, male judges appeared to take a cavalier view when discussing the "criteria" by which they would decide whether racism was a factor in this case. An example of this was their debate over what percentage of exclusion of African Americans from a jury would constitute "bias." At one point Judge Ambro even acknowledged that the intentional exclusion of even one juror on the basis of race violates Abu-Jamal's constitutional rights.

John Parker, a Mumia supporter who flew in from Los Angeles, told Workers World that "While some have applauded the judges for their `fair attitude' at the hearing, in the first place it's ridiculous that there had to be a hearing since there is more than ample proof that Mumia did not have a fair trial. The judges read the arguments before the trial started. They should have granted a new trial automatically. In the second place, if these judges were really concerned about fairness, truth and decency, they would see more of a sense of urgency in getting Mumia free, not waiting a month or so to make a decision while Mumia remains tortured under the conditions he's placed in on death row."

The judges are expected to return a ruling within the next 45 to 90 days.

Before, during and after the two-hour-plus legal proceedings, demonstrators took to the streets, including marching up Market Street and several times around City Hall, blocking traffic for nearly 30 minutes. The march was led by a sound truck packed with youthful supporters. Along the way, shoppers, motorists and workers on their lunch hour stopped to receive material on the case, ask questions and often express their support by honking their horns and waving their fists in the air.

Widespread support was also evident at three separate events the night before, including a reception at the Friends Center for Cynthia McKinney and the French delegation, a teach-in at Drexel University sponsored by Educators for Mumia, and a jam-packed hip-hop and spoken word performance at the Rotunda featuring Immortal Technique.

This community support is a critical factor in winning freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal. For all the legal dancing around how the federal courts should weigh the claims raised by the attorneys, many suspect that this case will not be determined on the basis of law, but on the basis of the political movement mobilizing in the streets.

Speaking at the teach-in the night before the appellate hearing and at a public forum the following evening, German author and researcher Michael Schiffman provided stark evidence that a lot of people have lied in order to put Abu-Jamal on Pennsylvania's death row and to keep him there. Schiffman presented a slide show of photos taken by press photographer Pedro Polakoff that exposes police manipulation of the 1981 crime scene and contradicts statements made by key witnesses for the prosecution and is further evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. Schiffman noted, "To bring this to light would put many careers on the line—some in very high places."

Already an on-line petition is being circulated calling on the Third Circuit Court judges to do the right thing and rule in favor of a new trial, but organizing has to be done to raise broader awareness of the facts in the case and to prepare Abu-Jamal's supporters for what comes next. Toward this end, the Philadelphia International Action Center has issued a call for a meeting on May 29 at 7 p.m. at the Calvary Church, 48th and Baltimore in Philadelphia. Call 215-724-1618.

Piette was an eyewitness to the May 17 oral argument.

Articles copyright 1995-2007 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.

POCC report back on Mumia's Philly hearing

by Minister of Information JR
Wednesday, 23 May 2007

This crew of MOVE children was tellin' the people why we need to continue supporting political prisoners like Mumia Abu Jamal, the MOVE 9 and others. This photo was taken on May 17 outside of the Philly courtroom where political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal's fate was being argued by his defense attorneys and the state's attorneys. The MOVE family have been continuously terrorized by the Philly holice over the years, including in 1985 when a bomb was dropped on their house and a total of over 60 homes burned to the ground, killing women, children and animals. Journalist Mumia Abu Jamal covered a number of stories dealing wit' the MOVE 1978 confrontation wit' the holice where many of the MOVE 9 were beat and stomped, and one holice died from "friendly fire." And although that was a well known fact, the MOVE 9 have been locked up every since on this trumped up murder. Free 'Em All!

Oral arguments were heard in the case of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal on May 17 in a Philadelphia courtroom filled to its 250-person capacity. In the hot sun outside the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, hundreds of people rallied, awaiting news about what was going on behind the judicial closed doors.

Well known people like former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney were walking around doing interviews, Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. was helping Pam Africa and her crew to keep the rallying crowd organized, while a group of about seven MOVE children under the age of 10 were proclaiming through the mic the reason why we were here.

Inside the courtroom, American Indian Movement member and author Ward Churchill and former Black Panther turned lawyer Kathleen Cleaver were among the many supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal who witnessed the oral arguments. The stars of this show were Mumia's two female attorneys, one from the NAACP, whom many inside the courtroom said was razor sharp when it was time to make what could be the last presentation to save the life and free this political prisoner, who has been languishing in a concentration camp for the last two and a half decades on trumped up charges of murdering a police officer.

Political rapper Immortal Technique was the headliner at the "Free Mumia" concert in Philly last week. He has been a continuous supporter of political prisoners across the country.

After the hearing, when the lead attorney, Robert Bryan, came out of the courtroom, he was swarmed by reporters and supporters who were thirsty for news about what went down. He talked for about 15 minutes, discussing the constitutional and human rights violations that occurred during Mumia's trial, including a huge number of Black potential jurors illegally eliminated from the jury pool by the prosecution before the trial started. After he said what he had to say and left, many of the people who were in the courtroom talked about how the three judges hearing the appeal seemed to side with Mumia after scrutinizing the prosecution's case.

Soon after Robert Bryan's presentation to the supporters and the media, the people marched about two and a half miles through the Philadelphia streets to City Hall, wit' hundreds of people of all ages and nationalities led by a flatbed truck, which was the moving stage. One of Mumia's daughters, the rapper Goldie-Locks, spoke and rhymed about the case and the reasons why we should continue to support Mumia and other political prisoners, while her sister kicked back and physically assisted her.

A number of young people who work with the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal led chants between the different speakers. One of the more notable ones was a sista from South Africa, who did spirited "Free Mumia" chants accompanied by what I call the "Soweto Stomp," which was the stomp that accompanied many South African chants in their struggle against apartheid.

Reaching our destination, we marched along the street where City Hall is on one side and a construction site on the other. As the crowd passed the construction site, the mostly white construction workers starting throwing rocks and bricks at the people and putting up signs that said "Kill Mumia."

Mumia rally Philly Mumia's daughter GoldieLocks 051707 by JR.jpg CAPTION #3: Goldilocks, daughter of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal, was on the back of a flat-bed truck stage talkin' and rappin' about her father's case during a march through the streets of Philly from the courthouse to City Hall on May 17 after oral arguments in Mumia's case.

Pam Africa, the uncompromising chairwoman of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal, got on the mic and told the people that "we're not no muthafucking pacifists" among other things and told the holice who were escorting the march that they better get involved or the people will address these construction workers in whatever fashion that we see suitable. After a few minutes, the whole construction site of about 100 workers was shut down as we continued our rally. Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. was the next speaker and the crowd cheered as he said, "We're shuttin' down construction sites today, and systems tomorrow."

As the rally settled on the steps of City Hall, former political prisoner Ramona Africa, who survived the MOVE house bombing in `85, told the crowd not to get lax because of what happened in court, because many times the judges act like they are on our side, but when the judgment comes down, their rulings support the prosecution.

As the day came to an end, many of the organizers traded notes on what we were going to do in the next 45-90 days, which is the time allotted for the three judges to come wit' a decision. I definitely want to give a People's Salute to all of the people who came out there to souljah on behalf of political prisoner and revolutionary journalist Mumia Abu Jamal. Stay tuned to the Bay View for more updates.

Email POCC Minister of Information JR at blockreportradio@gmail.com. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , and listen to the Block Report at hiphopwarreport.com or myspace.com/blockreportfilm.

IPS Article: Retrial Possible for Mumia

DEATH PENALTY-US: Retrial Possible for Most Famous Black Inmate
Adrianne Appel

BOSTON, May 28 (IPS) - The talents and skills of leading U.S. lawyers, pathologists, scientists and independent criminal investigators are likely to be marshalled to save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal if he is granted a new trial -- and also to highlight the role skin colour may play in U.S. death penalty convictions.

After nearly two decades of appeals, on May 17 a U.S. federal court of appeals took its first step towards possibly ordering a new trial for Abu-Jamal, one of the best-known among the country's 3,500 death row inmates. The decision of the panel of judges is expected to take several months in what has become one of the most controversial death penalty cases of all times.

Robert Bryan, the lawyer leading the battle for Abu-Jamal's life over the past four years, believes his client's case is very strong and that the appeal judges may order a new trial. Now for the first time since Abu-Jamal's conviction in 1982, the U.S. justice system is seriously considering whether racial discrimination and political bias interfered with Abu-Jamal's right to a fair trial.

"My goal is for him to go home to his family. That is the best of outcomes," Bryan told IPS.

Abu-Jamal, an outspoken political activist as a young man and still today from prison, was convicted by a nearly all-white jury in Philadelphia of the murder of policeman Daniel Faulkner. Faulkner was killed after he stopped a car driven by Abu-Jamal's brother in December 1981. Abu-Jamal was said to have run from his taxi to the scene and was arrested.

The facts of the crime are disputed. Eyewitness accounts are contradictory. Evidence is incomplete and has gone missing. Abu-Jamal was wounded in the chest by a bullet. Abu-Jamal has always maintained his innocence.

"The thread that runs through this case from the day Mumia was arrested until today is racism. At the original trial, the jury only heard one side of the coin. It was a comedy of errors. This case has never been properly investigated," Bryan said.

At the appeals hearing, Bryan and others argued that Abu-Jamal's original trial was unfair because blacks were intentionally excluded from the jury, a violation of the U.S. Constitution. The final jury consisted of 10 whites and two blacks. The population of Philadelphia at the time was 40 percent African American.

"What matters is that African American citizens were denied their right to participate in this important civic right and duty on the basis of race," Christina Swarns, a lawyer with the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People Legal Defence Fund, told IPS. "The questions of fairness have been there since the time the jury was chosen. Had the Pennsylvanian courts followed the law, this hearing would have been held many, many years ago -- and should have been."

There were other problems with the 1982 trial, Bryan said. The prosecutor misled the jury into believing that if they agreed to send Abu-Jamal to death row, the chance of him actually being executed was low. And the judge who presided over the trial, Albert Sabo, aimed a racial slur at the young journalist during a recess in the trial, Bryan said.

Sabo also had a conflict of interest and should never have presided over the trial, Jill Soffiyah Elijah, a member of the National Lawyer's Guild, told IPS. He was an active member of the Fraternal Order of Police, a powerful group that represents the interests of police and lobbies for the death penalty in cases where police officers have been murdered.

"They have lobbied heavily for Mr. Abu-Jamal's execution," said Elijah, also a professor at Harvard University. "Judge Sabo's involvement indicated a conflict of interest and compromised his ability to be objective."

According to reports elsewhere, Sabo, who died in 2002, was nicknamed "the hanging judge". In a 14 year period, he presided over trials in which 31 defendants were sentenced to death, more than any other U.S. judge. Twenty-nine of these came from ethnic minorities.

While Abu-Jamal's lawyers used the appeals court hearing to push for a new trial, prosecutors urged the judges to re-affirm his death row conviction. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has stated publicly that if the judges did this, he would order Abu-Jamal's execution.

Rendell has a long-standing interest in Abu-Jamal's case. He was Philadelphia district chief prosecutor in 1982, and it was his office and his employees who prosecuted Abu-Jamal.

In the past the district prosecutor's office had been involved in a pattern of discrimination in many cases, Bryan said. This included presenting false evidence and getting witnesses to lie. He was optimistic that the federal appeal judges would acknowledge this and allow Abu-Jamal a new trial.

"My goal is to win this case," Bryan said. "We have a lot of new evidence. If we can get a trial, it will be presented to the new jury. A lot of new pathology, DNA and ballistics will be done. I have faith that 12 men and women of the jury will let my client go home."

But Bryan would want to move the case out of Philadelphia. "There is so much corruption and unfairness in the Philadelphia court system, it's hard to imagine getting a fair trial," Bryan said.

Abu-Jamal, now 53, has won thousands of supporters around the world. "When they put him on death row, they thought they would shut him down," Bryan said. "Instead, Mumia has become an international symbol against the death penalty."

His supporters include Hollywood celebrities, politicians and university students. In St. Denis, France, a street is named after him.

At the appeals hearing, about 200 people packed the courtroom. Outside about 500 people demonstrated on Abu-Jamal's behalf. Supporters came from France, Germany and elsewhere. (END/2007)

Get Involved in the Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal



6pm, FRIDAY, JUNE 15
ST. MARY'S CHURCH
521 West 126th Street
(Bet. Broadway and Amsterdam)
FREE ADMISSION!
Refreshments will be available

Topics will include:

Update on where Mumia's case stands in the courts and the streets, The murder of Sean Bell and the criminalization of our youth, Police Terror and repression, fighting back, waging the street naming campaign, AND MORE!

Mumia Abu-Jamal, an activist by the time he was 14 years old, was beaten by cops and arrested for protesting the rabid racist George Wallace when Wallace was campaigning for the presidency in the 60's. By the time Mumia was 15 the FBI had developed a file on him. Mumia became the Minister of Information for the Philadelphia chapter of the Black Panther Party when he was 16 years old. In his 20's as a journalist, Mumia reported on the Black radical MOVE organization, who Philadelphia politicians and police hated with passion. At the first chance they had, they framed him for killing a cop and sentenced him to death in a racist, kangaroo court. Today with the murder of Sean Bell, and widespread criminalization of innocent youth, we see that you don't even have to be politically active to draw police attack and repression. Come on June 15th to support Mumia at this critical stage of his case where the courts can grant: execution, life in prison without parole, or a new trial! Learn about how his case is connected to the oppression of our communities right here in Harlem.

Speakers include:
City Councilman Charles Barron, Pam Africa, Igwe Williams of the Guillermo Morales-Assata Shakur Center of City College, Attorney Michael Tarif Warren, Harold Wilsom (122nd exonerated death-row resident), Jasbir Finpho of the Jamaica NAACP Youth Council, Sandra Rivers, Harlem Activist, and others!

There will also be a brief video of the street naming activities in the French cities of Saint-Denis and Marseille.

Download the flyer at: http://www.freemumia.com/pdfs/june15pdf.pdf