11/27 Philly Mumia Organizing Mtg./Great Debate Showing + Discussion

International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal (ICFFMAJ)

Presents

The Great Debate

 &

Post 11/09: Organizers Meeting for Mumia Abu Jamal

• Come Out to Watch the 11/08 “Great Debate” between Johanna Fernandez, Michael Cords, D.A. Seth Williams & Tigre Hill
  
• Post-Discussion with Chairwoman of ICFFMAJ & Minister of Confrontation of MOVE Pam Africa

&

Organizers Meeting on “Where do we go from Here for Mumia, Post 11/09?”
5700 Washington Avenue (Abiding Truth Ministries)
Philadelphia PA 19143

12-4pm

November 27, 2010

For more information contact us ICFFMAJ@aol.com or Iresha.Picot@gmail.com

12/5 LA - "Justice on Trial: Mumia Abu-Jamal" Film Screening

From Thandisizwe Chimurenga:

Justice on Trial: Mumia Abu Jamal
L.A. PREMIERE - ONE NIGHT ONLY!

Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010 @ 7 p.m.

@ the Downtown Independent Theatre
251 S. Main Street, betw 2nd and 3rd

TICKETS: $12 at the door

On Nov. 9 a Federal court in Philadelphia again took up the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, journalist, author and former member of the Black Panther Party currently on death row. The results of that hearing, which will determine if Mumia is executed or gets life imprisonment, have not been decided YET. Attorney Robert Bryan says that Mumia is now "in the greatest danger since his 1981 arrest."

Dec. 9 is the 29th anniversary of the night Mumia was accused of murdering a white policeman. He has always affirmed his innocence. This new film, "Justice on Trial: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal," fairly presents the arguments made by Mumia's supporters alongside the prosecution's arguments and interviews with others advocating Mumia's execution. The film's featured interviews include press photographer Pedro Polakoff, whose newly discovered crime scene photos expose police manipulation of evidence.

213.321.0575 for more info

Amnesty International: Mumia Abu-Jamal Deserves New Trial, Not New Death Sentence says Amnesty International

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/11/09-4

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 9,  2010

Contact:
Amnesty International  USA
Wende Gozan Brown
212-633-4247, wgozan@aiusa.org

Mumia Abu-Jamal Deserves New Trial, Not New Death Sentence says Amnesty International
Washington, D.C. - November 9

On Tuesday, November 9, a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will conduct a hearing to re-examine its previous decision overturning Mumia Abu-Jamal’s death sentence.

In 2000, after a painstaking review of the case, Amnesty International concluded in its report, The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Life in the Balance, that justice could only be served by granting Abu-Jamal a new trial. 

The following is a statement from Laura Moye, director of Amnesty International USA’s Death Penalty Abolition Campaign:

“Re-imposing the death penalty would be intolerable.  Mumia Abu-Jamal should receive a new trial, not a new death sentence.

“Serious questions about fairness in Mumia Abu-Jamal’s case remain unanswered. While Amnesty International does not take a position on guilt or innocence, the organization maintains that Abu-Jamal’s original trial, which was irredeemably tainted by politics and race, failed to meet international fair trial standards.

“Among myriad concerns surrounding this case: Abu-Jamal had inadequate defense representation at trial and during the sentencing phase. Eleven potential African American jurors were dismissed. The close political relationship between the Fraternal Order of Police and the elected Pennsylvania judiciary was inappropriate.  The judge, who had close political ties to law enforcement, was openly hostile to the defense.

“These and other concerns have not been addressed. Justice demands a new trial.  The state of Pennsylvania should turn its back on the irreversible and broken death penalty system.”


We are people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights. Our purpose is to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied. We investigate and expose abuses, educate and mobilize the public, and help transform societies to create a safer, more just world.

Amnesty International - USA

No News is Not Good News: If Cops Tape Protests and Journalists and No One Reports It, Is It Intimidation?

by Dave Lindorff
11/19/2010


Is it news when police photograph and videotape demonstrations?

Apparently for American editors and reporters, making that news judgement depends on where the demonstration occurs and what nationality the police are.

When a hundred artists gathered outside a Beijing courtroom in mid-November to protest the jailing of artist Wu Yuren, who had earlier been beaten by police and jailed because he had gone to a police station to file a complaint against a landlord, the New York Times ran an article by reporter Andrew Jacobs which pointedly noted that police officers had videotaped the crowd, and then quoted a demonstrator, artist Dou Bu, as saying, "I was scared to come out here today, but you have to face your fears."

But a week earlier, when several hundred backers of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a black journalist on Pennsylvania's death row for the killing of a police officer, demonstrated in front of a Third Circuit federal court building in Philadelphia, where a three-judge panel was rehearing an argument on his sentence, and local police not only videotaped the officially sanctioned rally, but also aggressively photographed and taped a group of journalists waiting to be allowed into the courtroom early, there was no mention of their action in any media, local or national.

In Philadelphia, and in cities across the country, it has become routine for police departments to openly and surreptitiously videotape participants in demonstrations, and to assemble files on demonstrators, even when the events are entirely peaceful and without incident, and when the rallies or marches have been issued city permits.

Philadelphia Police officials insist that the photographing and videotaping of protests is legal and is not intended to intimidate dissent. Lt. Raymond Evers, who heads the Philadelphia Police public affairs unit, says the purpose of such photographic records is "crowd control and training."  He claims the department wants a record so that if any violence occurs, police can show what happened, and how police responded, and also so that any perpetrators or malefactors can be identified later.

That doesn‚t explain what happened at the Abu-Jamal hearing, however. On Nov. 9, some 12 journalists who had come to the Federal Courthouse on 6th Street, just two blocks from the old Independence Hall where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed, to cover an appellate court panel hearing reviewing a federal district judge‚s 2001 ruling that lifted Abu-Jamal's death sentence, found themselves surrounded by Philadelphia Police who began photographing and videotaping them at close range. The reporters, who had been credential-checked and then herded by US Marshals down a kind of "cattle chute" constructed of temporary metal barriers, to a holding point in front of the court building‚s main entrance, were unable to avoid being repeatedly photographed.

Many, including journalists from abroad, expressed shock and dismay at the police actions. "Is this how they treat the press here in America?" asked one reporter from Agence France Presse.

Linn Washington, a local journalist with the Philadelphia Tribune, America‚s oldest African-American newspaper (and a member of the ThisCantBeHappening! news collective), who was singled out for photographing and videotaping by police cameramen as he walked down the chute alone to join the other journalists, said, "It was absolutely a process designed to intimidate us."

Journalists who asked the police pointing the cameras, and accompanying officers in civilian clothes from the department‚s civil affairs office, for an explanation for their actions, and for information concerning what would be done with the resulting photographs and video records, were met with a stony silence.

It is likely that their images may end up intelligence files held in Washington, DC.

A couple of years ago, at an anti-war rally in front of the municipal building across the street from Philadelphia‚s City Hall, I spotted an unidentified and unmarked police videographer standing alongside legitimate TV cameramen recording speakers at the permitted event, and also panning the assembled crowd. Noting that he had no identifying TV station placard on his camera as the other cameras had, I asked him what station he was with. When he ignored me, I asked a couple more times, at which point he aggressively and silently turned his big videocamera directly on me. At that point, I identified him to rally attendees as a police officer. He and an associate I hadn‚t noticed earlier immediately hurried off to a nearby Police Department van and left the scene.

When I later called the police department to ask about the taping, I was told that it was routine to tape demonstrations, and that because the Philadelphia Police are part of the federal Anti-Terrorism Joint Strike Force, copies of such tapes would be provided to the federal Department of Homeland Security.

In other words, in America, participating in a First Amendment-protected activity--protesting at a rally that has been granted a city permit--can get your image added to some terrorism file in Washington, DC.

Is that also what happens to the images of reporters who are simply performing their First Amendment role of reporting on a court hearing?

No doubt.

But is this news in the American corporate media?

Apparently not.

If police tape demonstrators or journalists at a political event, it‚s only news if it occurs somewhere like China.


Source URL: http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/node/306

Statement Against FBI and Grand Jury Repression

By Angela Davis
November 18, 2010

On September 24 the FBI raided homes of 14 activists in movements in solidarity with oppressed workers and peoples of Latin America and Israel/Palestine. I consider these raids to be an assault on democracy. While the immediate targets of the raids were activists in movements in solidarity with trade unionists and others facing violence in Colombia and the Middle East, their purpose is to disrupt the unity of progressive movements by sowing suspicion, distrust, and an aura of guilt by association. I am not too young to remember the dark days of McCarthyism in our country, and I know very well what the effect of such government reprisals can be.

The FBI seized computers, cell phones, boxes of papers and personal possessions from all 14. They served grand jury subpoenas on many of them. The FBI announced they were investigating possible “material support” to terrorist groups. But it appears that their real purpose is to disrupt the growing unity of the majority of Americans who are critical of the wars and occupations being carried out today in Iraq and Afghanistan, who oppose U. S. support for violence against trade unionists in Colombia and against Palestinians by the Israeli government in Israel, on the West Bank, and in Gaza. The only way the FBI’s actions make any sense at all is to see them as an attempt to isolate and intimidate any who would dissent from government policy or speak out against injustice. These raids violate the spirit and the letter of the Bill of Rights. They endanger the freedom of the entire U. S. population.

We learned bitter lessons from the FBI’s COINTELPRO repression in the 1960s, in which African American leaders, including Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and leaders of the Black Panther Party such as Fred Hampton, were targeted for assassination. Progressive movements were targeted for disruption.

I urge President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to

• Direct the FBI to return the belongings seized.
• Dissolve the grand juries threatening an inquisition against peace and solidarity activists and movements.
• Cancel all subpoenas to appear before the grand jury in Chicago.

I would like to work with my Congressman Barbara Lee to support initiatives in Congress for the repeal of provisions of law that define solidarity with human rights abroad as “material support” for terrorism. The rights of all Americans must be preserved to peaceably assemble and petition their government to end support for repressive and militarist governments abroad, and states that commit war crimes and terrorist acts against their own or other people struggling for basic human rights.

Angela Y. Davis is the author of many books, her most recent are: Abolition Democracy, Are Prisons Obsolete? and a new critical edition of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave.

From Angela Davis's Blog http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/angeladavis

Berlin Free Mumia Committee Getting Ready for December 9

DON'T LET YOUR ANGER COOL DOWN! - AFTER 29 YEARS ON DEATH ROW
- FREE MUMIA NOW!

For 29 years a journalist has been locked up on death row - because he dared to speak the truth.

For 29 years a human being has been isolated from his family – because prisoners have no rights in his country.

For 29 years an Afro-American has been threatened with death – because the death penalty is the last resort of a social system doomed to downfall.

The prisoner's name is Mumia Abu-Jamal; he is locked up in the US state of Pennsylvania, near a place called Waynesburg. He is in a state-run prison factory where forced labor annually
produces about 50 million dollars in profit. In the middle of this factory is a high security section where nearly 250 human beings wait, in almost totally isolation, for their lives to be terminated. Confined to cells six square meters in size they are certain of only one thing: that they will never depart from these buildings alive. Some of them already know the date on which they are to die.

While 80 percent of the US-population is of European descent, the majority of those living in the forgotten death rows in maximum security prisons are Afro-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanos or people of Asian descent. Only 34 percent of the prisoners belong to the majority
population group.

It is the same picture in factory prisons spread all over the United States. The prison industrial complex is one of the largest domestic branches of the US economy. Control over almost totally unpaid labor was the historic motor for the early development of the North American colonies. Slavery, though officially permitted when the USA was founded, was officially abolished in 1865. But all the same it still exists - within the prison industry. No country in the world has more prison
inmates than the USA, neither in percentage terms nor in actual numbers. And the death penalty represents an ultimate threat to guarantee that a fearful population keeps quiet.

Mumia Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death on a framed-up charge of killing a policeman. The real reason was because he was committed to reporting on racism, police violence and politicians' corruption. He has continued this activity up to the present and, despite his isolation in prison, he
is able to reach millions of people. He thus lends a voice to all those otherwise ignored by the media. Now, however, after protests were able to save his life for decades, the government is again trying to force through his execution. A very similar political frame-up policy has been used against Leonard Peltier because of his commitment to the American Indian Movement (AIM) and against the Cuban Five, who tried to prevent terrorist acts directed, with the support of secret agencies of the USA, against Cuba. According to human rights groups more than 100 people are currently in US-prisons because of their political views. Some anti-repression groups believe the number is over 4000.

We know of all the sterile calls where those whose only crime was often an inability to afford a proper legal defense, are now awaiting a violent death. We know what strength is lent to those in such sterile walls of death by letters, reports of solidarity activities, or visits. We stand together with Mumia Abu-Jamal and all the others threatened by execution. No country has the right to murder prisoners!

LET US TAKE TO THE STREETS TOGETHER AND MAKE CLEAR TO THE USA EMBASSY
THAT WE WILL ACCEPT ONLY ONE SOLUTION:

FREEDOM FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL!

FREEDOM FOR ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!

WORLDWIDE ABOLISHMENT OF THE DEATH PENALTY!

Demonstration: Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 2.00 PM
Starting at Heinrichplatz in Kreuzberg, Berlin! concluding at the USA Embassy at Brandenburg Gate.
Info: www.mumia-hoerbuch.de V.i.S.d.P.: Anton Mestin, Selchowerstr., Berlin

After the Nov 9th hearing in Philly, what does Mumia face, what do we need to do?

WHAT DOES MUMIA FACE LEGALLY AFTER THE NOVEMBER 9, 2010 HEARING BEFORE THE THIRD CIRCUIT?

The only legal options that were considered by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, a federal court immediately below the US Supreme Court, at the November 9 hearing were whether Mumia Abu-Jamal is to be executed or get life in prison without parole. The question of Mumia's guilt or innocence and the opportunity of a new trial was not part of this hearing. The Third Circuit decided that issue in March 2008 in a decision made by the same three judges who conducted this hearing.

To grasp the significance of this hearing, one needs to revisit Federal District Court Judge William Yohn, Jr.'s decision of December 18, 2001. In that ruling the judge upheld Mumia's conviction but at the same time threw out his death sentence on the grounds that the verdict form used by the jury for sentencing at his trial violated the U.S. Supreme Court's Mills precedent, thereby prejudicing the jury toward the death penalty rather than life in prison. Yohn then gave the state 180 days to convene a new jury trial only on the issue of Mumia's penalty, in which the choices would be either death or life in prison without parole. On the other hand, if the state did nothing, Yohn ruled that Mumia would automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

At the time he made this decision, Judge Yohn stayed his ruling on overturning the death sentence while the prosecution appealed his decision to the next higher level of federal court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. (At the same time Mumia appealed Judge Yohn's decision upholding his conviction). Mumia was therefore never removed from Death Row and remains there to this day.

On March 27, 2008, the Third Circuit upheld Yohn's decision on the death penalty in a 3-0 vote. Again the decision was stayed while the state appealed to the highest federal level, the Supreme Court. (In the same decision, the Third Circuit rejected Mumia's appeal on the conviction by 2-1 that is, finding him guilty and, as before, Mumia appealed that ruling.)

On April 6, 2009 the US Supreme Court refused to hear Mumia's appeal of the Third Circuit's decision upholding his conviction.

On January 10, 2010, the Supreme Court ordered the Third Circuit to reconsider its decision on the death sentence in light of its unanimous rejection of an appeal from a white-supremacist named Spisak. That man admitted to killing at least two people in Ohio and openly stated that he wished to have murdered more. He had appealed his death sentence also as a violation of the Mills precedent, but involving a different aspect of it than Mumia's case. The Sixth Circuit, as did the Third Circuit in Mumia's case, ruled that the death sentence should be thrown out. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the Mills precedent did not apply in Spisak's case, and therefore execution rather than life in prison was the appropriate penalty. Based on that decision, the Supreme Court questioned the Third Circuit's ruling in Mumia's case, and asked it to reconsider the issue of execution for him as well.

Thus, the hearing on November 9th was on Mumia's penalty only. The choices before the court were either to sustain Yohn's and its own earlier decisions or to reinstate the death penalty. According to those in the courtroom, the attorney who represented Mumia on this issue, Judith Ritter, argued the applicability of the Mills precedent very convincingly. On that basis Mumia's death sentence should not be reinstated. The history of Mumia's case, however, has shown that precedent and effective arguments, as in the argument of racial bias in jury selection made before the same three judges three years ago, are often ignored by the court in favor of a political agenda at least to keep Mumia locked up if not executed and completely silenced. That racial bias issue easily could have resulted in Mumia's conviction being thrown out, but in a split 2-1 vote, the judges established a new precedent just for Mumia. (All three judges blew off the question of Mumia's innocence).
After hearing the arguments and asking questions, Chief Judge Scirica said that the court would 'take the matter under advisement'.) It may be months before a decision is announced.

If the Third Circuit reaffirms its earlier decision to sentence Mumia to life in prison without parole, the state will most likely appeal to the Supreme Court. If that court agrees with the Third Circuit, or in the unlikely event that the state doesn't appeal at all, the state then will have 180 days to implement Judge Yohn's decision.

In that case the prosecution would have to decide whether to do nothing and let the life sentence
stand or ask for a new penalty trial (which would take place in a Pennsylvania state court) in the hope of "winning" a death sentence again. Mumia would certainly want the latter to happen since it would give him some opportunity to introduce new evidence challenging the prosecution's version of what happened on December 9, 1981, which was the basis for the jury's guilty verdict at his 1982 trial. Thus, while this proceeding would not be a trial on the question of guilt or innocence, but only a hearing on the sentencing issue, new evidence that could undermine Mumia's conviction itself might be introduced.

If the Third Circuit rules against Mumia, Mumia will surely appeal to the Supreme Court. But the odds for the Supreme Court to overturn the Third Circuit's decision favoring execution are very small given the reactionary composition of that court.

However, even if the Supreme Court rules for a death sentence, Mumia would still have some legal options. Back in 2001, when Yohn threw out the death penalty based on the Mills precedent, he did not deal with several other issues raised by the defense. Therefore, Mumia would have the right to go back before Judge Yohn and ask him to address these other significant issues related to the improper sentencing process at his trial. Such a hearing, though limited to life in prison or execution, would inevitably also include challenges to the prosecution's version of what happened at the crime scene. This would especially be true if grassroots work continues to expose the fraudulent nature of the trial and appeals process as has been done dramatically in the last few years; for example, through the release of the long hidden photographs of the crime scene, and the evidence that four people, not three, were present at that scene. This would also be true if grassroots work continues to press for a Department of Justice civil rights investigation and draws greater support and activism. Not only might the death penalty be once again overturned, but Mumia's conviction itself might get thrown out.

Mumia's legal situation remains extremely dangerous as the re-imposition of the death sentence would surely be a big setback in his struggle to demonstrate his innocence. The authorities in Philadelphia are mobilizing for Mumia's execution, and the Supreme Court seems likely to be sympathetic to that agenda. But even with that being said, the right that remains for Mumia to go back to Judge Yohn is very important for opening up space to expose the level of injustice, the violation of due process, and the racism that has permeated the entire history of this case. While the US legal system looks very powerful and impenetrable to justice, the grassroots movement in the US combined with international pressure could force the courts to make decisions that they otherwise would not. Surely Mumia's being alive today, despite three attempts to kill him, twice with scheduled execution days, is a tribute to the massive struggles waged by people across this globe.

The Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition
International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal

Tigre Hill in Trouble with "Barrel of the Gun"

In the middle of the Abu-Jamal case
 
Philadelphia Business Journal - by Jeff Blumenthal
Thursday, November 11, 2010

David Wolfsohn spends his days representing clients in intellectual property litigation. The Woodcock Washburn partner most recently represented Philadelphia's largest insurance broker, The Graham Co., in a copyright case involving a trade secret dispute.

But earlier this week, Wolfsohn was caught up in the middle of the protracted case of one of the world's most controversial death row inmates — Mumia Abu-Jamal. After participating in a debate about the Abu-Jamal case, pro-Mumia activist Michael Coard handed local filmmaker Tigre Hill a letter from Wolfsohn demanding that he "immediately cease all screenings" of his new documentary, "The Barrel of a Gun," which concludes Abu-Jamal was justly convicted for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police office Daniel Faulkner.

Wolfsohn represents filmmaker Hugh King, who claims that without permission, Hill used an interview with Abu-Jamal from his film about Philadelphia Police brutality in the 1980s, "Black and Blue."

But don't expect Wolfsohn to start protesting outside the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office or come to Woodcock's Cira Centre offices in a "Free Mumia" T-shirt. Nor was Wolfsohn one of the majority pro-Mumia crowd shouting down Hill and the Philadelphia district attorney when they tried to tell their side of the Mumia saga Monday evening at the National Constitution Center.

"I'm not taking sides in this," Wolfsohn said. "But it was a clear copyright violation. Mr. Hill should have asked for a license [to use King's footage]."

Wolfsohn said his client wants Hill and his production company, Dacua Communications of Havertown, to pay restitution. If there is no response, Wolfsohn said the filing of a copyright infringement lawsuit could be in the offing.

Hill could not be immediately reached for comment.

Read more: In the middle of the Abu-Jamal case | Philadelphia Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blogs/law/2010/11/in-the-middle-of-the-abu-jamal-case.html

RT News reporting on Mumia

From freemumia.com:
Thanks to Betsey Piette for sharing this:

This is a good piece that RT News did on Mumia, the Third Circuit Court hearing and the Tues demonstration in Philadelphia.

http://www.youtube.com/rtamerica#p/search/1/YUJJr-s-4ro

Vietnam Vet Witnessed Faulkner's Shooting!

From V. Alba:

..Vietnam veteran William Singletary said he witnessed the shooting and Abu-Jamal was not the shooter but police forced him to hightail it out of town before the trial began...

http://atlantapost.com/2010/11/12/revisiting-the-injustice-of-the-justice-system-the-case-of-mumia/


Revisiting The Injustice of The Justice System: The Case of Mumia
NOVEMBER 12, 2010 12:02 PM

On December 9, 1981, in Philadelphia, near the intersection of 13th and Locust Streets, police officer Daniel Faulkner was shot and murdered and Mumia Abu-Jamal was shot and injured.

Albert Magilton, a pedestrian, said he didn't see the murder but witnessed Faulker pull over Mumia Abu-Jamal's brother, William Cook, who reportedly told police at the crime scene " I ain't got nothing to do with this."

A drunken cab driver who said he'd been parked behind the officer's vehicle fingered Mumia Abu Jamal as the shooter, begging the question; how many cab drivers with D.U.I.s voluntary roll up on the police?

A garden variety prostitute testified that a man (presumably Jamal) emerged from a parking lot and shot Faulker.

But wait, it was later discovered that the prostitute's eyewitness descriptions of the crime scene were found to be inconsistent. Apparently, her descriptions of the crime scene  described a scene in which Abu-Jamal's car was both present and absent (I guess it's hard out there for both the pimp and prostitute).

Vietnam veteran William Singletary said he witnessed the shooting and Abu-Jamal was not the shooter but police forced him to hightail it out of town before the trial began. In the end, journalist and Black Panther Mumia Abu Jamal was convicted of murder via unanimous verdict. The "voice of the voiceless" was silenced, sentenced to the death.

I don't know who's on second, who's on third, or who shot Officer Faulker on that night in Philly. But the fact that I don't know and worse, have no idea, speaks to the fact that Mumia Abu Jamal deserves a new trial.

Before you pummel me with stones, let me say that I am not mocking the complexities of this case, or Mumia Abu-Jamal's life behind bars.

To the contrary, I am highlighting the inefficacy of a judicial system unable to make the most logical choice available when faced with an accumulation of new evidence and the weakened veracity of old evidence.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday over jury instructions given during Abu-Jamal's 1982 trial. Jury instructions?  Our judicial system sometimes sweats the small stuff; jury instructions, jury sequestering, sentencing guidelines and the like. But where the over-arching questions of guilt and innocence are concerned, our system is overwhelmingly inept.If Abu-Jamal is guilty, no one cares about the jury's instructions, or whether he gets life or the death penalty? The people who are spending every ounce of energy defending him are doing so because they believe him innocent. This is the central question that must be asked and answered. Everything else is just playing with inconsequential moving parts, putting in miles on the gerbil wheel.

Abu-Jamal has modeled himself as the mythical American revolutionary.  A young, bright, enigmatic rebel wrongfully convicted while poised on the precipice of a movement. It is time to separate mythology from history. Time for a once and for all verdict on Abu-Jamal's guilt or innocence. Everything else is just vacuous posturing.

Yvette Carnell is a former Capitol Hill Staffer turned political blogger. She currently publishes two blogs, Spatterblog.com and GoGirlGuide.com.

http://atlantapost.com/2010/11/12/revisiting-the-injustice-of-the-justice-system-the-case-of-mumia/

The Voice of Detroit Coverage of November 9 Actions

From freemumia.com:


Nice piece and photos on 11/9 for Mumia at http://voiceofdetroit.net/

November 9 actions in Brazil and Guadaloupe

From freemumia.com:
Brazil

The comrades  in Brazil now have a blog and propaganda for their December 9 event. Actually, they're going to do their demonstraton at the U.S. Consulate on December 10 at 10 o'clock in the morning and then do some film showings on the 11th and 12th. They also have a Black Consciousness event on November 20, where information about Mumia's case is a major theme.


The address of their blog is http://anarcopunk.org/mumialivre/ and the mailing address is mumialivreja@riseup.net

(CHECK OUT THEIR BEAUTIFUL MATERIALS, Y'ALL!)

http://anarcopunk.org/mumialivre/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/cartaz-mumia_pb_v1.jpg
http://anarcopunk.org/mumialivre/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/cartaz-mumia_pb_v2.jpg
http://anarcopunk.org/mumialivre/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/cartaz-mumia-2_v2.jpg
 

Support from Guadaloupe!

FREEDOM FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL!

On November 9, 2010, the Federal Court of Appeals in Philadelphia will again review the situation of Mumia Abu-Jamal. This hearing will determine the final verdict for Mumia -- either execution or life imprisonment.

Mumia Abu-Jamal, a Black American journalist and renowned author, has been on Death Row for 28 years, accused of murdering a white policeman. He has always affirmed his innocence. The trial of Abu-Jamal, which was held in 1982, was tainted by police corruption and racial discrimination.
There were a multitude of irregularities during the trial -- including the sentencing pronounced by a judge belonging to a white racist organization. Yet despite these documented violations of Abu-Jamal's constitutional rights, the U.S. court system has continuously rejected the demand for a new trial.

This case therefore highlights the violation of basic constitutional rights and racism in the United States.

The struggle for freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal is part and parcel of the fight for dignity of workers and peoples and for abolishing the death penalty in the United States and in all countries that still practice it. It should remind us that in a country that prides itself on being the world's largest democracy, a man can rot in jail and be sentenced to death because of the color of his skin color and his political views.

The LKP (Collective Against Exploitation) supports Mumia Abu-Jamal and his legal defense team. The LKP joins the international campaign to demand justice and freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal.

FREEDOM FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL!

For the Collective Liyannaj KONT pwofitasyon (LKP
signed/
Elie Domota

Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe
November 6, 2010

U.N. Human Rights Council Urges the Release of Mumia and Peltier

From Free Mumia Coalition NYC:

Here is link to the Human Rights Council draft report on U.S. UPR (Universal Periodic Review):  http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/default/files/101109%20USA%20UPR%20draft%20report%20primo.pdf

U.N. Human Rights Council Recommends U.S.
"End the unjust incarceration of political prisoners,  including
Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu Jamal"

To "Lead by example," U.S. Must Heed Recommendations, Use "Exisitng" or Create Other Mechanisms to Release Imprisoned COINTELPRO/Civil Rights Era Political Activists, Says USHRN Political Prisoner and State Repression Working Group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   CONTACT: Efia Nwangaza,
November 10, 2010                                     (864) 901-8627; enjericho@gmail.com              

Greenville, SC – The U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) issued a set of recommendations for the United States to bring its human rights policies and practices in line with international standards. The recommendations are the result of the first-ever participation by the U.S. in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, which involves a thorough assessment of a nation's human rights record.  USHRN Political Prisoner and State Repression Working Group, which was in Geneva last week to observe the UPR process, welcomed U.S. participation as an important step toward establishing human rights at home and deeply appreciates the call for the release of U.S. political prisoners.

"The UPR process has provided the Obama administration an opportunity to identify U.S. human rights violations, develop real solutions and bring U.S. policies in line with international human rights standards, as symbolized by its "multi-racial, gendered, and religious" Geneva delegation. The Obama administration should set a good example by using its executive authority, clemency powers, and working with Congress and state and local governments to translate human rights commitments into domestic laws and policies to complete the unfinished business of the COINTELPRO/Civil Rights era and release political activists held longer than Nelson Mandela for the same reasons Mandela was imprisoned," stated  Efia Nwangaza, Group Leader and Director, African American  Institute for Policy Studies & Planning.

The USHRN Political Prisoner and State Repression Working Group calls on the U.S. government to heed the recommendations of the HRC, and:

That  the U.S. Department of Justice review the convictions of all COINTELPRO/Civil Rights Era activists in federal or state custody for civil and human rights violations.

President Obama use his clemency power and/or executive  authority to create or establish mechanisms, e.g. Truth and Reconciliation Commission,  to commute the sentences and expedite release of all COINTELRO/Civil Rights Era political activists currently held as prisoners in U.S. federal and state custody.

Human Rights Council draft report on U.S. Universal Periodic Review is available here:

http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/default/files/101109%20USA%20UPR%20draft%20report%20primo.pdf

--
In Unity and Struggle,
Kali

Visit:
http://www.mxgm.org
http://www.ushrnetwork.org
http://navigatingthestorm.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/kaliakuno
http://www.facebook.com/kali.akuno

More video and photos from November 8 and 9 actions for Mumia

Video of November 8th Debate in Constitution Center

From Sis Marpessa:

Video of the 11/8 Debate w/Michael Coard and Johanna Fernandez
vs. FOP water carriers Tigre Hill and Seth Williams!

The following is a link to a video of the debate.

Thanks to Jon Jonik for finding this coverage of Monday night's debate at the Constitution Center! More coverage to come!

http://www.politube.org/show/3084



Some beautiful pictures from Mexico solidarity for Mumia

http://cronopios.zobyhost.com/index.php/presxs/12-politicos/407-galeria-por-la-libertad-de-mumia


Marseille November 9 solidarity for Mumia

Marseille has for a long time, on a yearly basis, named a street in honor of Mumia. The right wing government of that region would not go along with a formal naming, so the activists put the sign up themselves, for as long as it lasted, before the officials had it removed, only to repeat the routine a year later. Sundiata Sadiq and I participated in one such street naming in Marseille several years ago. As you can see in the message below from two stalwart activists, Veronique and Jocelyn, this group includes a broad range of organizations.

Suzanne Ross
Free Mumia Coalition NYC
www,freemumia.com

Dear friends,

We were about fifty in front of the consulate of the U.S.A. on Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 from 6:00 pm.

Militating of Amnesty International and political parties (NPA, PCF (FRENCH COMMUNIST PARTY), PG, POI.) were present.

The legal information and the report of the recent interview(maintenance) between Mumia and Clothilde Le Coz, representative of Reporters Sans Frontières(Without Borders) in Washington DC, were distributed whereas a member(limb) of the Committee spoke to summarize the current situation and the necessity of remaining mobilized.

It also was the opportunity to enrich the telephone network of the Committee to react quickly in case of signature of a new execution warrant.

We are dispercés at about 7:45 pm having chanted slogans in the direction of the Consulate.
Best regards

Véronique-Jocelyn

Comité de Soutien à Mumia Abu-Jamal de Marseille
Tél/fax : 04 91 42 98 47
mumia.marseille@free.fr
www.mumialibre.over-blog.com

Report from London on 11/9 Mumia Demonstration

From Mumia NYC:

Report received from Brother Omowale in London
London Demonstration at US Embassy to free Mumia Abu Jamal on 9th November 2010 continues the momentum for the UK Campaign to Free Mumia

The sound of Afrikan drums set the tone for a vibrant demonstration at the US Embassy in London to save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal and demand his release. Hundreds of people were in attendance united in their demand to Free Mumia! End the racist death penalty! and Free all political prisoners!

Organisations in attendance at this important protest included the Global Afrikan Congress, the Pan Afrikan Society Community Forum, the George Jackson Socialist League, the Haiti First! Haiti Now! Reparations Campaign, the Uhuru Organisation, the Alkebulan Revivalist Movement, the All-Afhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=26810129rikan People's Revolutionary Party, the Pan-Afrikan Congress Movement, the New Black Panther Party, the Pan-African Voice, the Rail Maritime and Transport Union, the National Union of Teachers, the Crossroads Women's Group, the Coordination Committee of the Revolutionary Communists of Britain, the Partizan Defence Committee, the International Bolshevik Tendency as well as many who came as individuals.

There was a live link up with Mumia's supporters outside the Philidelphia Third Circuit Court House via Sadiq Sundiata one of the co-chairs of the New York branch of the Free Mumia Campaign (see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVtR28oPqGA) . There were solidarity messages from Ramona Afrika of the Move Organisation, from the Poor Righteous Party of the Black Nation, the Grenada 17 and Angola 3 political prisoners, messages of support from the Free Mumia organisations in Germany and France, Democracy and Class Struggle from Wales and a solidarity message from the people of Haiti. The London demonstration was part of a growing worldwide movement which held sychronised protests in France, Germany, Holland, Jamaica, the US, Canada and even Iran and New Zealand.


The evidence pointing to Mumia's innocence is so persuasive that organisers are also urging concerned members of the public to fill in online petitions to:

(i) US President Barak Obama (www.mumialegal.org) and;

(ii) US Attorney General Eric Holder (www.freemumia.com). People in pursuit of truth and justice are also asked to ring Eric Holder's office on 001-202-353-1555  or 001-202-514-2000  and write to him at: FMAJC, PO Box 16, College Station, New York, NY 10030 or webmaster@usdoj.go, asking for a `Civil Rights Investigation' into Mumia's case.

There will be a follow up meeting with the co-chairs of the New York branch of the Free Mumia campaign Sadiq Sundiata and Suzanne Ross hosted by the Pan-Afrikan Society Community Forum at 44-46 Offley Road, The Oval, London SW9 0LS on Friday 19th November 2010 at 6.30pm. A full update on the issues in Mumia's case will be given, including the reasons behind the recent replacement of his lawyer Robert Bryan.

A follow up demonstration is scheduled to take place outside the US Embassy on Thursday 9th December 2010 at 5pm to co-incide with the 29th anniversay of the unjust arrest and incaceration of Mumia.

DAVE LINDORFF REPORTS ON NOV 9TH.....ROUND 2

Round Two: Third Circuit Court Panel Re-Hears Issue of Abu-Jamal's Death Penalty on Orders of Supreme Court

Wed, 11/10/2010 - 10:39 — Anonymous

Mumia Abu-Jamal, on Pennsylvania's death row for 29 years

by: 

Dave Lindorff 

 

The three-decades-long murder case of Philadelphia journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has sat in solitary in a cramped cell on Pennsylvania’s death row for 28 years fighting his conviction and a concerted campaign by the national police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, to execute him, was back in court Tuesday, with a three-judge federal Appeals Court panel reconsidering its 2008 decision backing the vacating of his death sentence, on orders of the US Supreme Court.

The three judges, Reagan-nominated Anthony Sirica, Bush Sr.-nominated Robert Cowen, and Clinton-nominee Thomas Ambro, two years ago agreed with a lower court judge, Federal District Judge William Yohn, that the jury in Abu-Jamal’s 1982 trial had been provided with a poorly-worded and confusing jury ballot form and flawed instructions from the trial judge during the penalty phase. The confusion, they decided, could have misled jurors into thinking, incorrectly, that in order to consider a mitigating factor against voting for the death penalty, all 12 of the jurors would have had to agree to it. In fact, under the law, any individual juror can decide that there is a mitigating factor against a death sentence. Only aggravating factors that would argue for a death sentence have to be found by all members of the jury to be applicable.

The 2008 ruling was widely seen as a big victory for Abu-Jamal and his attorney Robert R. Bryan, as it meant either that he would avoid execution, instead serving a life sentence without possibility of parole, or that the Philadelphia district attorney would have to request a new penalty phase trial, with a new jury hearing arguments for and against imposition of a new death sentence.

Last January, however, the US Supreme Court threw a wrench into the case, ruling in an Ohio murder case involving Frank Spizak, a neo-Nazi (he sported a Hitler mustache at his trial) once sentenced to death for random killings of Jews and blacks, that a lower court order vacating his death sentence had been in error. That case had also focussed on the confusing language of a jury ballot form, and of the judge’s instructions to the jury.

The high court, which also had pending before it at the time an appeal by the Philadelphia DA of the Third Circuit decision in Abu-Jamal’s case, sent that case back down to the Third Circuit, asking Judges Sirica, Cowen and Ambro to review their decision in light of its decision in the Spizak case.
At Tuesday’s hour-long hearing, Assistant DA Huge Burns tried to make the case that the issues in the Abu-Jamal jury instructions and ballot form were “almost identical” to those in the Spizak case.

Abu-Jamal’s attorney, Widener University law professor Judith Ritter, who had argued the same issue of a confusing jury instruction and ballot form successfully before the same judges as an assistant counsel in the 2007 hearing, made the counter-argument that the problems with the judge’s instructions and the jury form in the Abu-Jamal case were “fundamentally different” from those in the Spizak case.
The three judges seemed, in their initial remarks and in their questions, to be leaning towards the defense view.

As Judge Cowen asked, following DA Burns’ argument, “Doesn’t the jury form in Spizak significantly differ from our form? I found six differences.” At another point in the hearing, he said, “Aren’t the cases different in more than degree, but in kind?”

Judge Ambro noted that in the Abu-Jamal case, Judge Albert Sabo had told the jurors, “Remember again, your verdict must be unanimous.” Ambro observed, “That’s sort of a general over-arching instruction.” He and Cowen both noted that the Spizak jury had never been told their decision had to be unanimous, while the word “unanimous” was used repeatedly in the Abu-Jamal case, both in the judge’s verbal instructions and on the jury form.

Burns tried to counter that while “unanimous” may not have been used in the Spizak case, the jury was addressed as a single entity, at least implying unanimity might be required for the finding of a mitigating factor.

Attorney Ritter homed in on the differences between the Spizak and Abu-Jamal cases, saying, “In Spizak, you had an absence of instructions regarding mitigation that could have confused the jury. Here (in the Abu-Jamal case), it’s not silent. Look at number 2 (in the jury ballot form). It starts, 'We the jury have found unanimously...'”

Ritter argued for Abu-Jamal alone at this hearing following the surprise departure of Abu-Jamal’s lead attorney Robert R. Bryan only days before the hearing. Abu-Jamal reportedly asked Bryan last week to simply attend the hearing, but to not address the court, leaving that job to Ritter. Bryan says Abu-Jamal apparently felt that since Ritter had won the argument in 2008, she was a better choice than Bryan himself, who many Abu-Jamal supporters felt was somewhat disorganized and less than incisive at the 2008 hearing. Bryan says his proposal that he make introductory remarks and respond to any questions from the judges at the conclusion of the hearing was rejected by Ritter and Abu-Jamal, so he submitted a brief to the court asking to be removed from the case. The judges agreed to his request last Friday. It is the second time Abu-Jamal has dumped his lead attorney on the eve of a critical hearing. In 2001, just as Judge Yohn was discussing dates for a hearing on his habeas appeal, Abu-Jamal fired lead attorney Leonard Weinglass and assisting attorney Dan Williams, angry over a book on the case that Williams had just published. He replaced them with two attorneys, Eliot Grossman and Marlene Kamish, who had little or no death penalty law experience, dropping them later in favor of Bryan.
In the end, while Presiding Judge Sirica was harder to read, Judges Cowen and Ambro, at least, didn’t seem to have been convinced by Burns. “You haven’t met Miss Ritter’s argument,” Cowen said. “She pointed out some differences between the (Spizak and Abu-Jamal) forms that are significant.”
After which Judge Ambro said, “For example, the word ‘unanimous’ was not used in Spizak.”
Judge Cowen added, “In our case, ‘unanimity’ was used time and time again, and in quite close proximity to where you find things about mitigating circumstances.”

Of course, even if the three-judge panel decides to reaffirm its 2008 decision, the DA’s office will almost certainly appeal again to the Supreme Court, where the same five judges who ruled against Spizak and referred the Abu-Jamal case back to the Third Circuit panel could vote to reverse the Third Circuit. In that event Abu-Jamal would have his death penalty reinstated.

If the high court agreed with the Third Circuit, or if it chose not to take the case and let the ruling stand, then the DA would have to decide whether to leave Abu-Jamal with a life sentence, or to ask for a new penalty phase trial, which would take place back in state court.

The defense is hoping for a retrial of the penalty, since that would at least offer Abu-Jamal the chance to introduce new evidence regarding the shooting of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. For example, the prosecution made a big point of highlighting the testimony of two witnesses, prostitute Cynthia White and taxi driver Robert Chobert, who both described the shooting of Faulkner by Abu-Jamal as an “execution,” with Abu-Jamal standing astride the fallen cop and firing repeatedly at him at nearly point-blank range. The problem with that story is that only one bullet--the one that struck Faulkner in the middle of his forehead--hit the officer, yet no bullet impacts can be seen in crime scene photos of the area on the sidewalk where Faulkner lay, and police investigators reported finding no such marks either.

A test of a gun similar to Abu-Jamal’s, firing similar metal-clad, high-velocity Plus-P ammunition at a section of old sidewalk concrete, proves that such impact marks should have been clearly visible. While a rehearing of the penalty phase of the trial would not be able to directly raise the issue of guilt, in a penalty phase re-hearing, the defense could be expected to present evidence that the “execution” scenario presented to the jury by the prosecution simply couldn’t have happened, and witnesses would likely be called to challenge the story. That in turn would raise the risk, for the prosecution, that evidence -- or a witness recantation -- could open the door to a new challenge to Abu-Jamal’s conviction.

Even if the Third Circuit or the US Supreme Court rules against Abu-Jamal, and his original death sentence is reinstated, it is not the end of the road in this long-running case, however.

Back on December 18, 2001, when Federal District Judge Yohn tossed out Abu-Jamal’s death penalty, he noted in his ruling that he had “mooted” four other defense claims of unconstitutional flaws in his death penalty hearing, on the grounds that there was no need to examine these, since he had already decided to vacate the penalty. As Abu-Jamal defense team attorney Christina Swarns notes, “We have an absolute right to have those claims considered.”

In other words, if the death penalty is reaffirmed, Abu-Jamal will be back before Judge Yohn again, where other powerful and compelling objections to the way his initial trial was conducted will have to be reviewed. Among the complaints:

* Prosecutor Joseph McGill’s use of a statement made by Abu-Jamal when he was only 15, quoting Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Tse-tung that “Power flows from the barrel of a gun,” in an effort to sway jurors towards imposing a death penalty.

* The rushing of the case and the inadequacy of Abu-Jamal’s legal counsel, attorney Anthony Jackson, with Judge Sabo ordering the penalty phase hearing to begin the day following the jury’s guilty verdict, and Jackson not requesting a delay to allow him to prepare. As a result, Jackson called not one character witness to allow Abu-Jamal to develop a case for mitigating factors.

* Prosecutor McGill improperly advised jurors, with the approval of the judge, that they were “not asked to kill anybody,” because there would be “appeal after appeal after appeal.” The Supreme Court and the Third Circuit, as well as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, have all repeatedly overturned death sentences because of prosecutors making similar statements to juries, on the grounds that it tends to remove from jurors any sense of the moral consequences of their profound decision. (McGill himself had a death penalty he had won overturned for this exact reason.)

* Finally the defense made the claim that the prosecution withheld form the defense information it had that local police and the FBI had called off years of surveillance of Abu-Jamal after concluding that, as the FBI put it in a note calling off monitoring of Abu-Jamal, “”In March 1973, per bureau instructions, captioned subject (Abu-Jamal) was deleted from ADEX and no additional investigation conducted concerning his activities. Sources, however, have continued to report periodically on COOK (Abu-Jamal’s family name) and, although he has not displayed a propensity for violence, he has continued to associate himself with individuals and organizations engaged in Extremist activities.”

As Asst. DA Burns has said, “This case will go on for years.”

Coverage of today's hearing in Philadelphia

From journalist Sally O'Brien:

Progressive coverage of the hearing can be found at:

FSRN.ORG - Listen to today's newscast (11/9). Good interview with Lin Washington - very short comments from Robert Bryan on his removal from case - and great report from Mumia supporters in London!

WBAI.ORG - Go to the archives for Tuesday 11/9 at 6PM "The Evening News".  In the first 5 minutes begins Jose Santiago's interview with Lin Washington.

There will also be several pieces - including sound from Monday's debate between Johanna Fernandez, Tigre Hill and the Philadelphia DA - on WBAI's "Where We Live" (with hosts Sally O'Brien and Dequi Kioni-Sadiki) this Thursday, November 11th at 8PM.  New Yorkers can tune into 99.5 FM and others can log onto wbai.org.


Mainstream coverage of the hearing:


NBC Philly: This link includes 5 photos in a slideshow: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Mumia-Abu-Jamal-Case-Back-in-Court-Today-106957074.html

"Judge Reviewing Mumia Abu-Jamal" sez decision could take a few days to several months - http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Mumia-Abu-Jamal-Case-Back-in-Court-Today-106957074.html

ABC Philly: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=7773086

Philly.com on today's activity: http://www.philly.com/philly/video/BC666124893001.html (includes video)

Philly.com on last night's debate: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20101109_Mumia__debate__more_like_a_jeer_summit.html

11/8 3:OO pm Mumia Press Conference in Philadelphia

From  Hans Bennett:

From: Johanna Fernandez

For Immediate Release: November 8, 2010

Press Conference Announcement & Statement from the Committee to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal on the Oral Argument in Mumia Abu-Jamal v. Beard

Contact: Professor Johanna Fernandez, 917-930-0804

New York. The Committee to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal looks forward to Professor Judith Ritter's argument before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on November 9 in the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal v. Beard. Professor Ritter has been Abu-Jamal's counsel for seven years and successfully argued the Mills v. Maryland claim before the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 2007.

On November 3, 2010, Mr. Abu-Jamal regretfully asked for the resignation of Robert Bryan, his lead attorney. Mr. Abu-Jamal did so only after Mr. Bryan refused to honor his numerous written and oral requests, spanning a year, that co-counsel Professor Ritter conduct the oral argument on the Mills/Spisak issue.

In his November 5, 2010 motion, Mr. Bryan claimed that Abu-Jamal supporters left a voicemail threatening him with public attacks and embarrassment, implicitly forcing him to resign. In fact, it was Mr. Bryan's refusal to honor his client's wishes that led Mr. Abu-Jamal to ask that Mr. Bryan tender his resignation.

As a long standing supporter of the appellee, the Committee to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal, which was formed in the 1980s to raise funds for his legal support, felt it important to ensure that Mr. Abu-Jamal's wishes and best interests were carried out.

The Committee urges all concerned to focus on the salient issue at hand, namely how the jury was mis-instructed by the court during the sentencing hearing in 1982, a claim granted by Judge William Yohn of the Federal District Court in 2001 and by the Third Circuit panel in 2007.
______

Place : Front Entrance, National Constitution Center
            Independence Mall, 525 Arch Street @ 6th & Arch St.

Date:  Monday, November 8, 2010

Time:  3:00PM

Who:
Pam Africa, International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Prof. Johanna Fernandez, Committee to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal & Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Heidi Bogosian, Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild & Committee to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal
Frances Goldin, Mumia Abu-Jamal's Literary Agent, Committee to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal
Suzanne Ross, Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Martha Conley, Free Mumia Committee of Pittsburgh
Prof. Mark Taylor, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Prof. Michael M. Schiffmann, Germany, Author of Race Against Death
International Supporters of Mumia Abu-Jamal
The French Collective

WHY THE NOVEMBER 9, 2010 HEARING ON MUMIA IS SO CRITICAL

From www.Freedomarchives.org

The only legal options to be considered at the Third Circuit's November 9 hearing are whether Mumia Abu-Jamal is to be executed or get life in prison without parole. Clearly neither of those two options is acceptable.

To fully grasp the significance of the hearing, one needs to revisit Federal District Court Judge William Yohn, Jr.'s decision of December 18, 2001. In that ruling the judge upheld Mumia's conviction but at the same time threw out his death sentence on the grounds that the verdict form used by the jury for sentencing at his trial violated the U.S. Supreme Court's Mills precedent and therefore entitled Mumia to have his death sentence overturned. Yohn then gave the state 180 days to convene a new jury trial only on the issue of Mumia's penalty, in which the choices would be either death or life in prison without parole. On the other hand, if the state did nothing, Yohn ruled that Mumia would automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

At the time Judge Yohn stayed his ruling on the death sentence while the state appealed his decision to the next higher level of federal court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. (At the same time Mumia cross-appealed Judge Yohn's decision upholding Mumia's conviction.) Mumia was therefore never removed from Death row and remains there to this day.

On March 27, 2008, the Third Circuit upheld Yohn's decision on the death penalty on a 3-0 vote. Again the decision was stayed while the state appealed to the highest federal level, the Supreme Court. (In the same decision, the Third Circuit rejected Mumia's appeal on the conviction by 2-1 and, as before, Mumia cross-appealed that ruling.)

On January 10, 2010, the Supreme Court ordered the Third Circuit to reconsider its decision on the death sentence in light of its simultaneously-issued ruling unanimously rejecting an appeal from a white-supremacist named Spisak. That man admitted to killing at least two people in Ohio and openly wished to have murdered more. He had appealed his death sentence also as a violation of Mills, but involving a different aspect of it than Mumia's case. The Sixth Circuit, as did the Third Circuit in Mumia's case, ruled that the death sentence should be vacated, but the Supreme Court ruled that the Mills precedent did not apply in Spisak's case, and that therefore execution rather than life in prison was the appropriate penalty. Based on that decision, the Supreme Court immediately applied the same argument to Mumia's case and asked for the Third Circuit to reconsider the issue of execution for Mumia as well.

Thus, the hearing on November 9th is on Mumia's penalty only. The choices before the court are either to sustain Yohn's and its own earlier decisions or to reinstate the death penalty, clearing the way for Mumia's possible quick execution.

If the Third Circuit reaffirms its earlier decision to sentence Mumia to life in prison without parole, the state will most likely appeal to the Supreme Court. (This is exactly what happened with Spisak, after the Sixth Circuit upheld its own earlier ruling which had overturned the man's death sentence.) But in the unlikely event that the state doesn't appeal, it will then have 180 days to implement Judge Yohn's decision.

Of course if the Third Circuit rules against Mumia, he will appeal to the Supreme Court. However, the odds for relief are small, given the increasingly reactionary nature of that court.

Thus, Mumia's legal situation is extremely dangerous. His life truly is on the line, for no matter how the court rules, the only two choices under this legal system are either execution or life in prison without parole and, for the moment, the prosecution, with all its allies and backers, is fighting very hard for execution.

THAT'S WHY WE ARE CALLING FOR ALL THOSE WHO POSSIBLY CAN TO COME OUT TO PHILADELPHIA WITH US ON THE 9TH. WE MUST STAY THE HANDS OF THE EXECUTIONERS AND PRY OPEN THE PRISON GATES FOR MUMIA'S RELEASE.

FREE MUMIA!
ABOLISH THE RACIST DEATH PENALTY!
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!

To make reservations for bus tickets to Philadelphia on November 9th, call 212 330-8029.

Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition
www.freemumia.com
info@freemumia.com (212)330-8029

Mumia Activities Round-up

From http://freemumianow.wordpress.com/

EDUCATE AND MOBILIZE FOR MUMIA'S NOVEMBER 9 COURT HEARING
REPOST!     SUPPORT!     PARTICIPATE!    REPRESENT!   
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11/1 - DETROIT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MECAWI HOSTS SCREENING OF NEW DOCUMENTARY, JUSTICE ON TRIAL: THE CASE
OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL

What: First Detroit Screening on Mon. Nov. 1, 7:00 p.m.
Where: 5920 Second Ave. at Antoinette, North of WSU Campus
Cost:    Free Admission
Contact: 313.671.3715
E-mail: panafnewswire@yahoo.com
URL: http://www.mecawi.org

Important Meeting As the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal Takes on Renewed Urgency With Upcoming Court Hearing

As one of the nation’s most closely-watched death row cases heads to the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals on November 9, Baruch College Professor of American History Johanna Fernandez teams up with director Kouross Esmaeli of Big Noise Films to investigate the controversial case of Mumia Abu-Jamal in their new film, Justice on Trial: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Fernandez wrote and produced the film, which Esmaeli directed. Justice on Trial will receive its first Detroit screening at the weekly meeting of the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice on Mon., November 1 at 7:00pm.

Trailer:  http://bignoisefilms.org/films/tactical-media/114-justice-on-trial

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/justiceontrialthemovie

To host a screening of the film, email: justiceontrialthemovie@gmail.com
-----------------------------------------

11/2 - NYC

A New Appeal for Mumia
A New Big Noise Film Laying out the Facts

NYC Preview of "Justice on Trial: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal"
Tuesday Nov. 2, 2010
Baruch Performing Arts Center
E25th St. Between Lexington & 3rd Ave.

6:00 pm Reception
7:00 pm Screening
afterwards: Q&A with the Filmmakers &
Christina Swarns of NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund

On Nov. 9, under orders from the Supreme Court, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals will reconsider reinstating Mumia Abu-Jamal's death sentence. Mumia might still be executed.

"Justice on Trial" a new documentary by Big Noise Films lays out the facts of the case, looks at recently discovered photographs of the crime scene and speaks to both sides of the case in order to understand the ongoing controversy around the world's best-known death row inmate. In the process, the film looks at what this case says about the US criminal justice system and why it continues to mobilize millions of people, here in the US and internationally.

This is a film for people who need an update on the facts and for those who need an introduction to the case.

Come and bring your friends.

11/2 - ALBANY

JUSTICE ON TRIAL SHOWING

Tuesday, November 2 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm

The Social Justice Center
33 Central Ave.
Albany, NY

A BRAND NEW FILM about the case of death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal will be shown at the Social Justice Center on Nov. 2 and across the world. This film showing falls just days before a major hearing in Abu-Jamal's case on Nov. 9. The film will be followed by a brief discussion.

Albany Political Prisoner Support Committee

albanypoliticalprisonersupport@gmail.com
Office: 518.434.4037

------------------------------------

11/4 - OAKLAND

 Thursday, Nov. 4, 6:30 p.m., Black Dot Café, 1195 Pine St., West Oakland: Screening of the explosive new film ‘Justice On Trial: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.’ Get ready for the court showdown Nov. 9 in Philly that could mean a new death sentence for Mumia by seeing this film, which points to new evidence of Mumia’s innocence. Presented by Minister of Information JR,blockreportradio@gmail.com.
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11/5 - PHILADELPHIA

Who is Mumia Abu Jamal and Why 11/09 is So Critical

International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal (ICFFMAJ) invites the community out to:

TEACH-IN/Informational Session

--Who is Mumia Abu Jamal?

--What are the facts surrounding his case?

--Why are we, on *11/9 demanding

“No Execution/No Life” for Mumia Abu Jamal?
(11/9, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, will be deciding whether Mumia Abu Jamal will be executed or remain in prison for the rest of his life)

--How can you get involved?

Q & A with Pam Africa

Come out to be informed, take important information back to your community, and organize on behalf of Mumia Abu Jamal!

Friday, November 5,  2010

6-8pm

A-Space

4722 Baltimore Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19143

WE MUST STAY THE HANDS OF THE EXECUTIONERS AND PRY OPEN THE PRISON GATES FOR MUMIA'S RELEASE.

www.freemumia.com

For more information, contact us, Iresha.Picot@gmail.com
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11/8 - PHILADELPHIA DEBATE!!

THE FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL COALITION NYC IS TRAVELING TO PHILLY FOR THIS DEBATE ... YES, THE NIGHT BEFORE THE US THIRD CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS WILL BE HOLDING HEARINGS ON WHETHER MUMIA SHOULD BE RESENTENCED TO EXECUTION OR BE GIVEN LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE! JOIN US FOR THIS HISTORIC EVENT IN PHILADELPHIA WHERE OUR BRILLIANT, STRONG, AND COMMITTED REPRESENTATIVES, ATTORNEY MICHAEL COARD AND PROFESSOR JOHANNA FERNANDEZ, WILL BE TAKING ON THE ENEMY -- PROSECUTOR SETH WILLIAMS AND FILM MAKER TIGRE HILL. CALL US FOR TICKETS AND TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS. ONA MOVE!

Mon, Nov 8 2010, 6:30p.m. - 9:30p.m.

National Constitution Center - Kirby Auditorium - 6th & Arch, Philadelphia

While we would usually never ask people to shell out cash to see Tigre Hill's documercial "The Barrel of a Gun" financed by the Philadelphia FOP to promote their line on Mumia's case, this screening will be followed by a debate between Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and attorney/activist Michael Coard as well as a debate between Hill and Professor Johanna Fernandez, producer of the new documentary Justice for Mumia.

We want as many supporters of Mumia Abu-Jamal in the hall who can make it to support Attorney Coard and to make sure the truth get's out.

Tigre Hill asserts the December 1981 shooting of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner was premeditated despite ample evidence to the contrary. The premise of Hill's film is a rehash of the same arguments used by Michael Smerconish and Maureen Faulkner in their book, and also the same theme raised in the sentencing phase of Mumia's 1982 hearing by the prosecutor which will be central to Mumia's appeals hearing before the Third Circuit Court on Tuesday, November 9.

Lynn Doyle, Emmy award winning host of the Comcast Network’s “It’s Your Call” will moderate the discussion.

This showing of “The Barrel of a Gun” and subsequent dialogue between Williams and Coard are purposely planned a day prior to the arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for a new sentence hearing for Mumia Abu-Jamal. On January 19, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a federal appeals court ruling that threw out Abu-Jamal's death sentence because of a confusingly worded verdict instruction that arguably led the jury to a sentence of death over life in prison.

Let's pack the house with Mumia support! We have been able to purchase blocks of tickets at $13 each so we can make sure Mumia supporters are in the audience, and not just the FOP. If you want to purchase one of these tickets, please contact International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal at 215-476-8812.
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11/9 - WORLDWIDE!

MUMIA ABU-JAMAL faces his likely last court hearing on November 9th, 2010, at the Third Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, in Philadelphia.  The US Supreme Court has already thrown out Mumia's last appeal against his kangaroo-court conviction before a racist judge in 1982.  Now, the Third Circuit is to decide between reinstatement of Mumia's death sentence, or life in prison without the possibility of parole.  These are the only two possible outcomes in the courts at this time.  We have no confidence in the corrupt, racist US court system!

We need mass actions, and labor actions, to say:  Mumia Is Innocent!  Free Mumia Now!  End the Racist Death Penalty!

EAST COAST -- PHILADELPHIA:  Demonstrate to Free Mumia Now!  Come to the Third Circuit Court, 6th and Market, Philadelphia, at 12 Noon on Tuesday November 9th. (The hearing starts at 2 PM.)

EAST COAST -- NEW YORK CITY:  Get on the bus to Philadelphia!  Call the Mumia hotline at: 212 330-8029.  Leave a message to request a seat on the bus to Philadelphia.

BAY AREA -- OAKLAND:  12 Noon on Tuesday November 9th: Come to 14th and Broadway in downtown Oakland.   Demonstrate to say: Mumia Is Innocent!  Free Mumia!  End the Racist Death Penalty!  Called by the Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal, and supported by Campaign To End The Death Penalty, Mobilization To Free Mumia, Revolution Books of Berkeley, and Peoples Radio (partial list -- call to endorse). 510 763-2347.

BAY AREA -- SAN FRANCISCO:  7 PM on Tuesday November 9th:  Come to Centro del Pueblo, 474 Valencia St.  The new film, JUSTICE ON TRIAL, the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, will be screened.  Hans Bennett of Abu-Jamal News, and other speakers.  Donation.  Called by the Mobilization To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal.  Info: 510 268-9429. 
***
HAMBURG - The following rally for Mumia has been called for November 9, 2010, 5:30 p.m.,
Hamburg-america-center Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, Am
Sandtorkai 48, 20457 Hamburg.  The rally is endorsed by the International Bolshevik Tendency  and the
Antikrisen-Bündnis Hamburg.



LONDON -

DEMONSTRATE
Outside the
US EMBASSY
24 GROSVENOR SQ
LONDON W1
NOVEMBER 9th  5-7PM

FOR FREEDOM FOR MUMIA
Mumia’s case returns to court on the 9th November 2010 at stake is whether he will be

Murdered by the State or
Granted a new jury trial
Mumia is innocent
He is a political prisoner
Mumia should be released unconditionally immediately

FREE MUMIA  FREE MUMIA  FREE MUMIA

FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS NOW
BRING FLASHLIGHTS
Contact:ThePanAfrikanVoice@gmail.com 07597078221/07949738851
***
The French National Collective just announced that there will be demonstrations
on November 9 at the US Consulates in the following cities:  PARIS, BORDEAUX,
LYON, MARSEILLE, NICE, RENNES, STRASOURG, AND TOULOUSE!!!

***
TORONTO - U.S. Consulate—- 360 University Avenue (between Dundas and Queen)
At a meeting on Wednesday 27 October representatives of a number of organizations met and formed a committee to organize a united front demonstration for Mumia Abu-Jamal on 9 November.

The following organizations have endorsed the demonstration to date: Angola 3 Support Committee, Black Action Defense Committee, Fightback, Ginger Project, International Bolshevik Tendency, OPIRG (UofT), Socialist Action, Socialist Alternative, Toronto Young New Democrats.*

*Other endorsements are expected, and all defenders of Mumia are welcome.

Tuesday, November 9th, 6 pm
U.S. Consulate—- 360 University Avenue (between Dundas and Queen)
TORONTO

Free Mumia!  Abolish the Racist Death Penalty!
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URGENT UPDATES - STAY TUNED - CHECK OUT WWW.FREEMUMIA.COM REGULARLY
MOBILIZE NOW FOR NOVEMBER 9TH IN PHILADELPHIA!
RALLY AT 12 NOON AT 6TH AND MARKET STS.
MUMIA'S HEARING IS AT 2PM AT 601 N. MARKET ST. AND THE STREETS MUST BE
PACKED WITH SUPPORTERS!!
D.A. SETH WILLIAMS STATED VERY CLEARLY THAT WHEN THE TIME COMES, HE WILL DEFINITELY ASK FOR THE DEATH SENTENCE FOR MUMIA.

THAT TIME IS HERE -- NOVEMBER 9!

We have very few days to do what is necessary to bring thousands of people to the streets of Philly.  People must begin organizing NOW to get there -- schools, colleges, labor unions, churches, mosques, temples and every group and individual that can be reached.

As part of the organizing efforts, Johanna Fernandez is working to get her brilliiant film "Justice on Trial,' which premiered the same day as the FOP propaganda hit piece on Mumia, shown in colleges and by organizers everywhere so that people can understand the importance of being in Philadelphia on November 9. 

CONTACT JOHANNA AT johanna.fernandez@baruch.cuny.edu ASAP!

WE NEED ORGANIZING ON A MASSIVE LEVEL, ALL HANDS PULLING TOGETHER!

DARBY TILLIS AND LAWRENCE HAYES, DEATH ROW EXONEREES were present on
October 9 and are organizing within the anti-death penalty movement to educate them as to
what is really going on with Mumia and to try and get as many exonerees as possible to
Philadelphia on NOVEMBER 9, along with DR. SANDY JONES, who also presented at the
program. 

• THE UNIA HELPED ORGANIZE TO GET PEOPLE THERE
• THE IAC HELPED ORGANIZE TO GET PEOPLE THERE
• THE JERICHO MOVEMENT HELPED ORGANIZE TO GET PEOPLE THERE
• HAKIM FROM CHANNEL LIVE OUT OF NEW YORK IS HELPING ORGANIZE THE HIP HOP GENERATION TO GET ON BOARD
• ORGANIZERS IN FRANCE AND LONDON WERE THERE ON OCTOBER 9TH AND ARE ORGANIZING TO RETURN ON NOVEMBER 9TH

... AND THAT'S JUST TO NAME A FEW, SO EACH AND EVERYBODY CAN DO EVERYTHING THAT THEY CAN DO!

• CALL-IN ON RADIO STATIONS!
• CALL D.A. SETH WILLIAMS' OFFICE AT 215-686-8000 AND TELL HIM HANDS OFF MUMIA!!
• CALL/FAX/E-MAIL THE NEWS MEDIA ABOUT THE NEW EVIDENCE W/THE PICTURES (see http://www.freemumia.com)