Thursday, October 23, 2008

Come and Celebrate

Fiesta por la Libertad de Mumia
Mumia's Freedom Fest


Hosted by Iglesia San Romero de las America - UCC
Ministerio de Presos Politicos/Political Prisoners Ministry

Friday, October 31, 2008
7:30 pm


Presentaciones de/Performances by:

Prisionera
Hasan Salaam
DeLaCeiba
Jason Rosario
Alberto Moreno Bachatin
Spirit Child
Know Ideas
M Team
Reyes de Bajo Mundo
Featuring DJ Mellow G

Sponsored by the NYC Free Mumia Coalition

Proceeds go to the International Day of Action to Free Mumia in Philadelphia on December 6th.

Join Us!

Dress up like your favorite Revolutionary/disfrasate como tu Revolucionaria/o Favorito!

St. Mary's Episcopal Church
521 W. 126th Street
between Amsterdam Ave. and Old Broadway


Para mas informacion / For more information puracepa84@hotmail.com or call 646.548.8282 or 347.251.6301

To see more details and RSVP, go to:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=86309245206

Directions:

TRAINS: #1 to 125th St. or A, B, C, D to 125th St. (at Frederick Douglas Blvd. & walk 3 blocks NW). B runs only weekdays. There has been no 9 train since 2004.

BUSES: M11, M100 M101 all via Amsterdam; M4, M104 both via Broadway; M60, M100, M101, Bx15 all via 125th St.

Come and Celebrate

Fiesta por la Libertad de Mumia

Mumia's Freedom Fest


Hosted by Iglesia San Romero de las America - UCC
Ministerio de Presos Politicos/Political Prisoners Ministry

Friday, October 31, 2008
7:30 pm


Presentaciones de/Performances by:

Prisionera
Hasan Salaam
DeLaCeiba
Jason Rosario
Alberto Moreno Bachatin
Spirit Child
Know Ideas
M Team
Reyes de Bajo Mundo
Featuring DJ Mellow G

Sponsored by the NYC Free Mumia Coalition

Proceeds go to the International Day of Action to Free Mumia in Philadelphia on December 6th.

Join Us!

Dress up like your favorite Revolutionary/disfrasate como tu Revolucionaria/o Favorito!

St. Mary's Episcopal Church
521 W. 126th Street
between Amsterdam Ave. and Old Broadway


Para mas informacion / For more information puracepa84@hotmail.com or call 646.548.8282 or 347.251.6301

To see more details and RSVP, go to:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=86309245206

Directions:

TRAINS: #1 to 125th St. or A, B, C, D to 125th St. (at Frederick Douglas Blvd. & walk 3 blocks NW). B runs only weekdays. There has been no 9 train since 2004.

BUSES: M11, M100 M101 all via Amsterdam; M4, M104 both via Broadway; M60, M100, M101, Bx15 all via 125th St.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Third Annual Central NY Locks Conference - October 25

Southern Tier Advocacy & Mitigation Project presents...

THIRD ANNUAL
CENTRAL NEW YORK
LOCKS CONFERENCE

Saturday, October 25, 2008
Tompkins County Public Library
101 East Green Street
Ithaca, New York
11 AM - 4 PM
FREE

The Third Annual Central New York Locks Conference will embrace the beauty of natural hair throughout the African diaspora while challenging the criminalization of communities of color

THIS YEAR'S GATHERING WILL FOCUS ON PAROLE IN NYS & ELSEWHERE

Join us as weexamine the impact of mass incarceration on families with loved ones in state and federal prisons

The Third Annual Central New York Locks Conference will feature...

Pam Africa
International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Philadelphia

Ramona Africa
MOVE Organization, Philadelphia

Karima Amin
Prisoners Are People Too, Buffalo

Ashtarra Brissette
Everything Wellness Rawfoods Market, Ithaca

Ronniesha Butler
Tompkins County Workers' Center, Ithaca

Kym Clark
Families Rally for Emancipation and Empowerment (FREE), NYC

Osupa T-Davis
Sistah Stylist, Syracuse

Susan Wright
Coalition for Parole Restoration, Buffalo

Daughters of Creative Sound
Healing the Mind, Body, and Spirit, Buffalo

films, demos, hair tales, vendors, and much more....
(vendor inquiries welcome)

ALSO CHECK OUT...
pre-conference BENEFIT SHOW featuring...

Broadcast Live
Taina y La Bande Rebelde
STIC.MAN of dead prez

$10 | Oct 23rd - Castaways in Ithaca | 9 PM

Please help spread the word!

Southern Tier Advocacy & Mitigation Project, Incorporated
focusing on the "under-developed strengths" of at-risk communities
__________________
S.T.A.M.P.'s Administrative Office
119 East Buffalo Street
Ithaca, New York 14850
P. 607.277.2121
F. 607.277.2120
info@stamp-cny.org
www.stamp-cny.org
www.youtube.com/user/stampcny

S.T.A.M.P.'s Guerrilla Griots Human Rights Media Arts Center
Henry Saint John Building - Suite 106
301 South Geneva Street
Ithaca, New York 14850
P/F 607.277.2122
info@guerrilla-griots.org
www.guerrilla-griots.org
www.guerrillagriots.wordpress.com

S.T.A.M.P. was established in 2005 in response to the frequency with which young people are referred to juvenile and adult court systems. S.T.A.M.P. challenges criminalization, exploitation, incarceration, and pollution by encouraging self-respect, empowerment, leadership, and self-determination among young people, adults, and families most affected by criminal justice and environmental policies which disregard individual needs, erode community assets, and undermine planet security.

Legal Update

Date: October 18, 2008
From: Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel, San Francisco
Subject: U.S. Supreme Court developments concerning Mumia Abu-Jamal, death row

U.S. Supreme Court

There are new developments in the case of my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is on Pennsylvania's death row, that are the most significant and deadly since his 1981 arrest. The prosecution has advised the Supreme Court that it is seeking reversal of the federal decision which ordered a new jury trial on the question of the death penalty. Earlier I made an appearance in the court on our ongoing effort to win an entirely new jury trial on the issue of innocence, so that Mumia can be freed.

We are now at the crossroads of the case. This is a life and death struggle in the fight for Mumia’s freedom. His life hangs in the balance. The following are details as to what has been occurring in the Supreme Court.

Abu-Jamal v. Beard, U.S. Sup. Ct. No. 08A299

On October 3, I filed in the Supreme Court a Motion for Extension of Time To File Petition for Writ of Certiorari. Justice David H. Souter granted the motion on October 9. The Petition is now due on December 19, 2008.


The issues I will be presenting on behalf of Mumia include racism in jury selection and the prosecutor’s misrepresentations to the jury during the guilt phase of the 1982 trial. These were denied last spring by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia. Abu-Jamal v. Horn, 520 F.3d 272 (3rd Cir. 2008). The court was split 2-1 on the racism question.

The prosecution’s use of racism in selecting the jury is a strong issue because of the powerful dissenting opinion by Judge Thomas L. Ambro. In voting that relief should be granted, he wrote that “[e]xcluding even a single person from a jury because of race violates the Equal Protection Clause of our Constitution” and concluded that “everyone is entitled to a fair and impartial trial by a jury of his or her peers.”

A major problem we have encountered is that Mumia’s previous lawyers neither developed essential evidence nor raised some issues of constitutional significance. Such failings are inexcusable. For example his attorneys during the period 1994-2001, failed to even get the racial composition of the panel from which the jury was selected. They had the jurors’ names and addresses, and could have gone out and obtained this information in a day. Once the case went up on appeal it was too late to introduce this crucial evidence which would have established beyond question that African-Americans were underrepresented on the jury panel and that the prosecution used discriminatory racial practices in jury selection. Justice Ambro pointed out in his dissent that this deficiency should not serve as a basis to deny relief in view of the other evidence we have of prosecutorial racism. Another issue concerning the judge's racism and prejudice at trial was doomed from the start because it was not even presented by the previous lawyers. Rather, they only argued that the judge was unfair 13 years later at a 1995 evidentiary hearing. It was an incompetent mistake that waived this strong issue. Sadly, Mumia is bound by the errors of those lawyers.


Beard v. Abu-Jamal, U.S. Sup. Ct. No. 08A315

The Philadelphia District Attorney is seeking reversal of the federal court decision which granted a new jury trial on the question of the death penalty. Their intent is to see Mumia executed. That was announced in an extension motion filed in the Supreme Court. The court ordered on October 14 that the government petition must be filed by November 19, 2008. We will then submit briefing in opposition to the death penalty arguments.


Abu-Jamal v. Pennsylvania, U.S. Sup. Ct. No. 08-5456

In a ruling not related to the present litigation, the Supreme Court on October 6 issued an order denying the petition we had filed seeking review of a decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. That concerned the denial of a new trial based upon the fact that the prosecution persuaded witnesses to lie in order to obtain a conviction and death judgment against my client. This arises from adverse rulings by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The District Attorney successfully argued that Mumia’s previous lawyers had failed to raise the misconduct issues in a timely manner. Even though this evidence of fraud is not before the Supreme Court, I will certainly be able to use it at a new jury trial.

Donations for Mumia's Legal Defense Due to the developments in the Supreme Court, the legal defense for Mumia is in dire need of funds. The legal costs will likely reach $100,000. To help, please make your checks payable to the “National Lawyers Guild Foundation” (indicate "Mumia" on the bottom left). These donations to Mumia’s defense are tax deductible, and should be mailed to:

Committee To Save Mumia Abu-Jamal
P.O. Box 2012
New York, NY 10159-2012


Conclusion

More activism and support is needed in the campaign to free Mumia from the death penalty and prison. It is an affront to civilized standards and international law that he remains in prison and on death row. We must have hope and fight for justice.

Yours very truly,

Robert R. Bryan
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan
2088 Union Street, Suite 4
San Francisco, California 94123-4117
RobertRBryan@aol.com

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Troy Davis Will Be Executed Oct. 27--unless we stop it!

From Journalists for Mumia Abu-Jamal

Troy Davis' Execution Date Has Been Set For Oct. 27!

Take Action for Troy Davis here: www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis

Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed during the week of October 27 for the murder of Police Officer Mark MacPhail in Georgia. The Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, despite a credible claim of innocence. 7 out of 9 witnesses have recanted, no murder weapon was found and no physical evidence linked Davis to the crime. The Georgia Board of Pardon and Paroles denied clemency to Davis -- we must urge them to reconsider their decision.

» More about Troy Davis | Write a letter to the editor | Global Day of Action

Justices Clear Way for GA Execution

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Scotus-Georgia-Execution.html

October 14, 2008

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS * Filed at 10:40 a.m. ET

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Supreme Court has cleared the way for a Georgia man to be put to death for killing a police officer two weeks after it halted his execution to consider his appeal.

Troy Davis asked the high court to intervene in his case and order a new trial because seven of the nine witnesses against him have recanted their testimony. Former President Jimmy Carter and South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu are among prominent supporters who have called for a new trial.

The justices granted Davis a reprieve on Sept. 23, less than two hours before his scheduled execution. But they declined Tuesday to give his appeal a full-blown hearing. It was not immediately clear when his execution will be scheduled.

Davis' supporters, who erupted in joy when his execution was halted last month, said they were heartbroken when they received word of the decision.

"Oh, God. I think it's disgusting, terrible. I'm extremely disappointed," said Martina Correia, Davis' sister. "Well, we still have to fight. We can't stop."

Davis was convicted of the murder of 27-year-old officer Mark MacPhail, who was working off-duty as a security guard at a bus station. MacPhail's family said they were relieved.

"I was hoping that would be the decision," said MacPhail's mother, Anneliese MacPhail. "I'm hoping that soon we will have some peace, that this will all be over."

A divided Georgia Supreme Court has twice rejected Davis' request for a new trial, and had rejected his appeal to delay the execution on Monday afternoon. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles also turned down his bid for clemency.

MacPhail had rushed to help a homeless man who had been pistol-whipped at a nearby parking lot, and was shot twice when he approached Davis and two other men.

Witnesses identified Davis as the shooter, and at the 1991 trial, prosecutors said he wore a "smirk on his face" as he fired the gun.

But Davis' lawyers say new evidence proves their client was a victim of mistaken identity. Besides those who have recanted their testimony, three others who did not testify have said Sylvester "Red" Coles -- who testified against Davis at his trial -- confessed to the killing.

Coles refused to talk about the case when contacted by The Associated Press during a 2007 court appearance and has no listed phone number.

Prosecutors have said the case is closed. They also say some of the witness affidavits simply repeat what a trial jury has already heard, while others are irrelevant because they come from witnesses who never testified.

________________________________________________________________

Amnesty International Decries Supreme Court Decision to Deny Troy Davis Petition

Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 - 10:21 AM

Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) decried today's U.S. Supreme Court decision to deny a new hearing for Georgia death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis. The Court had granted Davis a stay of execution just hours before he was scheduled to be put to death while it decided whether to hear the case. In denying Davis' petition for a writ of certiorari, the Court has effectively ended a longstanding battle to have new evidence in Davis' favor heard in a court of law.

"The Supreme Court's decision is truly shocking, given that significant evidence of Davis' innocence will never have a chance to be examined," said Larry Cox, executive director for AIUSA. "Faulty eyewitness identification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions, and the hallmark of Davis' case. This was an opportunity for the Court to clarify the constitutionality of putting the innocent to death – and in Davis' case, his innocence could only be determined with a new hearing or trial."

"It is disgraceful that the highest court in the land could sink so low when doubts surrounding Davis' guilt are so high," Cox added.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Davis' petition for writ of certiorari that was submitted on constitutional grounds of due process and cruel and unusual punishment violations if an individual is put to death despite significant claims to innocence. Davis' attorneys filed the petition after the Georgia Supreme Court's narrow 4-3 ruling to deny Davis an evidentiary hearing last March; the ruling was based on technicalities rather than basic questions of guilt and innocence.

Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Authorities failed to produce a murder weapon or any physical evidence tying Davis to the crime. In addition, seven of the nine original state witnesses have since recanted or changed their initial testimonies in sworn affidavits. One of the remaining witnesses is alleged to be the actual perpetrator.

Since the launch of its February 2007 report, Where Is the Justice for Me? The Case of Troy Davis, Facing Execution in Georgia, Amnesty International has campaigned intensively for a new evidentiary hearing or trial and clemency for Davis, collecting well over 200,000 clemency petition signatures and letters from across the United States and around the world. To date, internationally known figures such as Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter have all joined the call for clemency, as well as lawmakers from within and outside of Georgia.

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers who campaign for universal human rights from more than 150 countries. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

For more information about the Troy Davis case, please visit:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis.

New Afrikan PP Ojore Lutalo Release Date

Long time New Afrikan Anarchist Political Prisoner, Ojore N. Lutalo is set to max out after 26 years of imprisonment at New Jersey State Prison. While his exact release date is still not finalized, it will most likely be late November or early December. The NJ DOC website has his max out date as December 25th. Ojore, with the help of a lawyer, is in the process of working to get his good time/work credits restored, a result of his victory in the NJ Superior Court in 2007, which overturned a charge the prison convicted him of in 2005. This charge/conviction took away around a year of good time/work credits. This process is still ongoing and we will update people with any changes to his max out date

In the meantime, the Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) is initiating a fundraising drive to support Ojore, once he is released, in order for him to transition back to the streets. Money is needed to help Ojore secure housing, food and clothing. This financial assistance will allow Ojore to make the transition more smoothly, knowing that money and housing isn't an immediate pressing matter, giving him the needed time to readjust to the streets ,that he hasn't seen or experienced since 1982.

As many former prisoners and their supporters know, coming back home after a doing a long stretch in prison is difficult and without a support base it will be even more difficult. The ABCF, anarchists and many PP/POW activists who have maintained contact and supported Ojore over the years, have benefited immensely from the example that he's set as what it means to be a revolutionary. His untiring advice/criticism to us has helped many of us and our organizations grow politically and deepen, not only our commitment to the struggle to free political prisoners and prisoners of war, but to that of building a revolutionary movement

It's our revolutionary duty ensure Ojore has all the support he needs when hits the streets!

We encourage all activists to organize fundraisers or donate whatever they can towards Ojore's release fund.

All funds, by check or money order, payable to TIM FASNACHT, can be sent to:

Philadelphia ABCF
P.O Box 42129
Philadelphia, Pa 19101

Thank you for your support of our comrade Ojore!

Solidarity and Struggle!
Tim
Philly ABCF
717-917-1165

please circulate this appeal as far and wide as possible.....................

Bio of Ojore........

Ojore Lutalo is locked down in Trenton, New Jersey, for actions carried out in the fight for Black Liberation. In Ojore's own words, he is "serving a parole violation sentence (we received 14 to 17 years) stemming from a 1977 conviction for expropriating monies from a capitalist state bank (in order to finance our activities) and engaging the political police in a gun battle in December 1975 in order to effect our departure from the bank, and to ensure success of the military operation..." "After my parole violation term terminated in December 1987, I started serving a forty year sentence with a twenty year parole ineligibility (I was paroled in 1980, and I have been back in captivity since April 20, 1982) that I have received in 1982 for having a gun-fight with a drug dealer. The overall strategy of assaulting a drug dealer is to secure monies to finance one's activities, and to rid the oppressed communities of drug dealers." Ojore was originally arrested with New Afrikan P.O.W. Kojo Bomani Sababu, and was struggling with comrade Andaliwa Clark up until the point that Andaliwa was killed in action within the confines of New Jersey's infamous Trenton State Prison after he shot two prison's security guards in the repressive Management Control Unit (M.C.U.) on January 19th, 1976 when they tried to stop him from escaping from captivity. Ojore was a comrade of the late Kuwasi Balagoon, a New Afrikan anarchist P.O.W. "I've been involved in the struggle, the war against the fascist state since 1970. I've been an anarchist since 1975 without any regrets. Prior to my involvement in the struggle, I was just another apolitical lumpen (bandit) here in Amerika." "I was... influenced and highly motivated by the Black Liberation Army (B.L.A.) here in Amerika. These sisters and brothers were New Afrikans just like me from the streets of the ghettos who took the initiative militarily, to start assassinating members of the state's security forces who were murdering black people in our communities. From the inception of all revolutions, I feel that the people need armed combat units to check state sponsored acts of terrorism by the government's security forces. In addition, I feel that these armed combat units are necessary to show the people that fascist acts of state-sponsored terrorism... will be responded to militarily. In 1975 I became disillusioned with Marxism and became an anarchist (thanks to Kuwasi Balagoon) due to the inactiveness and ineffectiveness of Marxism in our communities along with repressive bureaucracy that comes with Marxism. People aren't going to commit themselves to a life and death struggle just because of grand ideas someone might have floating around in their heads. I feel people will commit themselves to a struggle if they can see progress being made similar to the progress of anarchist collectives in Spain during the era of the fascist Bahamonde..."

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Mumia Abu-Jamal Faces US Supreme Court as New Book and Film Expose Injustice

From: Hans Bennett

================

Hi folks, this is the one I've been working on all night, responding to yesterday's awful US Supreme Court News. Please be sure and go to this link to get all of the embedded stuff, including links to the new flyers I made, so folks with photo-copy resources can help get the word out in their own communities. This is a crucial time, so anything you can do to help spread the word, will go a long way! Here is the master link:

http://abu-jamal-news.com/article?name=hbpcra


All Best,

Hans

Abu-Jamal-News.com

** Please download our two new info flyers just completed: 1) A condensed legal update, and 2) A flyer summarizing the key points from The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal! **
By Hans Bennett

(Abu-Jamal-News.com)

On Monday, Oct.6, in a ruling unrelated to death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal's upcoming appeal of the recent Third Circuit decision denying a new guilt-phase trial, the US Supreme Court rejected his Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) appeal, which was asking the courts to hear newly discovered testimony from Kenneth Pate and Yvette Williams (read the affidavits here). The appeal had been filed in July, after it was rejected by the PA Supreme Court in Feb, 2008, and in 2005 by Philadelphia Judge Pamela Dembe.

Upset by Monday's news, Dr. Suzanne Ross, Co-Chair of The NYC Free Mumia Coalition argued: "The courts, from Judge Albert Sabo's outrageously biased rulings and court decorum; to Pamela Dembe's ridiculous rulings, including her disregard of the significance of Sabo's infamous 'I'm going to help them fry the Nigger' remark; to the PA Supreme Court's rubber stamping of Sabo's and Dembe's rulings; to Judge William Yohn's refusal to examine the question of innocence, to the Third Circuit's 'topsy turvy' violations of their own precedents in considering the Batson issue so that they could deny Abu-Jamal the trial he is entitled to, have all shown a callous disregard for the life of a man who is obviously innocent, and have done everything in their power to assure that Mumia Abu-Jamal will never see the light of day from other than the twisted prism of a prison. This last decision is yet another outrageous chapter in a 27 year history of a conspiracy to imprison, kill, and silence Mumia Abu-Jamal."

With the court's PCRA rejection, Abu-Jamal's upcoming appeal to the US Supreme Court of the Third Circuit decision (the filing of this appeal is due by Oct. 20 unless a 60 day extension is requested) is now more important than ever, because this is now his last chance for a new guilt-phase trial. Fortunately, this crucial moment for Abu-Jamal coincides with two new media projects that expose injustice in his case that extends well beyond the narrow issues being considered by the courts: the British film In Prison My Whole Life and the book The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal, by J. Patrick O'Connor.

Both projects merit extensive coverage from the mainstream media, and are being utilized as tools by Abu-Jamal's supporters for both education and fighting what they see as a long history of mainstream media bias against Abu-Jamal. Supporters are currently organizing for a major demonstration in Philadelphia on December 6, organized in solidarity with other actions around the world.

The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal, by J. Patrick O'Connor

Acclaimed historian Howard Zinn has written that "J. Patrick O'Connor's new book, The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal is based on a meticulous review of 12,000 pages of court transcripts, legal briefs, police records and an exhaustive examination of the constitutional violations perpetrated by America's criminal 'justice' system. His evidence makes a powerful case that Mumia Abu-Jamal should be granted a new trial, and having been cruelly kept on death row for 26 years, he should be immediately freed."

In Framing, O'Connor criticizes the media, who he says "bought into the prosecution's story line early on and has never been able to see this case for what it is: a framing of an innocent and peace loving man." As explained in a recent interview, O'Connor argues that the actual shooter was a man named Kenneth Freeman, who was Billy Cook's business partner and who O'Connor argues was a passenger in Cook's car when it was pulled over by Officer Daniel Faulkner the morning of Dec. 9, 1981. Freeman was mysteriously found dead in a Northeast lot (reportedly naked, gagged, hand-cuffed, and with a drug needle in his arm) the day after the infamous May 13, 1985 police bombing of MOVE, leading O'Connor to conclude that "the timing and modus operandi of the abduction and killing alone suggest an extreme act of police vengeance."

Despite the importance of Framing, and a timely NY Times article that spotlighted the book's release in May, the mainstream media has virtually ignored O'Connor's book. Supporters of Abu-Jamal are fighting back against this media blackout, and on October 3, author J. Patrick O'Connor began a week-long book tour in the SF Bay Area, which followed his tour of New York City and Philadelphia in June. Click here for a compilation of radio shows, interviews with, and articles by & about O'Connor--including this video interview at Philadelphia City Hall on the day of the book's release (WATCH PARTS 1, 2, and 3).

The Sundance Channel Acquires New British Film About Mumia

Scheduled to premiere on The Sundance Channel on December 8, 2008, the new film, titled In Prison My Whole Life has been officially endorsed by Amnesty International, who in 2000 published a major report calling for a new trial. Amnesty UK Director Kate Allen said: "It's shocking that the US justice system has repeatedly failed to address the appalling violation of Mumia Abu-Jamal's fundamental fair trial rights..We hope that the film's viewers will back our call for a fair retrial for Mumia Abu-Jamal--and also support our work opposing the death penalty in the US and around the world."

In Prison character and filmmaker, William Francome was born on the night of Mumia's 1981 arrest. Responding to the Sundance acquisition, he said: "Mumia's case and the issues surrounding it are still highly important and need to be analyzed..It is so important that a trusted high quality broadcaster like Sundance has taken up the film, putting it at the fingertips of millions of Americans."

On October 10, there is a special press conference, reception, and screening of In Prison at Theatre Pathe Vaise in Lyon, France, featuring the former French First Lady, Madame Daniele Mitterrand, producers Colin Firth & Livia Giuggioli-Firth, Abu-Jamal's lead attorney Robert R. Bryan, representatives of Amnesty International, and a message from Mumia to be read to the audience. In Prison has already been shown at many prestigious film festivals including The Times BFI 51st London Film Festival and Rome's International Film Festival in 2007, The Sundance Film Festival, in January, 2008, and this September at NYC's Urbanworld Film Festival, and at the CR10 prison abolitionist conference in Oakland, CA.

An October, 2007 interview with Francome, and a September, 2008 interview with co-producer Livia Giuggioli Firth, revealed that In Prison features 1) the first interview ever with Billy Cook, and 2) a presentation of the crime scene photos recently aired on NBC's Today Show, featuring an interview with the photographer Pedro Polakoff, and the German author that recently discovered them, Michael Schiffmann.

Mumia's brother Billy Cook was at the scene on Dec. 9, 1981, after Officer Faulkner pulled Cook's VW car over. Interviewed in the film, Cook denies the accusation that he struck Faulkner in the face, from which he allegedly instigated the documented beating by Faulkner. Cook shows In Prison's interviewers the scars from the beating, which are still on his head today. "They arrested me for assaulting him, but I never laid a hand on him. I was only trying to protect myself," says Cook, who also reports that before he was beaten bloody with the police flashlight, Faulkner "was kind of vulgar and nasty. And if I remember correctly he threw a slur in.. 'Nigger' get back in the car."

In Prison features the first interview with press photographer Pedro Polakoff, along with German author, Dr. Michael Schiffmann (University of Heidelberg), who discovered Polakoff's photos (never seen by the 1982 jury) and featured them in his new German book Race Against Death, published in Fall, 2006. William Francome argues that the photos "were purposefully ignored by the prosecution and the DA's Office", because the DA knew that the photographs "could have done their case some damage in court." (For more on the photos, go to Journalists for Mumia's website: Abu-Jamal-News.com)

Appealing The Third Circuit Ruling to The US Supreme Court

On July 22, the Third Circuit Court ruled against Mumia's en banc appeal requesting that the entire court hear his appeal, instead of just the three-judge panel of Thomas Ambro, Anthony Scirica, and Robert Cowen, who previously ruled against a new guilt-phase trial on March 27, 2008. Ruling against three different appeal issues, the court refused to grant either a new guilt-phase trial or a preliminary hearing that could have led to a new guilt-phase trial for Mumia. However, on the issue of racist jury selection, also known as the Batson claim, the three judge panel of split 2-1, with Ambro dissenting.

The 1986 Batson v. Kentucky ruling established the right to a new trial if jurors were excluded on the basis of race. At the 1982 trial Prosecutor McGill used 10 of his 15 peremptory strikes to remove otherwise acceptable black jurors, yet the court ruled that there was not even the appearance of discrimination. In his dissenting opinion, Ambro wrote that the denial of a preliminary Batson hearing "goes against the grain of our prior actions…I see no reason why we should not afford Abu-Jamal the courtesy of our precedents."

Mumia will be filing an appeal of this ruling with the US Supreme Court by the deadline of Oct. 20, unless he applies for a 60 day extension. The District Attorney has the same Oct. 20 deadline to appeal the Third Circuit ruling regarding the 'overturning' of the death sentence, if they choose to do so.

On March 27, the three-judge panel unanimously affirmed Federal District Court Judge William Yohn's 2001 decision overturning the death sentence. Citing the 1988Mills v. Maryland precedent, Yohn had ruled that sentencing forms used by jurors and Judge Sabo's instructions to the jury were potentially confusing, and jurors could have mistakenly believed that they had to unanimously agree on any mitigating circumstances in order to consider them as weighing against a death sentence.

Now, if the DA wants to re-instate the death sentence, the DA must call for a new penalty-phase jury trial where new evidence of Mumia's innocence can be presented. However, the jury can only choose between a sentence of life in prison without parole or a death sentence.

Or, the DA can appeal this ruling to the US Supreme Court by the deadline of Oct. 20. The DA has not stated whether or not it will: (1) appeal this to the US Supreme Court, or (2) accept the Third Circuit ruling and either request a new sentencing trial or accept life in prison without the chance of parole.

US Supreme Court Rejects Mumia Abu-Jamal's PCRA Appeal

On Monday, October 6 (in a ruling unrelated to the above-mentioned appeal of the 3rd Circuit ruling), the US Supreme Court rejected Mumia's Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) appeal, which was asking the courts to hear newly discovered testimony from Kenneth Pate and Yvette Williams (read the affidavits here). The appeal had been filed in July, after it was rejected by the PA Supreme Court in Feb, 2008, and in 2005 by Philadelphia Judge Pamela Dembe.

Philadelphia journalist Dave Lindorff is the author of Killing Time, an independent investigation into the Abu-Jamal case. Responding on Monday to the US Supreme Court ruling he said: "One of the travesties that is part of American death penalty jurisprudence, and that contributes to the inescapable conclusion that it can never be fair or foolproof, is that the bar for getting a new hearing based upon new evidence is set almost impossibly high. So for example, even though we have in these two affidavits evidence that a key witness at trial to an alleged confession had been pressured or lured into lying on the stand, and that a second alleged eye-witness had been pressured and induced into claiming she was a witness when she actually wasn't one, the US Supreme Court rules that it will not even review the matter or order a lower court to do so. And so it is possible that Mumia Abu-Jamal, a man who could in fact be innocent of murder, will either die or be left to rot in jail for the rest of his life while he could be the victim of police witness tampering and prosecutorial misconduct."

Another Philadelphia journalist was dismayed by Monday's ruling, and hopes it is not an indication of how the court will respond to the upcoming, separate appeal of the 3rd Circuit ruling. Having covered this story since 1981, Temple University professor and Philadelphia Tribune columnist Linn Washington, Jr. argues that "the Williams revelation by itself at least deserves a formal hearing..as does the jury selection discrimination issue. However, state and federal courts continue with the pattern in the Abu-Jamal case of circling the wagons to shut-out any evidence exposing the major flaws of the 1982 trial and that jury's guilty verdict."

Let's take a closer look at these two rejected affidavits that shed light on the broader issue of fabricated evidence used to convict Mumia Abu-Jamal.


KENNETH PATE'S AFFIDAVIT AND THE FAKE 'HOSPITAL CONFESSION'

Kenneth Pate is the step-brother of hospital security guard Priscilla Durham, who testified at the 1982 trial to hearing Abu-Jamal confess at the hospital, to shooting Officer Daniel Faulkner. Pate now states in an April 18, 2003 affidavit that Durham confided to him during a telephone conversation "around the end of 1983 or the beginning of 1984" that she had actually lied about hearing the alleged hospital confession.

Pate states that Durham told him on the telephone that "Mumia was all bloody and the police were interfering with his treatment, saying 'let him die.' Priscilla said that the police told her that she was part of the 'brotherhood' of police since she was a security guard and that she had to stick with them and say that she heard Mumia say that he killed the police officer, when they brought Mumia in on a stretcher.''

Even before Pate's affidavit, Durham's account was very suspicious.

The alleged "hospital confession," where Mumia reportedly declared, "I shot the motherf***er and I hope the motherf***er dies," was first officially reported to police over two months later, by hospital guards Priscilla Durham and James LeGrand (Feb. 9, 1982), PO Gary Wakshul (Feb.11), PO Gary Bell (Feb.25), and PO Thomas M. Bray (March1).

Only two of these five witnesses were called by the DA: Priscilla Durham and Gary Bell (Faulkner's partner and "best friend").

Priscilla Durham and Gary Bell

Durham testified in 1982, and added for the very first time (not reported to the police on Feb.9), that she had reported the confession to her supervisor the next day, making a hand-written report. Neither her supervisor, nor the alleged handwritten statement were presented in court.

Instead, the DA sent an officer to the hospital, returning with a suspicious typed version. Sabo accepted the unsigned and unauthenticated paper despite both Durham's disavowal (because it was not hand-written), and the defense's protest that authorship and authenticity were unproven.

Gary Bell testified that his two month memory lapse resulted from him being so upset over the death of Faulkner, that he forgot to report it to police.

Gary Wakshul: 'the negro male made no comment.'

Police Officer Gary Wakshul was not a prosecution witness, and on the final day of testimony in 1982, Mumia's lawyer discovered Wakshul's statement from Dec. 9, 1981 (Mumia's supporters cite this late discovery as another example of incompetent representation--to which defense attorney Anthony Jackson testified about at the 1995 PCRA hearings).

After riding with Abu-Jamal to the hospital and guarding him until his treatment, Wakshul reported: "the negro male made no comment."

When the defense immediately sought to call Wakshul as a witness, the DA reported that he was on vacation. On grounds that it was too late in the trial, Sabo denied the defense request to locate him for testimony.

Subsequently, the jury never heard from Wakshul or about his contradictory written report. When an outraged Abu-Jamal protested, Judge Sabo cruelly declared to him: "You and your attorney goofed."

At the 1995 PCRA Hearings, Wakshul testified that both his contradictory Dec. 9 "the negro male made no comment" report and the two month delay were simply bad mistakes. He repeated his earlier February 11, 1982 statement given to the police IAB investigator that he "didn't realize it had any importance until that day." Wakshul also testified to being home for his 1982 vacation—in accordance with explicit instructions to stay in town for the trial so that he could testify if called.

Mysteriously, just days before his PCRA testimony, Wakshul was savagely beaten by undercover police officers in front of a Judge in the Common Pleas Courtroom, where Wakshul worked as a court crier.The two attackers were later suspended without pay, as punishment. With the motive still unexplained, the beating was possibly used to intimidate Wakshul into maintaining his "confession" story at the PCRA hearings.

Regarding the alleged confession, Amnesty International concluded: "The likelihood of two police officers and a security guard forgetting or neglecting to report the confession of a suspect in the killing of another police officer for more than two months strains credulity."

YVETTE WILLIAMS' AFFIDAVIT AND CYNTHIA WHITE'S FALSE TESTIMONY

Yvette Williams' July 8, 2002 affidavit, is the just latest evidence discrediting the prosecution's star witness at the 1982 trial: Cynthia White.

Suspiciously, no official eyewitness even reported seeing White at the scene, and White is the only "witness" to report seeing alleged eyewitness Robert Chobert's taxi cab parked behind PO Faulkner's car.

Amnesty International documents that key DA witnesses Chobert (an arsonist on probation, driving his cab without a license) and White (a prostitute facing multiple charges) "altered their descriptions of what they saw, in ways that supported the prosecution's version of events."

Importantly, Williams' account of 1) White being coerced by police to give false testimony, and 2) Police seeking out even more false testimony, is strongly supported by the testimony of Veronica Jones (at the 1982 trial and the 1996 PCRA) and Pamela Jenkins (at the 1997 PCRA).

The New Affidavit

Yvette Williams declares: "I was in jail with Cynthia White in December of 1981 after Police Officer Daniel Faulkner was shot and killed. Cynthia ['Lucky'] White told me the police were making her lie and say she saw Mr. Jamal shoot Officer Faulkner when she really did not see who did it..Whenever she talked about testifying against Mumia Abu-Jamal, and how the police were making her lie, she was nervous and very excited and I could tell how scared she was from the way she was talking and crying."

Explaining why she is just now coming out with her affidavit, Williams says "I feel like I've almost had a nervous breakdown over keeping quiet about this all these years. I didn't say anything because I was afraid. I was afraid of the police. They're dangerous."

Pamela Jenkins' 1997 PCRA Testimony

At the 1997 PCRA hearing, former prostitute Pamela Jenkins testified that 1) Police tried pressuring her to falsely testify that she saw Abu-Jamal shoot Faulkner, and 2) In late 1981, Cynthia White (who Jenkins knew as a fellow police informant) told Jenkins that she was also being pressured to testify against Mumia, and that she was afraid for her life.

As part of a 1995 federal probe of Philadelphia police corruption, Officers Thomas F. Ryan and John D. Baird were convicted of paying Jenkins to falsely testify that she had bought drugs from a Temple University student named Arthur Colbert. Jenkins' 1995 testimony about Colbert and others she falsely testified against, helped to convict Ryan, Baird, and other officers and to dismiss several dozen drug convictions.

At the 1997 PCRA, Jenkins testified that this same Thomas F. Ryan was one of the officers who attempted to have her lie about Mumia!

The Attempts to Silence Veronica Jones

Veronica Jones (a former prostitute who was working at the scene) first told police that she had seen two men "jogging" away from the scene before police arrived. Then, as a defense witness at the 1982 trial, Jones denied making the statement, but started to describe a pre-trial visit from police, where "They were getting on me telling me I was in the area and I seen Mumia, you know, do it.They were trying to get me to say something that the other girl [Cynthia White] said. I couldn't do that." Jones then explicitly testified that police offered to let her and White "work the area if we tell them" what they wanted to hear regarding Mumia's guilt.

The DA moved to block her account, calling her testimony "absolutely irrelevant." Judge Sabo agreed to block the line of questioning, strike the testimony, and then ordered the jury to disregard Jones' statement.

Later, at the 1996 PCRA, Jones testified that in 1982 she had been coerced by police to recant seeing the two men jogging away, but resisted police pressure to falsely testify that she saw Abu-Jamal shoot Faulkner.

Intimidation of Jones continued at the PCRA. Before she testified, Judge Sabo threatened her with 5-10 yrs imprisonment for admitting perjury. After testifying, he allowed NJ police to handcuff and arrest her for an outstanding arrest warrant on charges of writing a bad check.

Outraged by Jones' treatment, even the normally 'anti-Mumia' Philadelphia Daily News reported that: "Such heavy-handed tactics can only confirm suspicions that the court is incapable of giving Abu-Jamal a fair hearing. Sabo has long since abandoned any pretense of fairness." (Read more about Jones, and watch a new video-interview with her)

Organizing for Dec. 9 and Beyond

German author and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia, Michael Schiffmann responded to Monday's ruling from his home in Heidelberg. Emphasizing that these two affidavits are important enough to merit a PCRA hearing, Schiffmann says "there's just one point I want to stress. Right-wing and FOP commentators will claim that the Williams and Pate affidavits were hearsay anyway. But this isn't true. If someone reports a crime commited by him/herself to me, that's called a statement 'against one's own interest,' and if I report it to the police or testify to it in court, my report or testimony is admissible. Of course, both statements are highly relevant: White and Durham were main pillars of the prosecution. If they admitted to other people that they lied in court, the testimony of these other people should be heard."

"Now we will have to redouble our efforts to ensure that the US Supreme Court grants the petition for writ of certiorari Mumia's lawyer will be filing later this month or in December, if given a 60 day extension," says Schiffmann.

Please visit FreeMumia.com for the latest updates on organizing for December 6, and be sure to download (and print out in your community) our two new info flyers just completed:

1) A condensed legal update, and 2) A flyer summarizing the key points from The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and promoting the West Coast Book Tour.


--Hans Bennett is an independent multi-media journalist (insubordination.blogspot.com) and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia (Abu-Jamal-News.com), whose new video series documenting the movement in Philadelphia to free Mumia and all political prisoners is viewable here.

UPDATE: From Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)

This decision is completely separate from the appeal to the US Supreme Court re the recent Third Circuit decision that denied a new guilt phase trial. The deadline for Mumia and the DA to appeal this to the US Supreme Court is October 20, unless Mumia's lawyer applies for a 60 day extension.

I just received this quote from lead attorney Robert R. Bryan re. today's news. Last night he arrived in France for a film festival showing of the film "In Prison My Whole Life", and to do a related press conference. Today, following the news, he told me: "Today, as expected, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Petition for Writ of Certiorari which I filed some time ago on behalf of Mumia. As reported in my recent Legal Update, this concerned uncovered evidence of prosecutorial and police fraud. Even though I now have proof that the 1982 trial was literally a trial by fraud, there were procedural problems caused by the previous lawyers not presenting the new evidence in a timely and proper manner. As you know, I took over the case in nearly six years ago (Mumia first began seeking my representation in 1985; I was too busy at the time)."

"Please understand that as you pointed out, this is unrelated to the petition I will file later in the year in the Supreme Court. That will relate to the 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, concerning racism-jury-selection, and material misrepresentations made by the prosecutor at the guilt-phase argument."—said Bryan.


Below here I have compiled info regarding the affidavits of Kenneth Pate and Yvette Williams, and other overall frame-up and police corruption that their stories's expose.


Kenneth Pate's Affidavit and the Fraudulent Hospital Confession

Kenneth Pate is the step-brother of hospital security guard Priscilla Durham, who testified at the 1982 trial to hearing Abu-Jamal confess at the hospital, to shooting Officer Daniel Faulkner. Pate now states in an April 18, 2003 affidavit that Durham confided to him during a telephone conversation "around the end of 1983 or the beginning of 1984" that she had actually lied about hearing the alleged hospital confession.

Pate states that Durham told him on the telephone that "Mumia was all bloody and the police were interfering with his treatment, saying 'let him die.' Priscilla said that the police told her that she was part of the 'brotherhood' of police since she was a security guard and that she had to stick with them and say that she heard Mumia say that he killed the police officer, when they brought Mumia in on a stretcher.''

Even before Pate's affidavit, Durham's account was very suspicious.

The alleged "hospital confession," where Mumia reportedly declared, "I shot the motherf***er and I hope the motherf***er dies," was first officially reported to police over two months later, by hospital guards Priscilla Durham and James LeGrand (Feb. 9, 1982), PO Gary Wakshul (Feb.11), PO Gary Bell (Feb.25), and PO Thomas M. Bray (March1).

Only two of these five witnesses were called by the DA: Priscilla Durham and Gary Bell (Faulkner's partner and "best friend").

Priscilla Durham

Durham testified in 1982, and added for the very first time (not reported to the police on Feb.9), that she had reported the confession to her supervisor the next day, making a hand-written report. Neither her supervisor, nor the alleged handwritten statement were presented in court.

Instead, the DA sent an officer to the hospital, returning with a suspicious typed version. Sabo accepted the unsigned and unauthenticated paper despite both Durham's disavowal (because it was not hand-written), and the defense's protest that authorship and authenticity were unproven.

Gary Bell

Bell testified that his two month memory lapse resulted from him being so upset over the death of Faulkner, that he forgot to report it to police.

Gary Wakshul: 'the negro male made no comment.'

Police Officer Gary Wakshul was not a prosecution witness, and on the final day of testimony in 1982, Mumia's lawyer discovered Wakshul's statement from Dec. 9, 1981 (Mumia's supporters cite this late discovery as another example of incompetent representation--to which defense attorney Anthony Jackson testified about at the 1995 PCRA hearings).

After riding with Abu-Jamal to the hospital and guarding him until his treatment, Wakshul reported: "the negro male made no comment."

When the defense immediately sought to call Wakshul as a witness, the DA reported that he was on vacation. On grounds that it was too late in the trial, Sabo denied the defense request to locate him for testimony.

Subsequently, the jury never heard from Wakshul or about his contradictory written report. When an outraged Abu-Jamal protested, Judge Sabo cruelly declared to him: "You and your attorney goofed."

At the 1995 PCRA Hearings, Wakshul testified that both his contradictory Dec. 9 "the negro male made no comment" report and the two month delay were simply bad mistakes. He repeated his earlier February 11, 1982 statement given to the police IAB investigator that he "didn't realize it had any importance until that day." Wakshul also testified to being home for his 1982 vacation—in accordance with explicit instructions to stay in town for the trial so that he could testify if called.

Mysteriously, just days before his PCRA testimony, Wakshul was savagely beaten by undercover police officers in front of a Judge in the Common Pleas Courtroom, where Wakshul worked as a court crier.The two attackers were later suspended without pay, as punishment. With the motive still unexplained, the beating was possibly used to intimidate Wakshul into maintaining his "confession" story at the PCRA hearings.

Regarding the alleged confession, Amnesty International concluded: "The likelihood of two police officers and a security guard forgetting or neglecting to report the confession of a suspect in the killing of another police officer for more than two months strains credulity."


Yvette Williams' Affidavit and the Police Coercion of Cynthia White

Yvette Williams' July 8, 2002 affidavit, is the just latest evidence discrediting the prosecution's star witness at the 1982 trial: Cynthia White.

Suspiciously, no official eyewitness even reported seeing White at the scene, and White is the only "witness" to report seeing alleged eyewitness Robert Chobert's taxi cab parked behind PO Faulkner's car.

Amnesty International documents that key DA witnesses Chobert (an arsonist on probation, driving his cab without a license) and White (a prostitute facing multiple charges) "altered their descriptions of what they saw, in ways that supported the prosecution's version of events."

Importantly, Williams' account of 1) White being coerced by police to give false testimony, and 2) Police seeking out even more false testimony, is strongly supported by the testimony of Veronica Jones (at the 1982 trial and the 1996 PCRA) and Pamela Jenkins (at the 1997 PCRA).

The New Affidavit

Yvette Williams declares: "I was in jail with Cynthia White in December of 1981 after Police Officer Daniel Faulkner was shot and killed. Cynthia ['Lucky'] White told me the police were making her lie and say she saw Mr. Jamal shoot Officer Faulkner when she really did not see who did it....Whenever she talked about testifying against Mumia Abu-Jamal, and how the police were making her lie, she was nervous and very excited and I could tell how scared she was from the way she was talking and crying."

Explaining why she is just now coming out with her affidavit, Williams says "I feel like I've almost had a nervous breakdown over keeping quiet about this all these years. I didn't say anything because I was afraid. I was afraid of the police. They're dangerous."

Pamela Jenkins' 1997 PCRA Testimony

At the 1997 PCRA hearing, former prostitute Pamela Jenkins testified that 1) Police tried pressuring her to falsely testify that she saw Abu-Jamal shoot Faulkner, and 2) In late 1981, Cynthia White (who Jenkins knew as a fellow police informant) told Jenkins that she was also being pressured to testify against Mumia, and that she was afraid for her life.

As part of a 1995 federal probe of Philadelphia police corruption, Officers Thomas F. Ryan and John D. Baird were convicted of paying Jenkins to falsely testify that she had bought drugs from a Temple University student named Arthur Colbert. Jenkins' 1995 testimony about Colbert and others she falsely testified against, helped to convict Ryan, Baird, and other officers and to dismiss several dozen drug convictions.

At the 1997 PCRA, Jenkins testified that this same Thomas F. Ryan was one of the officers who attempted to have her lie about Mumia!

The Attempts to Silence Veronica Jones

Veronica Jones (a prostitute working at the scene) first told police that she had seen two men "jogging" away from the scene before police arrived. Then, as a defense witness at the 1982 trial, Jones denied making the statement, but started to describe a pre-trial visit from police, where "They were getting on me telling me I was in the area and I seen Mumia, you know, do it..They were trying to get me to say something that the other girl [Cynthia White] said. I couldn't do that." Jones then explicitly testified that police offered to let her and White "work the area if we tell them" what they wanted to hear regarding Mumia's guilt.

The DA moved to block her account, calling her testimony "absolutely irrelevant." Judge Sabo agreed to block the line of questioning, strike the testimony, and then ordered the jury to disregard Jones' statement.

Later, at the 1996 PCRA, Jones testified that in 1982 she had been coerced by police to recant seeing the two men jogging away, but resisted police pressure to falsely testify that she saw Abu-Jamal shoot Faulkner.

Intimidation of Jones continued at the PCRA. Before she testified, Judge Sabo threatened her with 5-10 yrs imprisonment for admitting perjury. After testifying, he allowed NJ police to handcuff and arrest her for an outstanding arrest warrant on charges of writing a bad check.

Outraged by Jones' treatment, even the normally 'anti-Mumia' Philadelphia Daily News reported that: "Such heavy-handed tactics can only confirm suspicions that the court is incapable of giving Abu-Jamal a fair hearing. Sabo has long since abandoned any pretense of fairness."

Monday, October 06, 2008

US Supreme Court rejects new trial for former Black Panther

Monday, October 6, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) The US Supreme Court Monday refused to hear arguments for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther accused of killing a police officer, who has become an international symbol for the fight against capital punishment.

His lawyer Robert Bryan has already said he will seek to bring a second Supreme Court appeal for the 54 former radio journalist accused of the 1981 murder, this time for racism.

Abu-Jamal's death sentence was overturned in March by a federal court in Philadelphia, which voted two-to-one to uphold his conviction, which now automatically becomes a life sentence unless prosecutors bring him back before a jury.

But Bryan has said he will not rest until client is freed. "Even though the federal court granted a new trial on the question of the death penalty, we want a complete reversal of the conviction," Byran said in July.

Abu-Jamal has argued he was denied a fair trial in 1982 because the prosecution barred 10 qualified African-Americans from sitting on the jury, which in the end consisted of 10 whites and two blacks.

The Philadelphia appeals court had rejected his arguments on lack of evidence of any racist intent on the part of the prosecution.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

French Solidarity with Mumia, Peltier and Indian Peoples of the Americas

On Saturday October 11th, in France, the Bobigny Committee in Solidarity with Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier will be holding a day of international solidarity with the Indian peoples of the Americas. The information for that day is included below. Bobigny, a town on the outskirts of Paris, has long been a stronghold of anti-imperialist, anti-fascist, and anti-racist activity, with a particular focus on the cases of Mumia and Leonard. Mumia received honorary citizenship from Bobigny, the mayor and others from the committee visited Philadelphia and New York City, and a strong bond of solidarity has been a long-established reality between our movements.


ENSEMBLE, SAUVONS MUMIA

Collectif Unitaire National de Soutien à Mumia Abu-Jamal

43, boulevard de Magenta 75010 Paris – TEL 01 53 38 99 99 FAX 01 40 40 90 98 – E MAIL abujamal@free.fr

www.mumiabujamal.net


SITUATION JUDICIAIRE de Mumia Abu-Jamal

A la suite de la décision (refus d'un nouveau procès) en juillet dernier par la juridiction fédérale de Pennsylvanie, l'avocat principal de Mumia, maître Robert R. Bryan, a déposé un mémoire début septembre auprès de la Cour Suprême des Etats-Unis. Cet ultime recours devant la plus haute juridiction américaine a pour enjeu de faire reconnaître que Mumia a été victime d'un procès raciste, ce qui constitue une violation flagrante de la Constitution des Etats-Unis. Si, la Cour fait sienne la thèse de la défense, Mumia aura enfin droit à un nouveau procès. Si la Cour rejette le recours, Mumia sera définitivement condamné à la réclusion criminelle à perpétuité (décision de la Cour d'Appel Fédérale de mars dernier) … donc à mourir en prison ! A l'évidence, l'évolution de la situation judiciaire depuis le printemps dernier (annulation de la peine de mort mais confirmation de la culpabilité) semble rallier tous les adversaires de « la voix des sans voix ». L'objectif poursuivi est clair : pour faire perdurer la sentence de mort sur le sol américain, à défaut de pouvoir exécuter celui qui symbolise la lutte pour son abolition, les autorités tablent sur la démobilisation.

Pour sa part, le Collectif Unitaire National dénonce ce calcul morbide et poursuivra, en liaison avec la défense de Mumia et ses soutiens aux Etats-Unis, son action de sensibilisation et de mobilisation permettant à cet homme courageux et innocent de recouvrer justice et liberté.

Dans l'immédiat, nous vous invitons à diffuser largement le tract et le nouveau texte de pétition que vous trouverez en fichiers joints.


TROY DAVIS n'a pas été exécuté !

La mobilisation internationale a empêché l'irréparable. Comme Mumia, pour la deuxième fois de sa vie, Troy Davis (noir américain de 39 ans) a été sauvé in extremis. La Cour Suprême des Etats-Unis a accepté d'étudier la demande d'un nouveau procès formulée par la défense tout en précisant que le sursis accordé ne vaudrait que le temps de l'examen de l'appel. Comme le rappelle Amnesty International, dans un rapport en forme de contre-enquête, Troy Davis a été condamné à mort en 1991 pour le meurtre d'un policier blanc, sans que l'arme du crime n'ait été retrouvée, sans preuve matérielle, empreinte, ni traces d'ADN … mais sur la base de neuf témoignages dont sept se sont depuis rétractés ou contredits. La copie conforme d'une certaine affaire Mumia !

Pour sauver Troy Davis, poursuivons la campagne de mobilisation initiée par Amnesty International en signant la nouvelle pétition en ligne :


INFOS DIVERSES :

â–º la fréquentation du stand « Mumia » à la fête de l'Humanité a été particulièrement soutenue (beaucoup de jeunes visiteurs) : 3.500 tracts diffusés, 700 signatures recueillies sur la nouvelle pétition, 1.000 €uros de recette (deux tiers vente de livres et un tiers solidarité) ;

â–º deux nouvelles villes ont élevé Mumia au rang de citoyen d'honneur : SAUVETERRE du Gard et PORTES lès Valence.


30 septembre 2008

Jericho 10th Anniversary Weekend of Resistance

From http://thejerichomovement.com

Demand Freedom for Our Political Prisoners and POWs!

10/10 and 10/11 actions to celebrate
the National Jericho Movement's 10th Anniversary


"One of the first steps we are going to become involved in as an Organization of Afro-American Unity will be to work with every leader and other organization in this country interested in a program designed to bring your and my problem before the United Nations ... We must take it out of the hands of the United States government."
- Malcolm X, Speech at Founding Rally of the OAAU,
28 June 1964

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2008

Moving Agitational Picket @ 12 Noon
1st Ave. from 42nd to 47th Sts. (Trains: 4,5,6 to 42d St.; 7 to Grand Central)
Bring your banners, signs, noisemakers, drums, whistles, etc.

Simultaneous delegation to United Nations for meeting inside UN

Evening Concert to Benefit the Prisoners
@ the Knitting Factory @ 74 Leonard St. (cor. of Church St.), Manhattan (Trains: 1, 9 to Franklin; A,C,E, N, R to Canal)
8 p.m. until . . .
Box office: 212-219-3132


SATURDAY, 11, 2008 @ 12 Noon

Rally at the Harlem State Office Building
@ 163 W. 125th Street (corner of Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.) (Trains: A,B,C,D,2,3 to 125th)

March through Harlem @ 1 p.m.

Closing Rally in Morningside Park @ 3 p.m. (Trains: B,C,2,3 to 110th)
Between 112th & 114th near Morningside Ave. entrances


GET INVOLVED!
For more information: nycjericho@gmail.com * 718-853-0893 * 206-888-4001
To download a pledge sheet with what YOU can do, go to http://thejerichomovement.com/

Organized by the October 10th Coalition (list in formation):
Jericho Movement, Anarchist Black Cross Federation (NYC), Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC), International Ctte. in Support of Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, Leonard Peltier Support Group (NYC), Malcolm X Commemoration Ctte., ProLibertad, Resistance in Brooklyn, Safiya Bukhari/Nuh Washington Foundation.

Endorsers (list in formation):
Alvaro Luna Hernández, American Friends Service Committee/Criminal Justice Program (NYMRO), Anarchist Black Cross Federation, Andy Stepanian Support Committee, ANSWER Coalition, The Beautiful Struggle, Black United Front-Houston Chapter, Black Women's Defense League, Boston Anarchist Black Cross, CEMOTAP, The Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action, Family and Friends of Daniel McGowan, Friends of Jeffrey Free Luers, Gabriela Network, In Our Hearts Anarchist Network, International Action Center, International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Justseeds, NEFAC-NY, NY Metropolitan Anarchist Alliance (NYMAA), Party for Liberation and Socialism, Pittsburgh Organizing Group, Prisoners of Conscience Committee (POCC), Puerto Rican Alliance of Los Angeles, Rock Dove Collective, Solidarity Without Borders-NYC, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, War Resisters League, WESPAC Foundation, Win Animal Rights, Workers World Party

SUPPORT NEEDED FOR SUNDIATA ACOLI / NY 21 FILM PROJECTS

TIME FRAME: Two Months!

PLAN OF ACTION: Donations urgently needed to finance the independent docufilms of FieldUp Productions!


PURPOSE OF ACTION: Our message is simple. We need your help to tell the true story of the continuing efforts of African-American movements by supporting our monumental documentary film projects. Our project is told by actual members who experienced the movement. A Power Sun and Wrack 21 are very important projects to be shared with the community at large. The voices and stories of actual members of the New York Chapter of the Black Panther Party drive the documentary, as well as dramatic elements and interviews with scholars and others involved in the case. It is rare that an almost forgotten part of the past is told with such passion and a sense of urgency. But the past is not forgotten by those who continue to work for the liberation of all people from poverty and violence, who love freedom, and who want to ensure that the sacrifices of our forefathers and mothers were not in vain.

The film’s director, writer and producer, Dawn McGhee says, “This film combines the true history of a dynamic movement, while re-creating the accounts of his story”. As many of you are aware, the dramatic re-enactments began this month with Irma P. Hall, Omar Wiseman, Mutulu "M1" Olugabala and Stic.man. Words are not enough to express our sincerity and appreciation to these individuals giving their time and talent to help us tell our story and it's commitment like theirs, as well as others on board, that show us how committed to Victory they are. We must pool together our resources and spread the word to family, friends, colleagues, and others to visit the website and donate!!!! Their and your help is greatly appreciated by political prisoners, prisoners of war, exiled comrades, the community, and of course, FieldUp Productions.


WEBSITES: http://www.fieldup.com/ and www.myspace.com/apowersun. The myspace.com site contains a fantastic array of photos of the production currently underway as well as a few videos in support of the project, please check it out!


WHAT WE SHOULD DO NOW:

1. Donations are the difference between these projects going forward or being halted, there is a tremendous sense of urgency. Please visit the FieldUp Website to make donations via PayPal. The amount is not important. Every cent helps.

2. Subscribe to the FieldUp newsletter, which is a fantastic way to keep up with production via e-mail. Please subscribe today at http://www.fieldup.com/


GOALS & OUTCOMES:

GOAL: To acquire the necessary support to insure the completion of these very important and self-determined projects, time is of the essence!

Cashier’s checks/money orders payable to:

Field Up Productions LLC
PO Box 41329
Dallas, TX 75241

Or

Donate using our secure online donations form at www.fieldup.com. By your gift, you will know that you have helped us to tell our own stories and to keep the struggle for democracy and human rights alive.


OUTCOMES:

1. Provide quality interpretations of Our Story to correctly educate our current and future generations regarding the government's war against the Black Liberation movement.

2. To inspire others to write, perform, and produce similar projects instead of allowing the enemies of our people to continue their disinformation campaigns unchallenged.

3. To build the movement to free all Political Prisoners and POW's, who have been abused, tortured and isolated within this government's dungeons for decades. Our freedom fighters have sacrificed much on our collective behalfs, are aging, and largely forgotten. We must support every effort in their fight for another chance of life outside of the walls!

For more info contact: fieldup@gmail.com, www.myspace.com/apowersun, or SAFC (Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign) @ www.sundiataacoli.org for articles and other info by and about Bro. Sundiata Acoli.


PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD & THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Peru: Interview with Political Prisoner Lori Berenson

Written by Emma Shaw Crane
Thursday, 25 September 2008

American activist Lori Berenson was pulled off a bus in Peru in November of 1995, detained by anti-terrorist police, and tried for treason against the Peruvian state by a hooded military tribunal. A gun was held to her head as she received her sentence: life in prison. Accused of being a leader of the MRTA (Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement), Lori was one of thousands of people kidnapped, tortured, disappeared, and/or imprisoned during then-president Alberto Fujimori's campaign to defeat rebel groups.

At the time of Lori's first "trial," Peru was emerging from over a decade of bloody civil war, fought between leftist guerillas and the Peruvian military. Two major armed movements fought the Peruvian government, the MRTA and Sendero Luminoso, the Maoist Shining Path. Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has estimated that approximately 70,000 people were killed between 1980 and 2000. Seventy–five percent of the victims were indigenous people, mostly Quechua, a number vastly out of proportion to their 16% share of the national population. The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission holds the government (through its military, police and intelligence apparatus along with paramilitary units) responsible for at least 45% of those deaths–compared to the MRTA who caused less than 2% of mortalities during the civil war. The Shining Path was deemed responsible for the majority – 53%.

This interview with Lori Berenson took place shortly before the first of a series of trials of Alberto Fujimori began in Lima. Last December, the former president was sentenced to six years in prison for abuse of authority, the first of three charges. His second trial, for human rights abuses including homicide and kidnapping, resumed July 14th, 2008. Ironically, if he is found guilty on all counts, Fujimori could serve up to 30 years in prison–just ten years more than Lori Berenson is currently serving. However, since Fujimori turns seventy this year, he is eligible under Peruvian law for a reduced sentence served under house arrest.

In this interview, Lori discusses how she maintains her hope while in prison, what she believes it takes to effect real and lasting social change, the emerging `New Left' in Latin America, and why women political prisoners are perceived as a threat to social stability.


What's the hardest thing for you about being in prison?

Frustration! You don't have control of your own life. People don't treat you like an adult. People are afraid to tell you that someone's sick. You are unable to deal with your own problems, either economic or otherwise. You feel sort of – in Spanish it would be impotencia – you can't do anything. The prison authorities beat someone up, you can't do anything. Someone's sick, you can't do anything. You need to write a letter to someone and you can't mail it. Frustration.


How do you maintain your hope and political conviction in a place as oppressive and confining and limiting as prison? What can you say about the prison system?

Each of the prisons I've lived in has provided a direct experience of why I think this prison system needs to change. Certainly, the first years I was in jail were very repressive years. Even in the last few years, you can still see the mistreatment of poor people. You can see it when they are presented before the judges, and you can see it in daily treatment. It's money: those who don't have money are not equal citizens. It's a very defined class differentiation.


What advice do you have for young people who want real and lasting change?

I think that today's young people have a really strong responsibility upon them. I'm no expert in any topic, but what I've heard about the environment is that there won't be much water in Peru in 20 years. Unless people start changing the way they live day to day, and unless people dedicate themselves to making superpowers change their environmentally destructive habits, then things will be hell on earth in 5 to 10 years. And that's just about the environment! Every war that superpowers like the U.S. wage mainly for economic interest is harmful on many levels – including mass killing of people. We're seeing a drastic situation, basically.


What do you think are the major components of a successful political movement?

At this point, I think there are two things. One is that you have to decide what "star" you are looking to follow. I think most of the left (i.e., "progressive people") have a lot of confusion as to where they are going right now. And that is not helpful. What I find very negative, and what I've certainly seen here and in El Salvador, is that when you have a very divided left and progressive circle you go nowhere. You just wind up with everyone in their own little cube doing nothing. At least for me, if you want to be in your little cube, just fight your own struggle, don't fight your struggle on the basis of saying, "Oh, so and so is worse." In the presidential campaign here in Peru, the most pathetic thing I've seen was one segment of the left criticizing other segments.


You've been outlining your first point about a successful social movement. What is your second point about?

On certain issues, it is important that there be unity among progressives and leftists. For example, in the U.S., what might be a principal point is to stop the war in Iraq immediately and not permit that there be another war like that. From what I hear on the radio, that's something that the left has in common with many from the Democratic Party. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. What issues are big enough? Protecting the environment! These are things that a lot of sectors can unite to do.

The other thing is that the left needs to look for where to go. I don't think we need to look for a guide, someone who is going to say, "Do this." We need to sit down and think: What was good about what used to be regarded as the standards of the left before the falling of the Soviet block? What things were good, what things were not? What things need to be changed, what things shouldn't exist? That kind of thing. We must learn from what was good and what was bad. But it's time to do it, because I think we're sitting around too long – myself included, by the way.


What lesson would you want to pass on to other activists, particularly young activists?

Go ahead with whatever you're doing. I admire and I'm proud of the fact that there are still people who think that there are streets in which other people roam, and that things are not really what the press says, and that it is necessary to look out farther than what you can see from the windowsill. This is in spite of the fact that I think there is a proliferating move throughout the world to create individuals that live in their own little cubes. You go, and you see, that the world isn't really what you think it is, and that it is that way maybe not for the reasons that the mainstream press says. It is necessary to think and to do – and not to sit and wait.


What is your hope for the future? Your future, and the future of movements you've been involved in?

I don't think the future is going to be better in the short term. I'm not that hopeful about the governments in power. Even the trend in this region doesn't give me much hope for solid structural change. You can have certain reforms that could be helpful, you can give spaces to the political or popular movement, allow them to do things they haven't been able to under very repressive regimes, but it doesn't mean there is a substantial change. The rules of the game haven't changed. And unless those change, nothing will. It's time to get back to discovering where we want to go, and while we're discovering that, just start walking.


Do you have hope for the Chavez/Morales movement in Latin America, the threat of having a unified Latin American bloc that could potentially create solidarity among Latin American countries? What do you think about that?

I think it's important that there be solidarity. But I don't have enough information to know what they are really doing or not. What is clear to me is that it is still not possible to change the rules of the game. That's the issue. You have to get to that place. It's good that they feel this way. Certainly here in Peru the leaders seem to be afraid of something about the Chavez movement. What are they so afraid of? And the Peruvians are very afraid. And much of the U.S. is too. Actually, I think that they are giving us a hand on that. By making bigger deals out of things, they are actually unifying the left on certain things. Well, thank you!


What is your opinion of the war on Iraq, and do you see that fitting into the history of imperialism in Latin America?

I don't know enough about history to give a historical background, but I think it's more complicated in the sense that the economic interests are very big. It's not only the interest in petroleum–it's the interest in making a war and making peace-so that a lot of money is invested in destruction and the rest invested in reconstruction, which is disgusting. But then on social terms, I would say that they saw fighting as a way of uniting the U.S. after September 11th and making it feel strong. The heroes and Rambos–I'm not sure if that's the correct name in today's movies–but that kind of figure that's going to go in there and kill all the bad guys. I also think the whole "hyping up" on nationalism is the other thing they intended to do.


You saw, because of your involvement with struggles in El Salvador, what happens when damaging policy is directed at a specific group of people. I'm curious if you see the war on Iraq as a parallel to that, as part of U.S. expansion and hegemony?

I think it is, but I wouldn't make a parallel with Central America. I think Iraq is a much more powerful country, and I think there are other issues involved, like pride of the nations that are situated close to Iraq. I think it's a much more complicated issue. And I don't think the United States really took that into account. Vietnam, for example, was more isolated, whereas Iraq is not. And Vietnam didn't have petroleum.

What is horrifying as well in Iraq is that so many historical relics and architecture have been destroyed–and no one seems to care. That's never mentioned, ever, just as all the civilians killed are never mentioned. I think the U.S. has opened a big can of worms and they don't know how to close it; at this point, they don't know how to pull out.


Do you expect to be paroled in 2010, and what is your hope for your future?

I should be paroled but I'm not sure. I think many things can happen. The only thing that's been constant over the last sixteen to twenty years is that the terrorists are the bad people. During the ten-year regime of Fujimori, Alan García was in exile for corruption – and now he is president again. Who knows how Fujimori's trial will be, and how he will be regarded in about five years. But what has been a constant is that terrorists are terrorists, at least in the media. If it is really perceived as a danger, then political prisoners who are higher profile won't be released, and I won't be released on parole when I become eligible.


What tactics do you use to stay sane?

I was once asked a similar question: "How do people cope with prisons?" There are a variety of tactics. One is escaping from it in your mind – people get high, people do a whole bunch of things. In the case of myself, and most political prisoners I have known, the thing would be the confidence that whatever you believed in was right. So I think that has not changed. And you might have a good day or a bad day, I mean, when it rains everyone gets sort of gloomy, but even so, you don't forget that you have that.


What messages do you have for Mumia?

My greatest respect to him and to all the political prisoners I've read so much about over these last several years. Keep struggling, because you're right! This isn't just a message for him, but to those who need to move on such issues so that his situation, and the situation of others like him, can change. There needs to be knowledge and consciousness of the need for these things to change. These are people who are victims of a state's oppressive ways.


Do you think labeling people `terrorists' will get old, like labeling people as `Communists' did?

I still have the pieces that we wrote on this three or four years ago, saying `No, we're subversives, we're political prisoners, we are not terrorists. Terrorism means actions that cause terror, that try to create terror.' I think I spent so much time trying to explain it to people, where it got to the point, after years of that, that I realized people still use the word terrorist and it doesn't really change anything. Those who will feel deterred by the word might feel deterred by it anyway, and those who can see through the paint will do so as well. So this is a point on which I've definitely changed over the last three or four years, in the sense that it really doesn't matter. You want to call me a terrorist? Call me a terrorist! It really doesn't change anything. I know I am not a terrorist.

Yes! I remember growing up in a peak period of the Cold War, in an era when they would say the Russians are going to invade and whatnot, and all these communists, they are doing this and that. And you know? People became immune to that.


How do you see consumer culture affecting the types of crimes that are committed, and the aspirations that young people have?

Cajamarca, where this prison is located, used to be a small town, but since '94 became a tremendous mining center. So it has grown but has not developed. All of the wonders of capitalist society have come here: the people now have giant shopping centers, filled with all sorts of junk that no one really needs, but they don't have the education, the other side of development here. And that creates `created needs'. I would say, in general, in all of the societies that follow the model of the U.S. there are consumer cultures. Many people rob because they want what's in style. They are taught since they are kids they need to consume; they need to be stylish; that these objects are a necessity. So what is a necessity is no longer food and water, but a whole bunch of junk. And those created needs are what drive people to different kinds of crimes, combined with the fact that there is no way of making enough money legally to get those kinds of things.


In that same vein, what has the mine brought here or not brought here? Has the promise of having industry in the town delivered or not delivered? What do people think of the mines?

Very mixed. Cajamarca doesn't have industry related to the mine. What they have is a lot of services. The whole service sector in Cajamarca is related to the mine. Which means that most people, indirectly, might be providing for someone who works at the mine, or whatever. It's very hard to do anything that is totally isolated from the mine. It's everywhere. You hear it on the radio: they have paid ads talking about the environment. That's what they do.


A woman in the line outside said that the only crime people in prison here have committed is de ser pobre, to be poor. What do you think of that?

I think that's true on different levels. There are actually cases of police picking people up for stealing pañales [diapers]. In order for someone to give birth in a hospital they need to have their diapers, they need to have syringes, and surgical gloves. There have been people caught stealing diapers so that their wives can give birth. So that is an example of people stealing to meet their needs in a crude sense.

People are in here because of poverty on many levels: they don't have enough money to buy off a judge, or enough money for a decent defense, though a decent defense is almost irrelevant with this legal system. In a good number of cases people without knowledge – poor in the sense that they don't have a good education because wherever they are from doesn't have a good enough education system, or because they've worked since they were kids – say things wrong when they talk to the police. They don't answer the questions right because they were never educated to answer those kinds of questions. They get surprised by the authorities, or physically brutalized by them, which is always helpful in having them sign whatever they [the police] want. And this happens because people don't know.

It's poverty in the sense that you can't do anything with your case, you can't help out in the moving of papers from one desk to the next. This is often the case in the judicial system and the prison system in terms of benefits, like parole. They can take forever if you don't have money.


How does the prison climate shift and change as there are fewer political prisoners in here with you?

It's interesting because the last year that there were a fair amount of political prisoners in here was probably 2004. There have been other types of changes. For example, in 2003 the government replaced the police in internal control of the prison system. At the end of 2003 other types of prisoners started to be brought here from coast jails. In the last two or three years, however, prisoners brought here are often people being caught in Cajamarca who are not from Cajamarca. This has to do with the accelerated growth in Cajamarca, unrelated to development; so the city doesn't develop its own criminals, it imports people to rob! I'm totally serious! People plan to come and rob here because they know so few people are doing this here. And so there have been a whole lot of people detained here who are not from this region in the last two or three years. It's a very new experience.

The Cajamarca mines have created new needs, like drugs and prostitution. They always mix prostitution in there. These things create other kinds of violence. Now there are people here for drugs because Cajamarca is part of a drug route.

The other point to make is that there have been some crime categories for which prison benefits such as parole and work equivalence have been removed. In the case of rape, the sentences have been made much more drastic, and prison benefits have been removed from most if not all cases. The same has occurred in the cases of kidnapping and extortion. So now there is a greater number of crime categories that don't have the right to benefits. The prison population is growing just on the fact that there are people who would have gotten out in the past but are not anymore.


I assume that women are in the minority here. What is it like being one of the only women in this prison?

Here I would say it's actually a privilege. In this prison, the women have been treated well. Generally, treatment of women is much harsher. But the difference here is that there are so few of us. For instance, we have a sewing workshop that none of us can use because we don't know how to work the machines, but it was donated to the women because there are few of us, so we could benefit from it. So in that sense we actually benefit because we are only a few. Sometimes the doctor won't attend the men because there are 500 of them, but they will attend the women because there are approximately thirty women here.


Why is treatment generally harsher in women's wings, and how has that been your experience?

I am sure that if you speak to other women prisoners they will say the same things. I think it has to do with a lot of idiosyncrasies. One is the way the authorities see women: once you leave the roles that were given to you by society, then you have to accept what you get. With women, the treatment usually is very demeaning. I remember when I was in Arequipa they called us hijas (daughters). "I look at you as if you are my daughters." That is very offensive! It's very demeaning. The worst thing in the treatment of women is that they don't treat you like adults. Men can be roughened up a lot, mistreated, spoken too grotesquely, but they are never treated like children. And women always are. That's the biggest difference.

The other thing is, in terms of political prisoners, I definitely think that female political prisoners are seen as a greater threat.


Why do you think that is?

One of the things they always say, and you can read this in cases, particularly in the case of the Shining Path, they always say, "Oh, the ones from the assassination squadrons are cold blooded, and they are always women." I remember hearing something similar when I lived in El Salvador. I think it's this fear that a woman, when she is politically clear on things, is supposedly firmer in her beliefs. The torture of women has been horrendous- how many women have had kids in jail because of rape? It has to do with revenge. They committed the crime of leaving the roles that were given to them, and then on top of that being subversives, and on top of that, being firm in their beliefs.

I remember a woman who was recently sentenced to thirty years for something she didn't do. I think it was largely because of the fact that when she was detained by the police she refused to speak, she refused to self–incriminate, and they said, "She's too strong, she's got to be a leader." She withstood the torture, withstood everything. And that was probably the reason she got a thirty-year sentence.

For more information, visit the Committee to Free Lori Berenson: http://www.freelori.org/