Monday, November 05, 2007
November 9 Free Mumia Fundraiser Dance Postponed
The Free Mumia Fundraiser Dance scheduled for November 9 in Harlem has been postponed until further notice due to a scheduling conflict out of the control of organizers. Please visit www.freemumia.com for updates.
Archbiship Desmond Tutu visits Mumia
On Tuesday October 23, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited Mumia Abu-Jamal. In what was a short meeting, the Archbishop expressed his support as he met in person with Mumia.
Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born 7 October 1931) is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. Tutu was elected and ordained the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa). He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism, and the Magubela prize for liberty in 1986. He is committed to stopping global AIDS and has served as the honorary chairman for the Global AIDS Alliance. In February 2007 he was awarded Gandhi Peace Prize by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, president of India.
Guinness Sets Record for the Most Lies in One List: MOVE's Battle with Guinness
by Kevin Price
If you look close enough you can see history altered before your eyes. Pick up the latest Guinness Book of World Records (Guinness World Records 2008), flip to page 123 and you will see what I mean. Under the section "Cults, Fans and Followers: the police bombing of the MOVE Organization in 1985 is listed as the sixth most deadly mass suicide in recent history.) Yes, you did read that correctly. A deliberate massacre, in which police dropped a bomb on a house, intentionally allowed the fire to burn and fired automatic weapons at those that dared attempt an escape, was labeled as mass suicide.
This would seem to be very sloppy research for a fundamental resource such as Guinness, but MOVE doesn't believe that it is as simple as that. MOVE and its support network have been expecting increased attacks and misinformation about the organization. After 29 long years that MOVE prisoners Mike, Chuck, Janet, Janine, Debbie, Phil, Del and Eddie have spent in maximum security prisons, they will finally be coming up for parole in 2008. The MOVE 9 (Merle Africa died in prison under suspicious conditions March 13, 1998) have been in prison since 1978 for the wrongful conviction of police officer James Ramp. They are serving 30-100 year sentences and MOVE knows that the battle for parole is going to be uphill.
As history is re-written those in power tell the tale with MOVE framed as unrepentant, cop killing cultists who in 1978 shot at police and firemen, murdering James Ramp and then in 1985 remaining members committed suicide. This is exactly how those that are opposed to MOVE would prefer that the history be told. After all what parole board would ever release those people and what public would join a movement in their support?
If you do a little research into their list it becomes clear that the whole thing is bullshit…no other word is fitting. It seems as though not only do they have the facts on MOVE all wrong, almost every item on the list is questionable. The first group listed, with the highest death toll (924), is “the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of Godâ€. This Cult was located in Uganda and the deaths occurred in 2000. Five hundred and thirty of the deceased died in a church which was intentionally set aflame. Many believe that these 530 were unwilling to participate and where murdered by other members and leaders of the cult. This suspicion is strengthened by the fact that the windows and doors of the church were nailed from the outside (www.religioustolerance.org/dc_rest.htm).
Next listed is the Peoples Temple, known as Jonestown, with a death toll of 913 in Guyana in 1978. Again, in this situation many group members unmistakably committed suicide. However, there was evidence of murder of many by other members and leaders of the cult (www.religioustolerance.org/dc_jones.htm).
Other than the police bombing of MOVE the other two situations that were most inappropriately and irresponsibly labeled mass suicides are the stand off with the Branch Davidians in 1993 and the police murder of members of the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974. In both situations the deaths were the direct result of careless handling of sensitive situations by government officials or deliberate murder by police. The labeling of these events as mass suicide is even sloppier given that a thorough scan of mainstream media written during the time of these incidents gleaned no mention of either as mass suicide. The same goes for the bombing of MOVE in 1985. In the case of the Branch Davidians in Waco, the event started as a firefight between the Branch Davidians and the ATF. To this day it is unknown who fired the first shot that led to that 51 day standoff. The details of all that led to the deaths of 82 members are still quite unclear. It is undisputed that some members of the group did commit suicide but many died from FBI bullets. To label it a mass suicide takes all responsibility from the Federal government who should bear the weight of these deaths.
In 1974 when six members of the SLA were killed the police used fire as a tactical weapon in a similar fashion as the Philadelphia police in 1985. Police intentionally set fire to the apartment where SLA members were confined and when the first two members ran from the doors they were shot in the head by police. The police claim that the SLA members ran from the building with weapons drawn "trying to kill cops" but other witness testimony tells a different story. Only one SLA member is said to have killed himself rather that surrender. The other 5 deaths were a direct result of police bullets, smoke and flames.
The strategy used in 1974 by the police with the SLA and in 1985 with MOVE brings to mind the methods of mass murder employed by the Puritans in Massachusetts after failing to destroy the Pequot Indians in the 1600’s. After failing to defeat the Pequots in legitimate battle the Puritans began setting fire to their wigwams in the middle of the night. When the Pequots fled from their burning homes they were slaughtered, decapitated at the hands and swords of the English (Pg. 15, People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn). Historically, fire, or "smoking them out" has been a "tactical weapon" of the US government. How can this be misconstrued as suicide?
The bottom line is that the Guinness list is flawed from end to end. It seems that the folks at Guinness feel that if you resist against this government your death is imminent, justified and therefore suicidal. Now I am not saying that I am in support of the actions or beliefs of all of the groups that I have mentioned. I am a strong supporter of MOVE but I have very deep disagreements with most other groups on the list. That does not mean that I will not fight against the lies and misinformation spread in their blood. Even in the situations in which mass suicide did take place it is a disservice to the dead and their families to lump those that have been murdered in with the rest. It also seems so wrong to list such tragic events with so little explanation and feeling, to list such horror on the same page as the largest assembly of Elvis impersonators is horrible.
In the interest of protecting the real stories of the past to build a brighter future this misinformation must be fought. This is a very large issue with broad consequence. Join MOVE in pressuring the Guinness Book of World Records to correct this serious problem. Don't forget that there are eight people who have been in prison for 29 years due to such campaigns. Hell, there are so many political prisoners and prisoners in general serving life based on such deliberate revisions in history. Free the MOVE 9 and all political prisoners! No one wins unless we all win!
If you look close enough you can see history altered before your eyes. Pick up the latest Guinness Book of World Records (Guinness World Records 2008), flip to page 123 and you will see what I mean. Under the section "Cults, Fans and Followers: the police bombing of the MOVE Organization in 1985 is listed as the sixth most deadly mass suicide in recent history.) Yes, you did read that correctly. A deliberate massacre, in which police dropped a bomb on a house, intentionally allowed the fire to burn and fired automatic weapons at those that dared attempt an escape, was labeled as mass suicide.
This would seem to be very sloppy research for a fundamental resource such as Guinness, but MOVE doesn't believe that it is as simple as that. MOVE and its support network have been expecting increased attacks and misinformation about the organization. After 29 long years that MOVE prisoners Mike, Chuck, Janet, Janine, Debbie, Phil, Del and Eddie have spent in maximum security prisons, they will finally be coming up for parole in 2008. The MOVE 9 (Merle Africa died in prison under suspicious conditions March 13, 1998) have been in prison since 1978 for the wrongful conviction of police officer James Ramp. They are serving 30-100 year sentences and MOVE knows that the battle for parole is going to be uphill.
As history is re-written those in power tell the tale with MOVE framed as unrepentant, cop killing cultists who in 1978 shot at police and firemen, murdering James Ramp and then in 1985 remaining members committed suicide. This is exactly how those that are opposed to MOVE would prefer that the history be told. After all what parole board would ever release those people and what public would join a movement in their support?
If you do a little research into their list it becomes clear that the whole thing is bullshit…no other word is fitting. It seems as though not only do they have the facts on MOVE all wrong, almost every item on the list is questionable. The first group listed, with the highest death toll (924), is “the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of Godâ€. This Cult was located in Uganda and the deaths occurred in 2000. Five hundred and thirty of the deceased died in a church which was intentionally set aflame. Many believe that these 530 were unwilling to participate and where murdered by other members and leaders of the cult. This suspicion is strengthened by the fact that the windows and doors of the church were nailed from the outside (www.religioustolerance.org/dc_rest.htm).
Next listed is the Peoples Temple, known as Jonestown, with a death toll of 913 in Guyana in 1978. Again, in this situation many group members unmistakably committed suicide. However, there was evidence of murder of many by other members and leaders of the cult (www.religioustolerance.org/dc_jones.htm).
Other than the police bombing of MOVE the other two situations that were most inappropriately and irresponsibly labeled mass suicides are the stand off with the Branch Davidians in 1993 and the police murder of members of the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974. In both situations the deaths were the direct result of careless handling of sensitive situations by government officials or deliberate murder by police. The labeling of these events as mass suicide is even sloppier given that a thorough scan of mainstream media written during the time of these incidents gleaned no mention of either as mass suicide. The same goes for the bombing of MOVE in 1985. In the case of the Branch Davidians in Waco, the event started as a firefight between the Branch Davidians and the ATF. To this day it is unknown who fired the first shot that led to that 51 day standoff. The details of all that led to the deaths of 82 members are still quite unclear. It is undisputed that some members of the group did commit suicide but many died from FBI bullets. To label it a mass suicide takes all responsibility from the Federal government who should bear the weight of these deaths.
In 1974 when six members of the SLA were killed the police used fire as a tactical weapon in a similar fashion as the Philadelphia police in 1985. Police intentionally set fire to the apartment where SLA members were confined and when the first two members ran from the doors they were shot in the head by police. The police claim that the SLA members ran from the building with weapons drawn "trying to kill cops" but other witness testimony tells a different story. Only one SLA member is said to have killed himself rather that surrender. The other 5 deaths were a direct result of police bullets, smoke and flames.
The strategy used in 1974 by the police with the SLA and in 1985 with MOVE brings to mind the methods of mass murder employed by the Puritans in Massachusetts after failing to destroy the Pequot Indians in the 1600’s. After failing to defeat the Pequots in legitimate battle the Puritans began setting fire to their wigwams in the middle of the night. When the Pequots fled from their burning homes they were slaughtered, decapitated at the hands and swords of the English (Pg. 15, People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn). Historically, fire, or "smoking them out" has been a "tactical weapon" of the US government. How can this be misconstrued as suicide?
The bottom line is that the Guinness list is flawed from end to end. It seems that the folks at Guinness feel that if you resist against this government your death is imminent, justified and therefore suicidal. Now I am not saying that I am in support of the actions or beliefs of all of the groups that I have mentioned. I am a strong supporter of MOVE but I have very deep disagreements with most other groups on the list. That does not mean that I will not fight against the lies and misinformation spread in their blood. Even in the situations in which mass suicide did take place it is a disservice to the dead and their families to lump those that have been murdered in with the rest. It also seems so wrong to list such tragic events with so little explanation and feeling, to list such horror on the same page as the largest assembly of Elvis impersonators is horrible.
In the interest of protecting the real stories of the past to build a brighter future this misinformation must be fought. This is a very large issue with broad consequence. Join MOVE in pressuring the Guinness Book of World Records to correct this serious problem. Don't forget that there are eight people who have been in prison for 29 years due to such campaigns. Hell, there are so many political prisoners and prisoners in general serving life based on such deliberate revisions in history. Free the MOVE 9 and all political prisoners! No one wins unless we all win!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
In Prison My Whole Life - a film about Mumia
In Prison My Whole Life: An interview with William Francome
by William Francome and Hans Bennett; October 26, 2007
The trailer for the new British documentary about US death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, titled "In Prison My Whole Life," begins with the film's central character, William Francome, explaining that he's "been aware of Mumia for as long as I can remember. That’s because he was arrested on the night I was born, for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. As my mom would often remind me, every birthday I had, has been another year that Mumia has spent in prison.... I am going on a journey to find out about the man who has been in prison my whole life."
The 90-minute film premieres on October 25 at both The Times BFI 51st London Film Festival and Rome's International Film Festival. With the acclaimed British actor Colin Firth as an executive producer, "In Prison My Whole Life" is directed by Marc Evans and produced by Livia Firth and Nick Goodwin Self. The film has interviews with such figures as Alice Walker, Angela Davis, Noam Chomsky, Amy Goodman, Ramona Africa, and musicians Mos Def, Snoop Dogg and Steve Earle. Amnesty International, who concluded in a previous report that Abu-Jamal's original 1982 trial was unfair, is supporting "In Prison" as part as part of its international campaign to abolish the death penalty. Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen says: "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."
In this exclusive interview on the eve of the film's premiere, Francome discloses for the very first time, one of the movies biggest surprises: The film will prominently feature the startling Dec. 9, 1981 crime scene photos that were recently discovered by German author Michael Schiffmann, and are published in his new book. Never presented to the 1982 jury, these new photos (taken by press-photographer Pedro Polakoff) "bolster claims of Mumia's innocence and unfair trial," according to Black Commentator columnist David A. Love.
Polakoff's photos have been shown on the Journalists for Mumia website since Dr. Schiffmann unveiled the photos in May, the same week that The US Third Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments regarding the fairness of Abu-Jamal's 1982 trial (listen to courtroom audio). While waiting for this important court ruling (expected any week), Abu-Jamal's international support network has initiated a media-activist campaign demanding that the major media outlets acknowledge the new crime scene photos. One of Polakoff's photos will be published for the first time in the US, in this week's issue of The San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper, which has previously reported on Abu-Jamal's case.
Francome cannot reveal any more of the film's big surprises, but he does say that "the film interviews people who have never told their story of the events of that night for the first time ever and offers new insight and theories as to what happened on Locust Street in 1981. To learn more about this, people ought to go and watch the film."
Hans Bennett: What can you tell us about the new crime scene photos discovered by German author Michael Schiffmann, and how they appear in your film?
William Francome: The photos of press photographer Pedro Polakoff feature in the film as well as an interview with him and Michael Schiffmann, the German author who found them.
We had been in contact with Michael from the beginning of this project as he is one of the most knowledgeable people on the case. He had been working on his book 'Race Against Death' when he found a photo online that he realized was not taken by the police at the scene. Somehow (Michael is an amazing investigator) he found Pedro who was a press photographer at the time of the shootings in December of 1981. Pedro had arrived on the scene within minutes and captured much of the initial chaos of the scene.
They are quite amazing photographs as they show the complete lack of professionalism by the police who were faced with the task of preserving the crime scene and any forensic evidence that might be inherent within it. There are pictures of a police officer holding both of the weapons at the scene in one hand without gloves, which would therefore completely contaminate any fingerprints or gun powder residue. They also show the police walking in and out of the scene and show that Officer Faulkner’s hat was moved from photo to photo. I may just be a layman in terms of crime scene maintenance but it seems to me that these are grave and almost criminally negligent mistakes to make. There is also the issue of bullet holes or the lack thereof in the pavement. The photos should show where bullet fragments would have been found in the surrounding cement according to the prosecution witnesses’ account, but this is not the case.
Whether or not these acts were made on purpose remains to be seen, but the photos could have helped clear this case up from the very beginning. Now we are 25 years down the line and we are still asking basic questions of the initial evidence that should not have been left for so long unanswered. Meanwhile, a man is on death row who claims he's innocent and it's been a quarter of a century since a policeman was killed and many feel the killing hasn't been sufficiently solved.
What makes the issue of the photos even more important is that they were purposefully ignored by the prosecution and the District Attorney's Office. Pedro says that he rang them and told them of his photographs and offered them for use in the trial, but that the office never got back to him. It is obvious that the prosecution knew that the photographs of the crime scene could have done their case some damage in court and therefore outright ignored them.
HB: Where does the movie go from here? When can people in the US view it?
WF: The film is about to premiere at the London and Rome film festivals and I'm very happy to say that it's sold out all of its screenings. We are still at the early stages and we have to wait and see if and when it gets taken on by a distributor, what happens next. I'm sure at some point in the near future we'll be screening the film in the US. The film was shot in America and mostly deals with American issues so I look forward to seeing the reaction it gets there. I myself am half American, and spent my teenage years in New York, so I have enjoyed making a film about the country I grew up in as well as having been able to look at it as an outsider.
HB: Why is Mumia's case still so important after 25 years?
WF: I think the fact that Mumia's case is still being debated after twenty five years is an issue in itself. It seems unbelievable to me that you could keep someone in solitary confinement for a quarter of a century as well as having a death sentence hanging over him that whole time. The starting point of this film is that it's been my whole life, and considering all the things that I have done and all the memories I have really helps to put the whole thing in perspective. Try thinking back to what you were doing in 1981 and it might have the same effect. In that time, there have been hundreds of people executed and there are still over 3,000 currently sitting on death row in America. However, despite evidence that people innocent of the crimes they were convicted for have been executed and over 100 people who have been exonerated and released from death row because of new evidence, the death penalty system in America still grinds forward.
After 25 years, the questions of race, cost and inadequate legal representation have yet to be fully and honestly addressed and the issues that caused it to be declared unconstitutional in the 70's persist. In short, as long as there is a death penalty in the United States, Mumia's case and the case of all death row inmates will remain vital and important. People should see this movie because they too seek for answers and honesty from the criminal justice system, and they too, want to gain a greater understanding of the inherent flaws in the death penalty system in the U.S.
Even if people can't relate to the story of Mumia Abu-Jamal or are not affected by it, they might still be able to relate to my story. I think for many people, the journey that I'm going on is enough on its own. This is the story of two lives coming together in a sense, and hopefully it will allow many who have previously been uninterested in the issues surrounding the case to sit up, take notice and find out more on their own. In a ninety minute film, it is hard to comprehensively look into any subject, but you hope that it gives the audience enough to go away and delve further.
Hans Bennett is an independent journalist and co-founder (with German author Michael Schiffmann) of Journalists for Mumia Abu-Jamal (Abu-Jamal-News.com).
by William Francome and Hans Bennett; October 26, 2007
The trailer for the new British documentary about US death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, titled "In Prison My Whole Life," begins with the film's central character, William Francome, explaining that he's "been aware of Mumia for as long as I can remember. That’s because he was arrested on the night I was born, for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. As my mom would often remind me, every birthday I had, has been another year that Mumia has spent in prison.... I am going on a journey to find out about the man who has been in prison my whole life."
The 90-minute film premieres on October 25 at both The Times BFI 51st London Film Festival and Rome's International Film Festival. With the acclaimed British actor Colin Firth as an executive producer, "In Prison My Whole Life" is directed by Marc Evans and produced by Livia Firth and Nick Goodwin Self. The film has interviews with such figures as Alice Walker, Angela Davis, Noam Chomsky, Amy Goodman, Ramona Africa, and musicians Mos Def, Snoop Dogg and Steve Earle. Amnesty International, who concluded in a previous report that Abu-Jamal's original 1982 trial was unfair, is supporting "In Prison" as part as part of its international campaign to abolish the death penalty. Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen says: "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."
In this exclusive interview on the eve of the film's premiere, Francome discloses for the very first time, one of the movies biggest surprises: The film will prominently feature the startling Dec. 9, 1981 crime scene photos that were recently discovered by German author Michael Schiffmann, and are published in his new book. Never presented to the 1982 jury, these new photos (taken by press-photographer Pedro Polakoff) "bolster claims of Mumia's innocence and unfair trial," according to Black Commentator columnist David A. Love.
Polakoff's photos have been shown on the Journalists for Mumia website since Dr. Schiffmann unveiled the photos in May, the same week that The US Third Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments regarding the fairness of Abu-Jamal's 1982 trial (listen to courtroom audio). While waiting for this important court ruling (expected any week), Abu-Jamal's international support network has initiated a media-activist campaign demanding that the major media outlets acknowledge the new crime scene photos. One of Polakoff's photos will be published for the first time in the US, in this week's issue of The San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper, which has previously reported on Abu-Jamal's case.
Francome cannot reveal any more of the film's big surprises, but he does say that "the film interviews people who have never told their story of the events of that night for the first time ever and offers new insight and theories as to what happened on Locust Street in 1981. To learn more about this, people ought to go and watch the film."
Hans Bennett: What can you tell us about the new crime scene photos discovered by German author Michael Schiffmann, and how they appear in your film?
William Francome: The photos of press photographer Pedro Polakoff feature in the film as well as an interview with him and Michael Schiffmann, the German author who found them.
We had been in contact with Michael from the beginning of this project as he is one of the most knowledgeable people on the case. He had been working on his book 'Race Against Death' when he found a photo online that he realized was not taken by the police at the scene. Somehow (Michael is an amazing investigator) he found Pedro who was a press photographer at the time of the shootings in December of 1981. Pedro had arrived on the scene within minutes and captured much of the initial chaos of the scene.
They are quite amazing photographs as they show the complete lack of professionalism by the police who were faced with the task of preserving the crime scene and any forensic evidence that might be inherent within it. There are pictures of a police officer holding both of the weapons at the scene in one hand without gloves, which would therefore completely contaminate any fingerprints or gun powder residue. They also show the police walking in and out of the scene and show that Officer Faulkner’s hat was moved from photo to photo. I may just be a layman in terms of crime scene maintenance but it seems to me that these are grave and almost criminally negligent mistakes to make. There is also the issue of bullet holes or the lack thereof in the pavement. The photos should show where bullet fragments would have been found in the surrounding cement according to the prosecution witnesses’ account, but this is not the case.
Whether or not these acts were made on purpose remains to be seen, but the photos could have helped clear this case up from the very beginning. Now we are 25 years down the line and we are still asking basic questions of the initial evidence that should not have been left for so long unanswered. Meanwhile, a man is on death row who claims he's innocent and it's been a quarter of a century since a policeman was killed and many feel the killing hasn't been sufficiently solved.
What makes the issue of the photos even more important is that they were purposefully ignored by the prosecution and the District Attorney's Office. Pedro says that he rang them and told them of his photographs and offered them for use in the trial, but that the office never got back to him. It is obvious that the prosecution knew that the photographs of the crime scene could have done their case some damage in court and therefore outright ignored them.
HB: Where does the movie go from here? When can people in the US view it?
WF: The film is about to premiere at the London and Rome film festivals and I'm very happy to say that it's sold out all of its screenings. We are still at the early stages and we have to wait and see if and when it gets taken on by a distributor, what happens next. I'm sure at some point in the near future we'll be screening the film in the US. The film was shot in America and mostly deals with American issues so I look forward to seeing the reaction it gets there. I myself am half American, and spent my teenage years in New York, so I have enjoyed making a film about the country I grew up in as well as having been able to look at it as an outsider.
HB: Why is Mumia's case still so important after 25 years?
WF: I think the fact that Mumia's case is still being debated after twenty five years is an issue in itself. It seems unbelievable to me that you could keep someone in solitary confinement for a quarter of a century as well as having a death sentence hanging over him that whole time. The starting point of this film is that it's been my whole life, and considering all the things that I have done and all the memories I have really helps to put the whole thing in perspective. Try thinking back to what you were doing in 1981 and it might have the same effect. In that time, there have been hundreds of people executed and there are still over 3,000 currently sitting on death row in America. However, despite evidence that people innocent of the crimes they were convicted for have been executed and over 100 people who have been exonerated and released from death row because of new evidence, the death penalty system in America still grinds forward.
After 25 years, the questions of race, cost and inadequate legal representation have yet to be fully and honestly addressed and the issues that caused it to be declared unconstitutional in the 70's persist. In short, as long as there is a death penalty in the United States, Mumia's case and the case of all death row inmates will remain vital and important. People should see this movie because they too seek for answers and honesty from the criminal justice system, and they too, want to gain a greater understanding of the inherent flaws in the death penalty system in the U.S.
Even if people can't relate to the story of Mumia Abu-Jamal or are not affected by it, they might still be able to relate to my story. I think for many people, the journey that I'm going on is enough on its own. This is the story of two lives coming together in a sense, and hopefully it will allow many who have previously been uninterested in the issues surrounding the case to sit up, take notice and find out more on their own. In a ninety minute film, it is hard to comprehensively look into any subject, but you hope that it gives the audience enough to go away and delve further.
Hans Bennett is an independent journalist and co-founder (with German author Michael Schiffmann) of Journalists for Mumia Abu-Jamal (Abu-Jamal-News.com).
Guardian Article on Mumia
'I spend my days preparing for life, not for death
'The former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal has spent 25 years on death row in the United States - despite strong evidence that he is innocent. In his first British interview, he talks to Laura Smith about life in solitary, how he has remained politically active, and why the Panthers are still relevant today
Laura Smith
Thursday October 25, 2007
Guardian
SCI Greene County Prison on the outskirts of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, sits low in the rural landscape so that it's easy from the restaurants and petrol stations on the main road to miss the barbed wire coiled in endless circles. Inside, the plush leather chairs that squat on shiny floors make it feel more like a private hospital than a maximum security institution. But the black men in prison jumpsuits cleaning the floor, eyes downcast, dispel any such illusions. Signs spell out the rules: no hoods, no unauthorised persons, only $20 in cash allowed.Death row - or at least the visiting area - is a curiously ordinary place. A central waiting room where a guard watches the goings-on. Institutional doors opening on to small boxes, each furnished with a table and chair. But then, inside the visiting room, there is the shock of a grown man in an orange jumpsuit, his hands cuffed, the space small enough for him to reach out and touch both walls. And between us a layer of thick, reinforced glass.
Mumia Abu-Jamal has lived at SCI Greene since January 1995. Convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 for the murder of a police officer in his home town, Philadelphia, he spends his days in solitary confinement, in a room he has described as smaller than most people's bathroom. When I arrive, he puts his fist to the glass in greeting. He is a tall, broad man with dreadlocked hair, still dark, and a beard slightly greying at the edges. He has lively eyes.
It is hard to know how to begin a conversation with Abu-Jamal, revered for his activism around the world as much as he is reviled as a cop killer by some in his home country. He is careful about who he agrees to see and rarely talks to the mainstream media - this is the first time he has granted an interview to a British newspaper. We start with the basics - the everyday restrictions of prison life. Visits: one a week - though it is difficult for his family to make the 660-mile, 11-hour round-trip from Philadelphia. Money: a stipend of less than $20 (£10) per month. Phone calls: three a week lasting 15 minutes each - but a quarter of an hour to Philadelphia costs $5.69 (£2.77).
This being Abu-Jamal, a campaigning journalist who has written five books about injustice while in prison, it is not long before we are on to the bigger questions: why SCI Greene, which takes most of its 1,700 inmates from Philadelphia, was built "the farthest you can be from Philly and still be in the state of Pennsylvania". "I believe it is intentional," he says. "I could count the times on my hand when I have seen this whole visiting area full." And why Global Tel Net, the firm that provides the prison phone calls, is allowed to charge so much of people who have so little. His conclusion is characteristically pithy: "The poorest pay the most."
Abu-Jamal has eight children, the eldest of whom is 38, and several grandchildren. How does he keep in touch? "Some grandchildren I have not seen. That's difficult. You try to keep contact through the phone, you write. I send cards that I draw and paint. To let them know the old man still loves them." Abu-Jamal's father William died when he was nine; his mother Edith died in February 1990 - eight years after he was imprisoned. He goes very quiet telling me this, and there doesn't seem much point asking how it felt not to be able to sit with her at the end.
Abu-Jamal has been locked up since he was 27. He is now 53. The story of how he ended up here has been told often. As a teenager he had been active in the Black Panther party but by 1981, with most of the party's leaders either dead or in jail, he had become a well-respected radio reporter and president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Black Journalists. Radio journalism was not well paid, however, and Abu-Jamal supplemented his income by driving a taxi at night.
In the early hours of December 9 1981, he was out in his cab when he saw his brother, Billy Cook, being stopped by a police officer, Daniel Faulkner. A struggle ensued, during which Cook says Faulkner assaulted him. Abu-Jamal got out of his cab. Minutes later, Faulkner had been shot dead and Abu-Jamal was slumped nearby with a bullet wound to the chest, his own gun not far away.
At his trial in 1982 it appeared an open and shut case. A former Black Panther with a history of antipathy towards the police (although no criminal record). A white police officer dead. A succession of eye-witnesses who testified that Abu-Jamal was the killer. And the icing on the cake: a confession made by Abu-Jamal himself at the hospital where he was taken for treatment.
But some inconvenient facts were obscured: Abu-Jamal's gun was never tested to see whether it had been fired; his hands were never swabbed to establish whether he had fired it; and his gun's bullets were never solidly linked to those that killed Faulkner. The crime scene was never secured.
Of the three witnesses, one has since admitted to lying under police pressure, another has disappeared amid evidence that she too was under duress, and the third initially told police that he had seen the killer run away, but changed his story. Evidence from others who said they saw a third man running away was played down.
Evidence of Abu-Jamal's confession was equally shaky. Although two witnesses testified to hearing him shout, "I shot the motherfucker and I hope the motherfucker dies", the doctors who treated him insist that his medical condition made such a thing impossible. Neither of the two police officers who claimed to have heard the confession reported it until more than two months after the shooting - after Abu-Jamal had made allegations of being abused by police during his arrest. On the contrary, one noted in his log at the time that "the negro male made no comment" in hospital.
The trial judge, Albert Sabo, was a former member of the powerful police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, known to favour prosecutors. He overturned permission Abu-Jamal had obtained to represent himself, excluded him from much of his own trial, and presided over jury selection in which the majority of black candidates were removed. A court stenographer overheard Sabo telling a colleague: "I'm going to help them fry the nigger."
There were other irregularities, so many that Amnesty International concluded in 2000 that the trial was "in violation of minimum international standards", adding, "the interests of justice would best be served by the granting of a new trial to Mumia Abu-Jamal".
In the 25 years since, Abu-Jamal has appealed against his conviction many times, and many times has had his pleas rejected. He has had two dates set for his execution, only for them to be overturned by legal pressure. He is now awaiting the outcome of his latest appeal; this time by the second highest court in the US. His lead lawyer, Robert R Bryan, describes it as "the first time in 25 years that Mumia has had a chance at a free and fair trial". Abu-Jamal is more circumspect. "I have learned not to do predictions," he says. "It's not helpful, psychologically. I don't sit and fret about things."
Instead, he spends his days writing about prison life and social struggles around the world. He takes reams of notes from books sent in by supporters, so that he can refer to them when they are taken away (he is allowed only seven in his cell). "I confess, I am a nerd," he says, laughing. He uses his weekly phone calls to record radio commentaries that are broadcast around the world.
Then there are the speeches he records - he spoke at the World Congress Against the Death Penalty this year and the Million Man March in 1995 - the cards he paints for his family, and his drawing. He is currently working on his sixth book, Jailhouse Lawyers, about those prisoners who, like himself, help prepare legal cases with other inmates. He uses a beaten-up typewriter; he has never seen a computer. Asked about the work of which he is proudest, he cites his 2004 book, We Want Freedom, a history of the Black Panther party.
Abu-Jamal spends 22 hours a day alone in his cell - except at weekends, when it's 24. For two hours between 7am and 9am every weekday he has the option of going out into the yard - or "cage", as he prefers to call it. It is 60ft square and fenced on all sides, including overhead. Because "air is precious", he rarely refuses, but not everyone takes up the offer. "People have different ways," he says. "I know some guys who play chess for hours and hours, shouting the moves between cells. Some guys argue with other guys. Some guys used to enjoy smut books, but they've stopped those now. A lot of guys don't come out. I think it's depression. You get tired of seeing the same old faces. The role of television is the illusion of company, noise. I call it the fifth wall and the second window: the window of illusion."
Many of the younger prisoners call him "papa" or "old head" and it is clear that he is touched. "When you are out in the yard, it's dudes joshing," he says. "Guys being guys, playing ball. You have this machismo." One of the things that seems to keep him going are these relationships with other guys in "the hole". Many of them have inspired me and taught me ... about how things are on the street now, how young people are talking and walking."
I ask how prison has changed him. "In ways I could not have imagined," he says. "It has made me immensely patient. I was not before. It has given me an introspection that I hadn't had before, and even a kind of compassion I hadn't had before."
In Abu-Jamal's company, it is easy to forget that you are inside prison walls. As he talks, one is pulled into a world of urgent work that needs doing, of debates to be thrashed out, of injustices to be tackled. With characteristic eloquence, he calls Hurricane Katrina "a rude awakening from an illusion", watching television "a profoundly ignorising experience" and observes that much commercial hip-hop contains "no distinction, except in beat and tone, to a Chrysler advert". "If the message is, I am cool because I am rich, and if you get rich, you can be cool like me, that's a pretty fucked-up message." On American politics, he is damning. "You would think that a country that goes to war allegedly to spread democracy would practice it in its own country."
Born Wesley Cook in the Philadelphia projects, he adopted the name Mumia as a 14-year-old (later adding Abu-Jamal - "father of Jamal" in Arabic - when his first son was born). The following year, aged just 15, he helped found the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panther party after being handed a copy of their newspaper in the street. "I was like, whoah," he says. "It just thrilled me. I was like, this is heaven. This is great. Everything. It was the truth. Uncut, unalloyed. It was everything. It fit me."
He spent long days helping with party activities, which included free children's breakfast programmes and the monitoring of police, whose corruption at that time has since become notorious (at least a third of the officers involved in Abu-Jamal's investigations have since been found to have engaged in corrupt activities, including the fabrication of evidence to frame suspects).
Mostly, as the party's lieutenant of information, he wrote, gathering stories for The Black Panther, the party's newsletter. "It was great fun," he remembers now. "You worked six and seven days a week and 18 hours a day for no pay ... When I tell young people that now they are like, what was that last part? Are you crazy, man? But because we were socialists we didn't want pay. We wanted to serve our people, free our people, stop the homicide and make revolution. We thought about the party morning, noon and night. It was a very busy but fulfilling life for thousands of people across the country. We were serving our people and what could be better than that?"
Subject to relentless disruption by the FBI's Counter Intelligence Programme, which targeted radical and progressive organisations, and riven by internal disagreements, the Black Panthers imploded in the early 1970s. For Abu-Jamal it was a personal tragedy. "Despair," he says when asked how it felt. "A profound despair."
He is adamant that the party's message is still relevant today. "Millions of black people are more isolated in economic, social and political terms than they were 30 years ago," he says. "I remember a photograph of an elderly black woman (after Katrina) who had wrapped herself in the American flag and I remember looking at it and being so struck by it. Maybe she wasn't thinking visually, she was probably very cold and hungry, but I couldn't help thinking, what does citizenship mean? Are you a citizen if in the wealthiest country on earth you are left to starve, to sink or swim, to drown at the time of the flood?"
If Abu-Jamal's latest appeal is successful he could be a granted a retrial or have the death penalty overturned. If it is not, his execution could quickly follow. He does not sound afraid. "I spend my days preparing for life, not preparing for death," he says. "They haven't stopped me from doing what I want every day. I believe in life, I believe in freedom, so my mind is not consumed with death. It's with love, life and those things. In many ways, on many days, only my body is here, because I am thinking about what's happening around the world."
As we leave, people emerge from other visiting rooms into the central area. There's a family with teenage children; a young mother whose little daughter has spent much of our interview peeking through the door - to Abu-Jamal's delight; a grandfather being pushed in a wheelchair. A mother says to her children with a forced cheeriness: "That was a nice visit, wasn't it? I'm sure glad we came."
We step outside into a perfect summer day. All I can think of is my last view after saying goodbye to Abu-Jamal: a row of men, all black, standing behind glass. Their hands cuffed, their faces smiling goodbye to their families, their voices shouting greetings to each other. In a couple of minutes, each man will trek back to a cell no bigger than your bathroom, with no company but their own. But for now, just for now, there is the sight of life. And they're drinking it in.
'The former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal has spent 25 years on death row in the United States - despite strong evidence that he is innocent. In his first British interview, he talks to Laura Smith about life in solitary, how he has remained politically active, and why the Panthers are still relevant today
Laura Smith
Thursday October 25, 2007
Guardian
SCI Greene County Prison on the outskirts of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, sits low in the rural landscape so that it's easy from the restaurants and petrol stations on the main road to miss the barbed wire coiled in endless circles. Inside, the plush leather chairs that squat on shiny floors make it feel more like a private hospital than a maximum security institution. But the black men in prison jumpsuits cleaning the floor, eyes downcast, dispel any such illusions. Signs spell out the rules: no hoods, no unauthorised persons, only $20 in cash allowed.Death row - or at least the visiting area - is a curiously ordinary place. A central waiting room where a guard watches the goings-on. Institutional doors opening on to small boxes, each furnished with a table and chair. But then, inside the visiting room, there is the shock of a grown man in an orange jumpsuit, his hands cuffed, the space small enough for him to reach out and touch both walls. And between us a layer of thick, reinforced glass.
Mumia Abu-Jamal has lived at SCI Greene since January 1995. Convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 for the murder of a police officer in his home town, Philadelphia, he spends his days in solitary confinement, in a room he has described as smaller than most people's bathroom. When I arrive, he puts his fist to the glass in greeting. He is a tall, broad man with dreadlocked hair, still dark, and a beard slightly greying at the edges. He has lively eyes.
It is hard to know how to begin a conversation with Abu-Jamal, revered for his activism around the world as much as he is reviled as a cop killer by some in his home country. He is careful about who he agrees to see and rarely talks to the mainstream media - this is the first time he has granted an interview to a British newspaper. We start with the basics - the everyday restrictions of prison life. Visits: one a week - though it is difficult for his family to make the 660-mile, 11-hour round-trip from Philadelphia. Money: a stipend of less than $20 (£10) per month. Phone calls: three a week lasting 15 minutes each - but a quarter of an hour to Philadelphia costs $5.69 (£2.77).
This being Abu-Jamal, a campaigning journalist who has written five books about injustice while in prison, it is not long before we are on to the bigger questions: why SCI Greene, which takes most of its 1,700 inmates from Philadelphia, was built "the farthest you can be from Philly and still be in the state of Pennsylvania". "I believe it is intentional," he says. "I could count the times on my hand when I have seen this whole visiting area full." And why Global Tel Net, the firm that provides the prison phone calls, is allowed to charge so much of people who have so little. His conclusion is characteristically pithy: "The poorest pay the most."
Abu-Jamal has eight children, the eldest of whom is 38, and several grandchildren. How does he keep in touch? "Some grandchildren I have not seen. That's difficult. You try to keep contact through the phone, you write. I send cards that I draw and paint. To let them know the old man still loves them." Abu-Jamal's father William died when he was nine; his mother Edith died in February 1990 - eight years after he was imprisoned. He goes very quiet telling me this, and there doesn't seem much point asking how it felt not to be able to sit with her at the end.
Abu-Jamal has been locked up since he was 27. He is now 53. The story of how he ended up here has been told often. As a teenager he had been active in the Black Panther party but by 1981, with most of the party's leaders either dead or in jail, he had become a well-respected radio reporter and president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Black Journalists. Radio journalism was not well paid, however, and Abu-Jamal supplemented his income by driving a taxi at night.
In the early hours of December 9 1981, he was out in his cab when he saw his brother, Billy Cook, being stopped by a police officer, Daniel Faulkner. A struggle ensued, during which Cook says Faulkner assaulted him. Abu-Jamal got out of his cab. Minutes later, Faulkner had been shot dead and Abu-Jamal was slumped nearby with a bullet wound to the chest, his own gun not far away.
At his trial in 1982 it appeared an open and shut case. A former Black Panther with a history of antipathy towards the police (although no criminal record). A white police officer dead. A succession of eye-witnesses who testified that Abu-Jamal was the killer. And the icing on the cake: a confession made by Abu-Jamal himself at the hospital where he was taken for treatment.
But some inconvenient facts were obscured: Abu-Jamal's gun was never tested to see whether it had been fired; his hands were never swabbed to establish whether he had fired it; and his gun's bullets were never solidly linked to those that killed Faulkner. The crime scene was never secured.
Of the three witnesses, one has since admitted to lying under police pressure, another has disappeared amid evidence that she too was under duress, and the third initially told police that he had seen the killer run away, but changed his story. Evidence from others who said they saw a third man running away was played down.
Evidence of Abu-Jamal's confession was equally shaky. Although two witnesses testified to hearing him shout, "I shot the motherfucker and I hope the motherfucker dies", the doctors who treated him insist that his medical condition made such a thing impossible. Neither of the two police officers who claimed to have heard the confession reported it until more than two months after the shooting - after Abu-Jamal had made allegations of being abused by police during his arrest. On the contrary, one noted in his log at the time that "the negro male made no comment" in hospital.
The trial judge, Albert Sabo, was a former member of the powerful police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, known to favour prosecutors. He overturned permission Abu-Jamal had obtained to represent himself, excluded him from much of his own trial, and presided over jury selection in which the majority of black candidates were removed. A court stenographer overheard Sabo telling a colleague: "I'm going to help them fry the nigger."
There were other irregularities, so many that Amnesty International concluded in 2000 that the trial was "in violation of minimum international standards", adding, "the interests of justice would best be served by the granting of a new trial to Mumia Abu-Jamal".
In the 25 years since, Abu-Jamal has appealed against his conviction many times, and many times has had his pleas rejected. He has had two dates set for his execution, only for them to be overturned by legal pressure. He is now awaiting the outcome of his latest appeal; this time by the second highest court in the US. His lead lawyer, Robert R Bryan, describes it as "the first time in 25 years that Mumia has had a chance at a free and fair trial". Abu-Jamal is more circumspect. "I have learned not to do predictions," he says. "It's not helpful, psychologically. I don't sit and fret about things."
Instead, he spends his days writing about prison life and social struggles around the world. He takes reams of notes from books sent in by supporters, so that he can refer to them when they are taken away (he is allowed only seven in his cell). "I confess, I am a nerd," he says, laughing. He uses his weekly phone calls to record radio commentaries that are broadcast around the world.
Then there are the speeches he records - he spoke at the World Congress Against the Death Penalty this year and the Million Man March in 1995 - the cards he paints for his family, and his drawing. He is currently working on his sixth book, Jailhouse Lawyers, about those prisoners who, like himself, help prepare legal cases with other inmates. He uses a beaten-up typewriter; he has never seen a computer. Asked about the work of which he is proudest, he cites his 2004 book, We Want Freedom, a history of the Black Panther party.
Abu-Jamal spends 22 hours a day alone in his cell - except at weekends, when it's 24. For two hours between 7am and 9am every weekday he has the option of going out into the yard - or "cage", as he prefers to call it. It is 60ft square and fenced on all sides, including overhead. Because "air is precious", he rarely refuses, but not everyone takes up the offer. "People have different ways," he says. "I know some guys who play chess for hours and hours, shouting the moves between cells. Some guys argue with other guys. Some guys used to enjoy smut books, but they've stopped those now. A lot of guys don't come out. I think it's depression. You get tired of seeing the same old faces. The role of television is the illusion of company, noise. I call it the fifth wall and the second window: the window of illusion."
Many of the younger prisoners call him "papa" or "old head" and it is clear that he is touched. "When you are out in the yard, it's dudes joshing," he says. "Guys being guys, playing ball. You have this machismo." One of the things that seems to keep him going are these relationships with other guys in "the hole". Many of them have inspired me and taught me ... about how things are on the street now, how young people are talking and walking."
I ask how prison has changed him. "In ways I could not have imagined," he says. "It has made me immensely patient. I was not before. It has given me an introspection that I hadn't had before, and even a kind of compassion I hadn't had before."
In Abu-Jamal's company, it is easy to forget that you are inside prison walls. As he talks, one is pulled into a world of urgent work that needs doing, of debates to be thrashed out, of injustices to be tackled. With characteristic eloquence, he calls Hurricane Katrina "a rude awakening from an illusion", watching television "a profoundly ignorising experience" and observes that much commercial hip-hop contains "no distinction, except in beat and tone, to a Chrysler advert". "If the message is, I am cool because I am rich, and if you get rich, you can be cool like me, that's a pretty fucked-up message." On American politics, he is damning. "You would think that a country that goes to war allegedly to spread democracy would practice it in its own country."
Born Wesley Cook in the Philadelphia projects, he adopted the name Mumia as a 14-year-old (later adding Abu-Jamal - "father of Jamal" in Arabic - when his first son was born). The following year, aged just 15, he helped found the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panther party after being handed a copy of their newspaper in the street. "I was like, whoah," he says. "It just thrilled me. I was like, this is heaven. This is great. Everything. It was the truth. Uncut, unalloyed. It was everything. It fit me."
He spent long days helping with party activities, which included free children's breakfast programmes and the monitoring of police, whose corruption at that time has since become notorious (at least a third of the officers involved in Abu-Jamal's investigations have since been found to have engaged in corrupt activities, including the fabrication of evidence to frame suspects).
Mostly, as the party's lieutenant of information, he wrote, gathering stories for The Black Panther, the party's newsletter. "It was great fun," he remembers now. "You worked six and seven days a week and 18 hours a day for no pay ... When I tell young people that now they are like, what was that last part? Are you crazy, man? But because we were socialists we didn't want pay. We wanted to serve our people, free our people, stop the homicide and make revolution. We thought about the party morning, noon and night. It was a very busy but fulfilling life for thousands of people across the country. We were serving our people and what could be better than that?"
Subject to relentless disruption by the FBI's Counter Intelligence Programme, which targeted radical and progressive organisations, and riven by internal disagreements, the Black Panthers imploded in the early 1970s. For Abu-Jamal it was a personal tragedy. "Despair," he says when asked how it felt. "A profound despair."
He is adamant that the party's message is still relevant today. "Millions of black people are more isolated in economic, social and political terms than they were 30 years ago," he says. "I remember a photograph of an elderly black woman (after Katrina) who had wrapped herself in the American flag and I remember looking at it and being so struck by it. Maybe she wasn't thinking visually, she was probably very cold and hungry, but I couldn't help thinking, what does citizenship mean? Are you a citizen if in the wealthiest country on earth you are left to starve, to sink or swim, to drown at the time of the flood?"
If Abu-Jamal's latest appeal is successful he could be a granted a retrial or have the death penalty overturned. If it is not, his execution could quickly follow. He does not sound afraid. "I spend my days preparing for life, not preparing for death," he says. "They haven't stopped me from doing what I want every day. I believe in life, I believe in freedom, so my mind is not consumed with death. It's with love, life and those things. In many ways, on many days, only my body is here, because I am thinking about what's happening around the world."
As we leave, people emerge from other visiting rooms into the central area. There's a family with teenage children; a young mother whose little daughter has spent much of our interview peeking through the door - to Abu-Jamal's delight; a grandfather being pushed in a wheelchair. A mother says to her children with a forced cheeriness: "That was a nice visit, wasn't it? I'm sure glad we came."
We step outside into a perfect summer day. All I can think of is my last view after saying goodbye to Abu-Jamal: a row of men, all black, standing behind glass. Their hands cuffed, their faces smiling goodbye to their families, their voices shouting greetings to each other. In a couple of minutes, each man will trek back to a cell no bigger than your bathroom, with no company but their own. But for now, just for now, there is the sight of life. And they're drinking it in.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
A Dance Party with a Purpose
The Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition Presents
A Dance Party with a Purpose, For the Grown and Sexy
Any day now, we expect to get a ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals regarding Mumia's Abu-Jamal legal rights to a new and fair trial. As we all know, his original 1981 trial was completely biased and racially tarnished by the prosecutor's incorrect summary remarks and Judge Sabo's infamous statement during the trial.
Mumia Abu-Jamal was and continues to be a very vocal critic of the United States governmental terrorism within and beyond our borders. Since his former membership in the Black Panther Party, our government has kept a close watch on him, and now that they have him in their clutches – the courts have bent over backwards to keep him, where he remains – on death row. It's up to us to force their hand.
Be in the streets the Day After the ruling is made public. Check out our website regularly for updates www.freemumia.com or call 212 330-8029
Come to our party in order to raise money, so we have a nest egg to pay for transportation costs to Philadelphia, at a moments notice. They actually believe they have won the battle – we must show them how we intend to win the war, at home for our own self determination.
Where: St Mary's Episcopal Church (in the basement)
521 West 126th Street
(btw. Old Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.)
1 train to 125
When: Friday November 9, 2007 – 7-12pm
Suggested donation $10, food, beverages, and Mumia gear on sale
DJ Mellow G will be spinning Old School R&B, House Music, Salsa Meringue, Blue Eyed Soul, Classic Hip Hop and Reggae with video streaming for your visual pleasure. Special guest performance by Nana Soul of Black Wax Productions.
If you can't make it and would like to make a donation send it to:
Free Mumia Coalition NYC
P.O. Box 16 College Station
New York, NY 10030
Make checks out to Free Mumia Coalition/IFCO
A Dance Party with a Purpose, For the Grown and Sexy
Any day now, we expect to get a ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals regarding Mumia's Abu-Jamal legal rights to a new and fair trial. As we all know, his original 1981 trial was completely biased and racially tarnished by the prosecutor's incorrect summary remarks and Judge Sabo's infamous statement during the trial.
Mumia Abu-Jamal was and continues to be a very vocal critic of the United States governmental terrorism within and beyond our borders. Since his former membership in the Black Panther Party, our government has kept a close watch on him, and now that they have him in their clutches – the courts have bent over backwards to keep him, where he remains – on death row. It's up to us to force their hand.
Be in the streets the Day After the ruling is made public. Check out our website regularly for updates www.freemumia.com or call 212 330-8029
Come to our party in order to raise money, so we have a nest egg to pay for transportation costs to Philadelphia, at a moments notice. They actually believe they have won the battle – we must show them how we intend to win the war, at home for our own self determination.
Where: St Mary's Episcopal Church (in the basement)
521 West 126th Street
(btw. Old Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.)
1 train to 125
When: Friday November 9, 2007 – 7-12pm
Suggested donation $10, food, beverages, and Mumia gear on sale
DJ Mellow G will be spinning Old School R&B, House Music, Salsa Meringue, Blue Eyed Soul, Classic Hip Hop and Reggae with video streaming for your visual pleasure. Special guest performance by Nana Soul of Black Wax Productions.
If you can't make it and would like to make a donation send it to:
Free Mumia Coalition NYC
P.O. Box 16 College Station
New York, NY 10030
Make checks out to Free Mumia Coalition/IFCO
Photos Bolster Claims of Mumia's Innocence and Unfair Trial
By David A. Love
Published by The Black Commentator
October 18, 2007 - Cover Story
A group of journalists is determined to seek a fair retrial of death row prisoner, noted journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, and they point to evidence they say provides further proof of his innocence: photos from the crime scene that the jury never had the chance to see.The group, Journalists for Mumia, was founded by Hans Bennett, a Philadelphia journalist, and Dr. Michael Schiffmann, German linguist at the University of Heidelberg, to challenge what they characterize as "the long history of media bias against Abu-Jamal's case for a new trial." Abu-Jamal, formerly known as Wesley Cook, was arrested and convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. He has been on Pennsylvania's death row since then, although a federal judge affirmed his conviction but vacated his death sentence in 2001. A three-judge, federal appeals court panel is reconsidering the case for his retrial, and heard oral arguments on May 17, 2007.
Faulkner was killed on the corner of Locust and 13th Streets in Philadelphia, on the morning of December 9, 1981. Abu-Jamal and his brother, Billy Cook, were found lying on the sidewalk when police arrived at the scene to find Faulkner dead. In addition, Abu-Jamal, who also had been shot, was beaten by police when they came to the scene. And he was arraigned at his hospital bed while recovering from life-threatening injuries.This case has been one of the most contentious, most widely observed and most thoroughly critiqued cases of our times, as it has put a spotlight on the contagion of police brutality, racism and corruption in the criminal justice system, and the capricious application of the death penalty. Amnesty International has called for a new trial for Abu-Jamal. "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," said Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen.
Through prodigious research, Schiffmann has located a number of photos taken by press photographer Pedro Polakoff. Polakoff, who arrived on the scene 12 minutes after Faulkner's killing, produced at least 26 photos before the arrival of the Philadelphia Police Department's Mobile Crime Unit. Some of the photos are highlighted in Schiffmann's new book, Race Against Death. Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Black Revolutionary in White America. The book — an expansion of Schiffmann's doctoral dissertation — was recently released in Germany, and has yet to be published in the United States.
Polakoff told Schiffmann that the crime scene was poorly managed and unsecured, "the most messed up crime scene I have ever seen." Polakoff attempted to hand his photos to the D.A.'s office on two occasions — before the trial in 1982 and in 1995 during Mumia's post-conviction relief hearing — but to no avail. Apparently, they weren't interested in what he had to show them. (And Schiffmann and Bennett say that Polakoff, who until very recently assumed Mumia was guilty, and that Mumia was the passenger in his brother's car, had no interest in contacting Mumia's lawyers regarding the photos.)
Perhaps this was because his photos presented some damning truths. In his book, Schiffmann makes a number of important arguments:
The police manipulated the evidence that was provided to the trial court. For example, Polakoff's photo shows Faulkner's cap resting on the roof of Billy Cook's Volkswagen. Yet, in a police photo taken 10 minutes later, the cap is on the sidewalk in front of 1234 Locust.
Police officer, James Forbes, testified at trial that he had secured Faulkner's and Abu-Jamal's weapons, and did not touch the metal parts in order to preserve the fingerprints. Yet, Polakoff's photos show that Forbes had touched the metal parts of the weapons, destroying valuable evidence in the process.
• Polakoff told Schiffmann that officers at the crime scene said they believed the shooter was sitting in the passenger seat of Billy Cook's Volkswagen, supporting the argument that a third person was at the crime scene.
• One of the prosecution's key witnesses, a cab driver names Robert Chobert, claimed he was sitting in his cab behind Faulkner's police car during the shooting. Yet, there is no taxicab in Polakoff's crime scene photos.
• The prosecution asserted that Mumia killed Faulkner by standing over the already wounded officer and unloading several shots from a .38 revolver.However, the Polakoff photos show a clean trickle of blood on the pavement, not the splatter of blood or cement damage that one would expect from the firing of such a weapon.
Journalists for Mumia are providing a valuable public service in the honored tradition of the First Amendment. Linn Washington, Jr., veteran journalist who worked for the Philadelphia Tribune at the time of Mumia's arrest, was on the case at a time when most of the Philadelphia press corps were asleep on the issues of race and criminal justice. Washington recently reflected on the role of the press in the U.S. Constitution: "One of the reasons why we have this First Amendment is [the framers] said, they knew that power corrupts absolutely. So they had this check and balance, you know, where the executive had a check on the legislative, and the legislative and a check on the courts, and the courts had a check on both of them. But who is going to check the checkers? Well that was supposed to be the press. So, the press had a watchdog role to look at what government is doing, and more specifically, look at what the government is doing wrong to who? We the people."
And the Philadelphia of 1981, on the heels of the brutal reign of police-chief-turned-mayor Frank Rizzo, was a time of rampant official corruption and misconduct, racism, and police brutality. Washington noted that during the year of Mumia's arrest, five men were framed by the Philadelphia police for murder and exonerated years later. Two of the innocent men spent as much as 20 years in prison before their release, and one man spent 1,375 days on death row before he became a free man. This legacy of police corruption haunts the city to this day, at a time when better police-community relations are needed to stem a
tide of gun homicides.
There is much in Mumia's case that is troubling, and points to a dysfunctional system in dire need of repair.
• The prosecutor had a history of excluding African American jurors, and struck 10 of 14 Black potential jurors, but only 5 of 25 whites.
• In a sworn statement, a court stenographer said she overheard the trial judge, Albert Sabo, saying he would help the prosecution "fry the nigger."
• For twelve years, prosecutors withheld evidence that the driver's license of a third man was found in Faulkner's pocket at the crime scene.
• Defense witnesses who testified that someone other than Abu-Jamal killed Faulkner were intimidated.
• Five of the seven members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which denied his appeal, received campaign contributions from the Fraternal Order of Police, the primary group that has advocated for the execution of Mumia, who they regard as an unrepentant cop killer.
All of this is about Mumia, yet far more than just Mumia, for Mumia's case marks a part of the continuum that represents the tortured, tragically consistent narrative of people of color in America's justice system. Decades before Abu-Jamal, there were the Scottsboro boys. In 1931, nine black teenagers in Scottsboro, Alabama — ranging in age from thirteen to nineteen — were accused of raping two white women. Tried without adequate representation, they were sentenced to death by all-white juries, despite a lack of evidence. And one of the women later recanted.
In more recent years, there were the Central Park Five, the five Black and Latino men convicted of raping and beating a female jogger in Central Park, N.Y., in 1989, and later found to be railroaded. Donald
Trump had spent $85,000 on full-page newspaper ads calling for the death penalty for the five youths, who were characterized as a wolf pack. And of course, today we have the Jena Six, arrested and prosecuted in a Louisiana town for fighting against nooses dangling under their high school's "White tree," while the White students who planted the nooses and committed other acts of violence were given a pass.
We will never know how many innocent people in this country — those who could not afford to buy justice — were sent to their deaths or forced to languish in prison for the rest of their lives, all on a lack of
evidence or doctored and cooked-up evidence, served up by police officers who wanted to make a name for themselves, and prosecutors who aspired to higher office on a tough-on-crime stance.
Society cannot help those who were victimized by kangaroo justice, but no longer live among us and are now but a fleeting memory. But we can still help Mumia Abu-Jamal, and in doing so we begin to repair this
system of "justice" and save ourselves in the process.
Copyright © 2007 by David A. Love
The new crime scene photos can be viewed at the Journalists for Mumia
website: www.abu-jamal-news.com
http://www.blackcommentator.com/249/249_cover_color_of_law_photos_mumia.html
Published by The Black Commentator
October 18, 2007 - Cover Story
A group of journalists is determined to seek a fair retrial of death row prisoner, noted journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, and they point to evidence they say provides further proof of his innocence: photos from the crime scene that the jury never had the chance to see.The group, Journalists for Mumia, was founded by Hans Bennett, a Philadelphia journalist, and Dr. Michael Schiffmann, German linguist at the University of Heidelberg, to challenge what they characterize as "the long history of media bias against Abu-Jamal's case for a new trial." Abu-Jamal, formerly known as Wesley Cook, was arrested and convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. He has been on Pennsylvania's death row since then, although a federal judge affirmed his conviction but vacated his death sentence in 2001. A three-judge, federal appeals court panel is reconsidering the case for his retrial, and heard oral arguments on May 17, 2007.
Faulkner was killed on the corner of Locust and 13th Streets in Philadelphia, on the morning of December 9, 1981. Abu-Jamal and his brother, Billy Cook, were found lying on the sidewalk when police arrived at the scene to find Faulkner dead. In addition, Abu-Jamal, who also had been shot, was beaten by police when they came to the scene. And he was arraigned at his hospital bed while recovering from life-threatening injuries.This case has been one of the most contentious, most widely observed and most thoroughly critiqued cases of our times, as it has put a spotlight on the contagion of police brutality, racism and corruption in the criminal justice system, and the capricious application of the death penalty. Amnesty International has called for a new trial for Abu-Jamal. "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," said Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen.
Through prodigious research, Schiffmann has located a number of photos taken by press photographer Pedro Polakoff. Polakoff, who arrived on the scene 12 minutes after Faulkner's killing, produced at least 26 photos before the arrival of the Philadelphia Police Department's Mobile Crime Unit. Some of the photos are highlighted in Schiffmann's new book, Race Against Death. Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Black Revolutionary in White America. The book — an expansion of Schiffmann's doctoral dissertation — was recently released in Germany, and has yet to be published in the United States.
Polakoff told Schiffmann that the crime scene was poorly managed and unsecured, "the most messed up crime scene I have ever seen." Polakoff attempted to hand his photos to the D.A.'s office on two occasions — before the trial in 1982 and in 1995 during Mumia's post-conviction relief hearing — but to no avail. Apparently, they weren't interested in what he had to show them. (And Schiffmann and Bennett say that Polakoff, who until very recently assumed Mumia was guilty, and that Mumia was the passenger in his brother's car, had no interest in contacting Mumia's lawyers regarding the photos.)
Perhaps this was because his photos presented some damning truths. In his book, Schiffmann makes a number of important arguments:
The police manipulated the evidence that was provided to the trial court. For example, Polakoff's photo shows Faulkner's cap resting on the roof of Billy Cook's Volkswagen. Yet, in a police photo taken 10 minutes later, the cap is on the sidewalk in front of 1234 Locust.
Police officer, James Forbes, testified at trial that he had secured Faulkner's and Abu-Jamal's weapons, and did not touch the metal parts in order to preserve the fingerprints. Yet, Polakoff's photos show that Forbes had touched the metal parts of the weapons, destroying valuable evidence in the process.
• Polakoff told Schiffmann that officers at the crime scene said they believed the shooter was sitting in the passenger seat of Billy Cook's Volkswagen, supporting the argument that a third person was at the crime scene.
• One of the prosecution's key witnesses, a cab driver names Robert Chobert, claimed he was sitting in his cab behind Faulkner's police car during the shooting. Yet, there is no taxicab in Polakoff's crime scene photos.
• The prosecution asserted that Mumia killed Faulkner by standing over the already wounded officer and unloading several shots from a .38 revolver.However, the Polakoff photos show a clean trickle of blood on the pavement, not the splatter of blood or cement damage that one would expect from the firing of such a weapon.
Journalists for Mumia are providing a valuable public service in the honored tradition of the First Amendment. Linn Washington, Jr., veteran journalist who worked for the Philadelphia Tribune at the time of Mumia's arrest, was on the case at a time when most of the Philadelphia press corps were asleep on the issues of race and criminal justice. Washington recently reflected on the role of the press in the U.S. Constitution: "One of the reasons why we have this First Amendment is [the framers] said, they knew that power corrupts absolutely. So they had this check and balance, you know, where the executive had a check on the legislative, and the legislative and a check on the courts, and the courts had a check on both of them. But who is going to check the checkers? Well that was supposed to be the press. So, the press had a watchdog role to look at what government is doing, and more specifically, look at what the government is doing wrong to who? We the people."
And the Philadelphia of 1981, on the heels of the brutal reign of police-chief-turned-mayor Frank Rizzo, was a time of rampant official corruption and misconduct, racism, and police brutality. Washington noted that during the year of Mumia's arrest, five men were framed by the Philadelphia police for murder and exonerated years later. Two of the innocent men spent as much as 20 years in prison before their release, and one man spent 1,375 days on death row before he became a free man. This legacy of police corruption haunts the city to this day, at a time when better police-community relations are needed to stem a
tide of gun homicides.
There is much in Mumia's case that is troubling, and points to a dysfunctional system in dire need of repair.
• The prosecutor had a history of excluding African American jurors, and struck 10 of 14 Black potential jurors, but only 5 of 25 whites.
• In a sworn statement, a court stenographer said she overheard the trial judge, Albert Sabo, saying he would help the prosecution "fry the nigger."
• For twelve years, prosecutors withheld evidence that the driver's license of a third man was found in Faulkner's pocket at the crime scene.
• Defense witnesses who testified that someone other than Abu-Jamal killed Faulkner were intimidated.
• Five of the seven members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which denied his appeal, received campaign contributions from the Fraternal Order of Police, the primary group that has advocated for the execution of Mumia, who they regard as an unrepentant cop killer.
All of this is about Mumia, yet far more than just Mumia, for Mumia's case marks a part of the continuum that represents the tortured, tragically consistent narrative of people of color in America's justice system. Decades before Abu-Jamal, there were the Scottsboro boys. In 1931, nine black teenagers in Scottsboro, Alabama — ranging in age from thirteen to nineteen — were accused of raping two white women. Tried without adequate representation, they were sentenced to death by all-white juries, despite a lack of evidence. And one of the women later recanted.
In more recent years, there were the Central Park Five, the five Black and Latino men convicted of raping and beating a female jogger in Central Park, N.Y., in 1989, and later found to be railroaded. Donald
Trump had spent $85,000 on full-page newspaper ads calling for the death penalty for the five youths, who were characterized as a wolf pack. And of course, today we have the Jena Six, arrested and prosecuted in a Louisiana town for fighting against nooses dangling under their high school's "White tree," while the White students who planted the nooses and committed other acts of violence were given a pass.
We will never know how many innocent people in this country — those who could not afford to buy justice — were sent to their deaths or forced to languish in prison for the rest of their lives, all on a lack of
evidence or doctored and cooked-up evidence, served up by police officers who wanted to make a name for themselves, and prosecutors who aspired to higher office on a tough-on-crime stance.
Society cannot help those who were victimized by kangaroo justice, but no longer live among us and are now but a fleeting memory. But we can still help Mumia Abu-Jamal, and in doing so we begin to repair this
system of "justice" and save ourselves in the process.
Copyright © 2007 by David A. Love
The new crime scene photos can be viewed at the Journalists for Mumia
website: www.abu-jamal-news.com
http://www.blackcommentator.com/249/249_cover_color_of_law_photos_mumia.html
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Mumia Abu-Jamal: crucial decision on the way
from Freedom Socialist • Vol. 28, No. 5 • October-November 2007
Wall mural in Lisbon, Portugal, demands freedom for Abu-Jamal.
Photo: Anne-Marie Algemo
Supporters of imprisoned African American journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former member of the Black Panther Party, continue to wait hopefully for an imminent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Abu-Jamal has spent 25 years on death row after being framed for the killing of a Philadelphia policeman in 1981. His case has won international attention for its revelations of racism, fraud and bias in the legal system. It has brought to the foreground the right to a fair trial, the inhumanity of the death penalty, and the system’s particular vindictiveness toward Black radicals.
After numerous thwarted attempts to appeal his verdict and sentencing and to bring new evidence before the courts, a three-judge appeals court panel heard arguments on the case in May 2007. As we go to press, a decision is expected at any moment.
Fateful decision. As described by Abu-Jamal’s attorney Robert Bryan, the possible rulings by the panel are these:
• An entirely new jury trial on the question of Abu-Jamal’s guilt;
• A new jury trial to consider the issue of life imprisonment or the death penalty;
• A return to the lower U.S. District Court for further proceedings; or
• Denial of all relief.
Whichever side loses can be expected to seek a rehearing and to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for an appeal. But, as neither of these legal recourses is likely if the panel rules against Mumia, a great deal rides on its decision.
Days of action. If the panel does rule negatively, Mumia’s hope for keeping avenues of appeal open lies with strong public protest. The International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia and other support organizations are calling for immediate protests in the streets if the panel’s ruling is unfavorable. “Day after” activities are planned in several cities. Among them:
In Philadelphia, there will be a march from the scene of the 1981 confrontation at 13th and Locust to the Federal Building. In San Francisco, the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal has announced a demonstration at the Federal Building.
Two separate rallies are planned in New York City. The Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition and the Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal will congregate at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building from 5:00-8:00 p.m. (1-4 p.m. if the day after is a Saturday). The Partisan Defense Committee has called for a rally at the Federal Building in Lower Manhattan from 5:00-7:00 p.m. (1-4 p.m. if a Saturday).
In Seattle, the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women are calling on people to attend a next-day demo at 4:00 p.m. at the downtown Federal Courthouse. In Portland, Oregon, RW and FSP are organizing a gathering from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Terry Schrunk Plaza across from the Federal Building. Come prepared to speak at an open microphone if you have something to say, and bring picket signs and banners!
And a national demonstration in Philadelphia is being called for the third Saturday after the decision.
A voice that will not be silenced. While all wait on tenterhooks, Mumia himself continues his masterful and galvanizing commentaries on political happenings in the U.S. and the world. His deeply insightful commentaries on issues such as U.S. atrocities in Iraq, defense of the Cuban Five, racism in sports, and the commutation of Kenneth Foster’s death sentence (see story on page at left), can be read at www.prisonradio. org. Mumia refuses to censor himself or tailor his message to accommodate notions of “respectable” dissent. Instead he courageously seeks to educate the public about the radical realities of class and race in the U.S.A.
For instance, in his commentary “The Politics of Promises” (Aug. 15, 2007), he says, “For millions of people, the hunger for an end to the Bush regime is gnawing at their innards.
“But are they hungry for a Democratic warmonger, in the place of a Republican one?
“Is that change — or the same old madness, in another wrapper?”
Meanwhile, a new documentary on Abu-Jamal, In Prison My Whole Life, will screen simultaneously at London and Rome film festivals in October. This powerful film is sure to rally thousands more to Mumia’s defense.
The world needs this man alive, free, and mobilizing for justice.
Watch for the latest case updates at the websites of New York City and San Francisco coalitions www.freemumia.com and www.freemumia.org.
Write to Mumia at Mumia Abu-Jamal, AM 8335, SCI Greene, 175 Progress Dr., Waynesburg, PA 15370.
Wall mural in Lisbon, Portugal, demands freedom for Abu-Jamal.
Photo: Anne-Marie Algemo
Supporters of imprisoned African American journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former member of the Black Panther Party, continue to wait hopefully for an imminent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Abu-Jamal has spent 25 years on death row after being framed for the killing of a Philadelphia policeman in 1981. His case has won international attention for its revelations of racism, fraud and bias in the legal system. It has brought to the foreground the right to a fair trial, the inhumanity of the death penalty, and the system’s particular vindictiveness toward Black radicals.
After numerous thwarted attempts to appeal his verdict and sentencing and to bring new evidence before the courts, a three-judge appeals court panel heard arguments on the case in May 2007. As we go to press, a decision is expected at any moment.
Fateful decision. As described by Abu-Jamal’s attorney Robert Bryan, the possible rulings by the panel are these:
• An entirely new jury trial on the question of Abu-Jamal’s guilt;
• A new jury trial to consider the issue of life imprisonment or the death penalty;
• A return to the lower U.S. District Court for further proceedings; or
• Denial of all relief.
Whichever side loses can be expected to seek a rehearing and to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for an appeal. But, as neither of these legal recourses is likely if the panel rules against Mumia, a great deal rides on its decision.
Days of action. If the panel does rule negatively, Mumia’s hope for keeping avenues of appeal open lies with strong public protest. The International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia and other support organizations are calling for immediate protests in the streets if the panel’s ruling is unfavorable. “Day after” activities are planned in several cities. Among them:
In Philadelphia, there will be a march from the scene of the 1981 confrontation at 13th and Locust to the Federal Building. In San Francisco, the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal has announced a demonstration at the Federal Building.
Two separate rallies are planned in New York City. The Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition and the Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal will congregate at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building from 5:00-8:00 p.m. (1-4 p.m. if the day after is a Saturday). The Partisan Defense Committee has called for a rally at the Federal Building in Lower Manhattan from 5:00-7:00 p.m. (1-4 p.m. if a Saturday).
In Seattle, the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women are calling on people to attend a next-day demo at 4:00 p.m. at the downtown Federal Courthouse. In Portland, Oregon, RW and FSP are organizing a gathering from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Terry Schrunk Plaza across from the Federal Building. Come prepared to speak at an open microphone if you have something to say, and bring picket signs and banners!
And a national demonstration in Philadelphia is being called for the third Saturday after the decision.
A voice that will not be silenced. While all wait on tenterhooks, Mumia himself continues his masterful and galvanizing commentaries on political happenings in the U.S. and the world. His deeply insightful commentaries on issues such as U.S. atrocities in Iraq, defense of the Cuban Five, racism in sports, and the commutation of Kenneth Foster’s death sentence (see story on page at left), can be read at www.prisonradio. org. Mumia refuses to censor himself or tailor his message to accommodate notions of “respectable” dissent. Instead he courageously seeks to educate the public about the radical realities of class and race in the U.S.A.
For instance, in his commentary “The Politics of Promises” (Aug. 15, 2007), he says, “For millions of people, the hunger for an end to the Bush regime is gnawing at their innards.
“But are they hungry for a Democratic warmonger, in the place of a Republican one?
“Is that change — or the same old madness, in another wrapper?”
Meanwhile, a new documentary on Abu-Jamal, In Prison My Whole Life, will screen simultaneously at London and Rome film festivals in October. This powerful film is sure to rally thousands more to Mumia’s defense.
The world needs this man alive, free, and mobilizing for justice.
Watch for the latest case updates at the websites of New York City and San Francisco coalitions www.freemumia.com and www.freemumia.org.
Write to Mumia at Mumia Abu-Jamal, AM 8335, SCI Greene, 175 Progress Dr., Waynesburg, PA 15370.
Monday, October 15, 2007
A CALL TO JOIN "DAY AFTER" PLANS IN THE CURRENT STRUGGLE FOR MUMIA'S LIFE AND FREEDOM
A CALL TO JOIN "DAY AFTER" PLANS IN THE CURRENT STRUGGLE FOR MUMIA'S LIFE AND FREEDOM
NEW YORK ACTIONS
THE DAY AFTER A DECISION IS REACHED gather at the:
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building
125th Street
5 to 8 PM, if it is on a weekday, and from 1 to 4 PM if it is a Saturday.
PHILADELPHIA ACTIONS
THE DAY AFTER A DECISION IS REACHED there will be a march:
13th and Locust to the Federal Building
(for more information: ICFFMAJ@aol.com)
The Partisan Defense Committee has called for a "day after"demonstration at the Federal Building in Lower Manhattan at 5 PM if the decision is reached on a weekday and from 1 to 4 PM if on a Saturday. In San Francisco, the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal has called for a demonstration on the "day after" at 5 PM at the Federal Court House, 7th and Mission Street (NOT the Federal Building.) For a flyer for other west coast actions, please CLICK HERE.
Please circulate widely
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SIGN THE FOLLOWING CALL, EMAIL info@freemumia.com ASAP!
We join the celebration of the people's victory in Texas supported by an international movement to save Kenneth Foster/Haramia KiNassor's life. May the movement continue until it frees Haramia altogether and abolishes the death penalty and the prison industrial complex. And congratulations to the tens of thousands of especially young Black people, who poured into the streets of Jena and around the country to stand up against injustice and racism, and the criminalization, brutalization, and railroading of young men of color into prison.
On the heels of these important challenges to the racist death machine in Texas, and to the intense racism and injustice we see across this country, perpetrated and supported by all aspects of the government, we await the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision on Mumia. As the decision could come down any day, we are making a tentative plan for the "DAY AFTER" should the decision be a negative one. In other words, if Mumia's death sentence is either affirmed or life in prison is imposed, we immediately take to the streets. Mumia should be released, based on his innocence and his so-called "trial". But we demand, at the very least, that he be granted a new and fair trial.
In an inter-city consultation, we have decided on three steps in our response:
1. An immediate press conference in Philadelphia upon announcement of the decision (that day, if possible, or at the latest the following morning),
2. LOCAL ACTIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY THE "DAY AFTER" and,
3. NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION on the third Saturday after the decision, in Philadelphia.
Some of the planned local activities for the "day after" are: in Philadelphia there will be a march from 13th and Locust, the scene of the original confrontation on December 9, 1981, to the Federal Building. It will be the following evening if that turns out to be a week day, or the following Saturday at noon. In New York City, the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition and the Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal are calling for people to gather at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building on 125th Street from 5 to 8 PM, if it is on a weekday, and from 1 to 4 PM if it is a Saturday. We will let the community know what happened, mobilize for greater support for the street naming campaign, and organize people to join us in Philadelphia for the national demonstration scheduled for three weeks later. The Partisan Defense Committee has called for a "day after"demonstration at the Federal Building in Lower Manhattan at 5 PM if on a weekday and from 1 to 4 PM if on a Saturday. In San Francisco, the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal has called for a demonstration on the "day after" at 5 PM at the Federal Court House, 7th and Mission Street (NOT the Federal Building.). Call your local committee to find out what is being planned, or organize an activity. But everyone's voice of protest should be heard in some way if the decision is a bad one. We must free our Brother now!
As soon as we know what other local committees are planning for the "day after", we will send that information out. Please call the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition Hotline in NYC (212) 330-8029 to leave a message as to your plan for a local response with both your phone number and your e-mail address. You can also call Pam Africa at (215) 476-8812 or Suzanne Ross (917) 584-2135 if you want to speak with someone in person.
Free Mumia and All Political Prisoners! Abolish the Death Penalty and the Prison Industrial Complex! Stop Police and Government Terrorism!
(list in formation)
Pam Africa, International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (ICFFMAJ)
The MOVE Organization
Amiri and Amina Baraka, Poets/Activists
Albany Political Prisoners Support Committee
Ashanti Alston, National Jericho Movement
Elombe Brath, Patrice Lumumba Coalition/ Harlem Campaign to Name a
Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Comite de Soutien a Mumia Abu-Jamal de Marseille (France)
Comite Mumia de Saint-Denis (France)
Dhoruba Bin Wahad, National Jericho Movement
Tameka Cage, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Martha Conley, Pittsburgh Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Committee
Colia Clark, Grandmother, Mothers, Daughters, Sisters and Granddaughters
on the Move to Free Mumia and More; Richard Wright Centennial,
International Liason Committee; Socialist Party, Pennsylvania;
Solidarity Committee, Capital District New York
Gwen Debrow, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Herman and Iyaluua Ferguson
Johanna Fernandez, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Frances Goldin, Mumia's literary agent
Lawrence Hamm, People's Organization for Progress (New Jersey)
Chairman Fred Hampton, Prisoners of Conscience Committee (P.O.C.C.)
Noelle Hanrahan, Prison Radio
Immortal Technique
Leslie Jones, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu
Jamal, (Ithaca, NY)
Phoebe Jones, Global Women's Strike/ Philadelphia, on behalf of
international network
JR, Prisoners of Conscience Committee/POCC, Block Report Radio
Jeff Mackler, Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (California)
Esperanza Martell, Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia
Abu-Jamal/Iglesia San Romero de las Americas
Monica Moorehead, Millions for Mumia of International Action Center
Suzanne Ross, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Sundiata Sadiq, Ossining NAACP In Exile, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
Coalition (NYC)
Comite Mumia de Saint-Denis, France
Johnnie Stevens, Ad Hoc Committee to stop police terror
Taina Asili, Activist/Poet
Mark Taylor, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Kazi Toure, The National Jericho Movement
Harold C. Wilson, 122nd Exonerated Death Row Prisoner (Philadelphia)
Kema C. Washington, Father Paul Washington Committee (Philadelphia)
Julia Wright, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (Paris, France)
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SIGN THIS CALL, EMAIL info@freemumia.com ASAP!
Guinness World Records Mislabels Move Organization Murders as Mass Suicide
ONA MOVE Everybody!
Ramona of the MOVE organization needs your help. The 2008 Guinness Book Of World Records lists MOVE under "Mass Suicides" based on the May 1985 bombing and MURDER of MOVE people. They also list the MOVE organization with "cults" and lists the source of this misinformation as "The Cult Information Centre". MOVE is not and has never been a cult. MOVE is an organization and certainly did not commit "mass suicide". This is a malevolent and very dangerous lie. It's a deliberate tactic of this system to defame and misrepresent this organization so that when officials wrong us, treat us unjustly and even murder us, a lot of people will accept and dismiss it because of how we have been characterized by this system. We have discovered that both The Guinness Book Of World Records and The Cult Information Centre are based in London. There are several offices based in New York, and we are asking for your help by simply signing your name to demand the removal of the MOVE being labeled a cult and committing mass suicide.
We don't intend to let MOVE be defamed like this because it's wrong and dangerous.
Take care and stay strong
--Ramona
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/OnaMove
Ramona of the MOVE organization needs your help. The 2008 Guinness Book Of World Records lists MOVE under "Mass Suicides" based on the May 1985 bombing and MURDER of MOVE people. They also list the MOVE organization with "cults" and lists the source of this misinformation as "The Cult Information Centre". MOVE is not and has never been a cult. MOVE is an organization and certainly did not commit "mass suicide". This is a malevolent and very dangerous lie. It's a deliberate tactic of this system to defame and misrepresent this organization so that when officials wrong us, treat us unjustly and even murder us, a lot of people will accept and dismiss it because of how we have been characterized by this system. We have discovered that both The Guinness Book Of World Records and The Cult Information Centre are based in London. There are several offices based in New York, and we are asking for your help by simply signing your name to demand the removal of the MOVE being labeled a cult and committing mass suicide.
We don't intend to let MOVE be defamed like this because it's wrong and dangerous.
Take care and stay strong
--Ramona
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/OnaMove
Monday, September 24, 2007
A Call to Join "Day After" Plans in the Current Struggle for Mumia's Life and Freedom
International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal
September 22, 2007
We join the celebration of the people's victory in Texas supported by an international movement to save Kenneth Foster/Haramia KiNassor's life. May the movement continue until it frees Haramia altogether and abolishes the death penalty and the prison industrial complex. And congratulations to the tens of thousands of especially young Black people, who poured into the streets of Jena and around the country to stand up against injustice and racism, and the criminalization, brutalization, and railroading of young men of color into prison.
On the heels of these important challenges to the racist death machine in Texas, and to the intense racism and injustice we see across this country, perpetrated and supported by all aspects of the government, we await the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision on Mumia. As the decision could come down any day, we are making a tentative plan for the "DAY AFTER" should the decision be a negative one. In other words, if Mumia's death sentence is either affirmed or life in prison is imposed, we immediately take to the streets. Mumia should be released, based on his innocence and his so-called "trial". But we demand, at the very least, that he be granted a new and fair trial.
In an inter-city consultation, we have decided on three steps in our response:
1. An immediate press conference in Philadelphia upon announcement of the decision (that day, if possible, or at the latest the following morning),
2. Local Actions around the country "The Day After" and,
3. National Demonstration on the third Saturday after the decision, in Philadelphia.
Some of the planned local activities for the "day after" are:
In Philadelphia there will be a march from 13th and Locust, the scene of the original confrontation on December 9, 1981, to the Federal Building. It will be the following evening if that turns out to be a week day, or the following Saturday at noon.
In New York City, the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition and the Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal are calling for people to gather at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building on 125th Street from 5 to 8 PM, if it is on a weekday, and from 1 to 4 PM if it is a Saturday. We will let the community know what happened, mobilize for greater support for the street naming campaign, and organize people to join us in Philadelphia for the national demonstration scheduled for three weeks later.
The Partisan Defense Committee has called for a "day after"demonstration at the Federal Building in Lower Manhattan at 5 PM if on a weekday and from 1 to 4 PM if on a Saturday.
In San Francisco, the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal has called for a demonstration on the "day after" at 5 PM at the Federal Court House, 7th and Mission Street (NOT the Federal Building.). Call your local committee to find out what is being planned, or organize an activity. But everyone's voice of protest should be heard in some way if the decision is a bad one. We must free our Brother now!
As soon as we know what other local committees are planning for the "day after", we will send that information out. Please call the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition Hotline in NYC (212) 330-8029 to leave a message as to your plan for a local response with both your phone number and your e-mail address. You can also call Pam Africa at (215) 476-8812 or Suzanne Ross (917) 584-2135 if you want to speak with someone in person.
Free Mumia and All Political Prisoners! Abolish the Death Penalty and the Prison Industrial Complex! Stop Police and Government Terrorism!
(list in formation)
Pam Africa, International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (ICFFMAJ)
The MOVE Organization
Amiri and Amina Baraka, Poets/Activists
Albany Political Prisoners Support Committee
Ashanti Alston, National Jericho Movement
Elombe Brath, Patrice Lumumba Coalition/ Harlem Campaign to Name a
Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Comite de Soutien a Mumia Abu-Jamal de Marseille (France)
Comite Mumia de Saint-Denis (France)
Dhoruba Bin Wahad, National Jericho Movement
Tameka Cage, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Martha Conley, Pittsburgh Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Committee
Colia Clark, Grandmother, Mothers, Daughters, Sisters and Granddaughters on the Move to Free Mumia and More; Richard Wright Centennial, International Liason Committee; Socialist Party, Pennsylvania; Solidarity Committee, Capital District New York
Gwen Debrow, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Johanna Fernandez, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Frances Goldin, Mumia's literary agent
Lawrence Hamm, People's Organization for Progress (New Jersey)
Chairman Fred Hampton, Prisoners of Conscience Committee (P.O.C.C.)
Noelle Hanrahan, Prison Radio
Leslie Jones, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal, (Ithaca, NY)
Phoebe Jones, Global Women's Strike/ Philadelphia, on behalf of international network
JR, Prisoners of Conscience Committee/POCC, Block Report Radio
Jeff Mackler, Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (California)
Esperanza Martell, Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal/Iglesia San Romero de las Americas
Monica Moorehead, Millions for Mumia of International Action Center
Suzanne Ross, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Sundiata Sadiq, Ossining NAACP In Exile, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Comite Mumia de Saint-Denis, France
Johnnie Stevens, Ad Hoc Committee to stop police terror
Taina Asili, Activist/Poet
Mark Taylor, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Kazi Toure, The National Jericho Movement
Harold C. Wilson, 122nd Exonerated Death Row Prisoner (Philadelphia)
Kema C. Washington, Father Paul Washington Committee (Philadelphia)
Julia Wright, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (Paris, France)
September 22, 2007
We join the celebration of the people's victory in Texas supported by an international movement to save Kenneth Foster/Haramia KiNassor's life. May the movement continue until it frees Haramia altogether and abolishes the death penalty and the prison industrial complex. And congratulations to the tens of thousands of especially young Black people, who poured into the streets of Jena and around the country to stand up against injustice and racism, and the criminalization, brutalization, and railroading of young men of color into prison.
On the heels of these important challenges to the racist death machine in Texas, and to the intense racism and injustice we see across this country, perpetrated and supported by all aspects of the government, we await the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision on Mumia. As the decision could come down any day, we are making a tentative plan for the "DAY AFTER" should the decision be a negative one. In other words, if Mumia's death sentence is either affirmed or life in prison is imposed, we immediately take to the streets. Mumia should be released, based on his innocence and his so-called "trial". But we demand, at the very least, that he be granted a new and fair trial.
In an inter-city consultation, we have decided on three steps in our response:
1. An immediate press conference in Philadelphia upon announcement of the decision (that day, if possible, or at the latest the following morning),
2. Local Actions around the country "The Day After" and,
3. National Demonstration on the third Saturday after the decision, in Philadelphia.
Some of the planned local activities for the "day after" are:
In Philadelphia there will be a march from 13th and Locust, the scene of the original confrontation on December 9, 1981, to the Federal Building. It will be the following evening if that turns out to be a week day, or the following Saturday at noon.
In New York City, the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition and the Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal are calling for people to gather at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building on 125th Street from 5 to 8 PM, if it is on a weekday, and from 1 to 4 PM if it is a Saturday. We will let the community know what happened, mobilize for greater support for the street naming campaign, and organize people to join us in Philadelphia for the national demonstration scheduled for three weeks later.
The Partisan Defense Committee has called for a "day after"demonstration at the Federal Building in Lower Manhattan at 5 PM if on a weekday and from 1 to 4 PM if on a Saturday.
In San Francisco, the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal has called for a demonstration on the "day after" at 5 PM at the Federal Court House, 7th and Mission Street (NOT the Federal Building.). Call your local committee to find out what is being planned, or organize an activity. But everyone's voice of protest should be heard in some way if the decision is a bad one. We must free our Brother now!
As soon as we know what other local committees are planning for the "day after", we will send that information out. Please call the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition Hotline in NYC (212) 330-8029 to leave a message as to your plan for a local response with both your phone number and your e-mail address. You can also call Pam Africa at (215) 476-8812 or Suzanne Ross (917) 584-2135 if you want to speak with someone in person.
Free Mumia and All Political Prisoners! Abolish the Death Penalty and the Prison Industrial Complex! Stop Police and Government Terrorism!
(list in formation)
Pam Africa, International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (ICFFMAJ)
The MOVE Organization
Amiri and Amina Baraka, Poets/Activists
Albany Political Prisoners Support Committee
Ashanti Alston, National Jericho Movement
Elombe Brath, Patrice Lumumba Coalition/ Harlem Campaign to Name a
Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Comite de Soutien a Mumia Abu-Jamal de Marseille (France)
Comite Mumia de Saint-Denis (France)
Dhoruba Bin Wahad, National Jericho Movement
Tameka Cage, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Martha Conley, Pittsburgh Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Committee
Colia Clark, Grandmother, Mothers, Daughters, Sisters and Granddaughters on the Move to Free Mumia and More; Richard Wright Centennial, International Liason Committee; Socialist Party, Pennsylvania; Solidarity Committee, Capital District New York
Gwen Debrow, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Johanna Fernandez, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Frances Goldin, Mumia's literary agent
Lawrence Hamm, People's Organization for Progress (New Jersey)
Chairman Fred Hampton, Prisoners of Conscience Committee (P.O.C.C.)
Noelle Hanrahan, Prison Radio
Leslie Jones, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal, (Ithaca, NY)
Phoebe Jones, Global Women's Strike/ Philadelphia, on behalf of international network
JR, Prisoners of Conscience Committee/POCC, Block Report Radio
Jeff Mackler, Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (California)
Esperanza Martell, Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal/Iglesia San Romero de las Americas
Monica Moorehead, Millions for Mumia of International Action Center
Suzanne Ross, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Sundiata Sadiq, Ossining NAACP In Exile, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Comite Mumia de Saint-Denis, France
Johnnie Stevens, Ad Hoc Committee to stop police terror
Taina Asili, Activist/Poet
Mark Taylor, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Kazi Toure, The National Jericho Movement
Harold C. Wilson, 122nd Exonerated Death Row Prisoner (Philadelphia)
Kema C. Washington, Father Paul Washington Committee (Philadelphia)
Julia Wright, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (Paris, France)
Conversation with Mumia Abu Jamal on Uprising Radio
KPFK Los Angeles -- August 1, 2007
Listen to the audio at the Uprising Radio website.
In a follow-up to our story in May about the case of Mumia Abu Jamal being heard by the 3rd Circuit US Court of Appeals, we present an interview with the man himself. Abu Jamal has been in prison for over two decades for the murder of Daniel Faulkner, a white police officer in Philadelphia. He enjoys widespread support among grassroots groups in the US and internationally. He has written several books, including Live From Death Row, Death Blossoms, and We Want Freedom. Abu Jamal also regularly records radio commentaries through Prison Radio which you hear often on Uprising and other Pacifica programs. I recently had the opportunity to present him with a series of questions through radio producer Noelle Hanrahan who runs Prison Radio.org Mumia recorded his answers to my questions via telephone from prison. Here is a edited version of our "conversation."
-- Hans Bennett
Sonali Kolhatkar: I'd like to ask you to reflect briefly on one aspect of your achievements in prison, specifically, the radio commentaries. What impact has writing and recording the commentaries had on your life:
Mumia Abu-Jamal: It has allowed me to respond to the events in our lives and to become a voice of affirmation that is missing in the mass corporate press. It has affirmed me both politically and professionally as one who speaks truth to power.
Sonali: You recently recorded a lengthy commentary about rap for the recent US Social Forum. What is your opinion of hip-hop as a means of social expression for youth? Do you think seasoned activists appreciate enough the importance of hip-hop?
Mumia: Hip-hop is a powerful form of social expression for youth. But, one wonders, what's being expressed? While youth may be masters of the art form, they aren't masters of content. Thus, this form has been, in many ways, hi-jacked to serve corporate interests above communal interests. I don't think seasoned activists (I guess that's polite for geezers, like me) really appreciate Hip-hop's importance, which is interesting because Capitalism has latched onto it to sell everything from cars to swimming pools. It's the soundtrack for millions of young folks. Years ago, the Black Panther Party used some of its more talented members to form bands to try to put out the message. While they didn't threaten the careers of the Temptations or Aretha Franklin, they did touch folks in ways that newspapers didn't. Movement folks need to scoop up or even train younger folks to use their skills for movement purposes.
Sonali: Recently, you filed a commentary about women's tennis, based on Venus Williams' Wimbledon win. It stood out from your usual political commentaries on foreign and domestic policy. Are you a tennis fan? What motivated you to write it?
Mumia: I am a tennis fan, well, a women's tennis fan. This is my second piece on Venus Williams. What she did was truly remarkable, not just in a world of tennis but in the world of sports. I recently did a piece on Barry Bonds and, while I'm hardly a baseball fan, sports is a central issue in the lives and fantasies of millions. It shouldn't be ignored by political folks. Our social and political lives are usually deeply linked to the sports world.
Sonali: How is your role as journalist influenced by your status as an imprisoned person?
Mumia: This is one helluva beat! And, it's one that most media seriously ignores. Over two million folks in prison and media studiously ignores it. Why? Most folks know what they think they know about prisons from shows like Oz. Most prisoners look at those shows and almost die laughing.
Sonali: The corporate media has mostly been silent on your case, especially recently regarding the latest hearing. When they do cover it, they commonly refer to you as a "convicted cop killer". Yet, your support internationally continues to burgeon. Do you attribute this to the power of independent media?
Mumia: I think indy media is obviously important but also, since the war, millions of folks have learned in ways that are undeniable that the corporate media doesn't tell the truth, even when it comes to the most important issues facing a nation, war and peace. Now if that's the case when it comes to war, what about everyday issues of social justice?
Sonali: Regarding the various books you've published over the years, what role has book writing played in your ability to express yourself to the outside world? Are you working on any new books?
Mumia: Books are flights of freedom and perhaps one of the last free media around. I'm writing about jailhouse lawyers, truly an unknown breed who have helped many folks find freedom or a touch of civil rights.
Sonali: You have faced the death penalty for many years and in the US there has been a love-hate relationship with this method of punishment. Despite some recent high profile executions, like that of Tookie Williams, there seems to be a waning of support of the death penalty, particularly with some states considering banning it. Are you optimistic that Americans may be starting to reject it?
Mumia: For many folks, there's a great deal of ambivalence on the death penalty and I think the events in Illinois a few years ago and other cases like the Duke rape case, causes folks to question the state. 8b. Because it's time; it's the right thing to do. Public support is always important. I thank you for your time and your interest and I thank those listeners who are my supporters for their loving support. On the move – long live John Africa.
Special Thanks to Julie Svendsen for transcribing this interview
and to Noelle Hanrahan for coordinating and recording this interview.
Hans Bennett is a journalist based in Philadelphia and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia. He attended the May 18th 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Hearing of Mumia's case. The hearing was attended by many high-profile supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal. In the moments after the hearing ended Hans Bennett interviewed Ward Churchill, Ramona Africa, and German Parliamentarian, Volker Ratzmann.
Listen to the audio at the Uprising Radio website.
In a follow-up to our story in May about the case of Mumia Abu Jamal being heard by the 3rd Circuit US Court of Appeals, we present an interview with the man himself. Abu Jamal has been in prison for over two decades for the murder of Daniel Faulkner, a white police officer in Philadelphia. He enjoys widespread support among grassroots groups in the US and internationally. He has written several books, including Live From Death Row, Death Blossoms, and We Want Freedom. Abu Jamal also regularly records radio commentaries through Prison Radio which you hear often on Uprising and other Pacifica programs. I recently had the opportunity to present him with a series of questions through radio producer Noelle Hanrahan who runs Prison Radio.org Mumia recorded his answers to my questions via telephone from prison. Here is a edited version of our "conversation."
-- Hans Bennett
Sonali Kolhatkar: I'd like to ask you to reflect briefly on one aspect of your achievements in prison, specifically, the radio commentaries. What impact has writing and recording the commentaries had on your life:
Mumia Abu-Jamal: It has allowed me to respond to the events in our lives and to become a voice of affirmation that is missing in the mass corporate press. It has affirmed me both politically and professionally as one who speaks truth to power.
Sonali: You recently recorded a lengthy commentary about rap for the recent US Social Forum. What is your opinion of hip-hop as a means of social expression for youth? Do you think seasoned activists appreciate enough the importance of hip-hop?
Mumia: Hip-hop is a powerful form of social expression for youth. But, one wonders, what's being expressed? While youth may be masters of the art form, they aren't masters of content. Thus, this form has been, in many ways, hi-jacked to serve corporate interests above communal interests. I don't think seasoned activists (I guess that's polite for geezers, like me) really appreciate Hip-hop's importance, which is interesting because Capitalism has latched onto it to sell everything from cars to swimming pools. It's the soundtrack for millions of young folks. Years ago, the Black Panther Party used some of its more talented members to form bands to try to put out the message. While they didn't threaten the careers of the Temptations or Aretha Franklin, they did touch folks in ways that newspapers didn't. Movement folks need to scoop up or even train younger folks to use their skills for movement purposes.
Sonali: Recently, you filed a commentary about women's tennis, based on Venus Williams' Wimbledon win. It stood out from your usual political commentaries on foreign and domestic policy. Are you a tennis fan? What motivated you to write it?
Mumia: I am a tennis fan, well, a women's tennis fan. This is my second piece on Venus Williams. What she did was truly remarkable, not just in a world of tennis but in the world of sports. I recently did a piece on Barry Bonds and, while I'm hardly a baseball fan, sports is a central issue in the lives and fantasies of millions. It shouldn't be ignored by political folks. Our social and political lives are usually deeply linked to the sports world.
Sonali: How is your role as journalist influenced by your status as an imprisoned person?
Mumia: This is one helluva beat! And, it's one that most media seriously ignores. Over two million folks in prison and media studiously ignores it. Why? Most folks know what they think they know about prisons from shows like Oz. Most prisoners look at those shows and almost die laughing.
Sonali: The corporate media has mostly been silent on your case, especially recently regarding the latest hearing. When they do cover it, they commonly refer to you as a "convicted cop killer". Yet, your support internationally continues to burgeon. Do you attribute this to the power of independent media?
Mumia: I think indy media is obviously important but also, since the war, millions of folks have learned in ways that are undeniable that the corporate media doesn't tell the truth, even when it comes to the most important issues facing a nation, war and peace. Now if that's the case when it comes to war, what about everyday issues of social justice?
Sonali: Regarding the various books you've published over the years, what role has book writing played in your ability to express yourself to the outside world? Are you working on any new books?
Mumia: Books are flights of freedom and perhaps one of the last free media around. I'm writing about jailhouse lawyers, truly an unknown breed who have helped many folks find freedom or a touch of civil rights.
Sonali: You have faced the death penalty for many years and in the US there has been a love-hate relationship with this method of punishment. Despite some recent high profile executions, like that of Tookie Williams, there seems to be a waning of support of the death penalty, particularly with some states considering banning it. Are you optimistic that Americans may be starting to reject it?
Mumia: For many folks, there's a great deal of ambivalence on the death penalty and I think the events in Illinois a few years ago and other cases like the Duke rape case, causes folks to question the state. 8b. Because it's time; it's the right thing to do. Public support is always important. I thank you for your time and your interest and I thank those listeners who are my supporters for their loving support. On the move – long live John Africa.
Special Thanks to Julie Svendsen for transcribing this interview
and to Noelle Hanrahan for coordinating and recording this interview.
Hans Bennett is a journalist based in Philadelphia and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia. He attended the May 18th 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Hearing of Mumia's case. The hearing was attended by many high-profile supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal. In the moments after the hearing ended Hans Bennett interviewed Ward Churchill, Ramona Africa, and German Parliamentarian, Volker Ratzmann.
Mumia Abu-Jamal Interview with Margaret Prescod
Listen to the full Pacifica program
View the PDF file of the transcribed interview, with numerous graphics at: http://againstthecrimeofsilence.de/News/Mumia-July-2007.pdf
Interview with Margaret Prescod for Her KPFK Program "Sojourner Truth"
July 2007
Margaret Prescod: On behalf of Pacifica Radio Network, Mumia Abu-Jamal, thank you so much for joining us.
Mumia Abu-Jamal: Thank you for the invitation, Margaret.
MP: Mumia, people argue over how you should be defined: as a taxi driver, as an investigative journalist, Black Panther, black militant, jailhouse lawyer – how do you see yourself?
MAJ: Well, in a way, all of those things and more. I mean, when people argue, sometimes people argue for simplicity, when life is rarely that simple. Life is complex. All of those things, many other things, an herbalist, a jailhouse lawyer, a writer, a poet – not a great one, but I try –, a father, a grandˇfather, a husband; you know, all of those things are correct.
MP: Can you say how you manage to get the information and the focus to do the weekly commentaries that are played on more than 100 radio stations around the country?
MAJ: I read, quite a bit, good, interesting books on political subjects, sometimes history books, I try to read several newspapers, and also try to keep my eye on what's happening here, around me, so you know sometimes a local story is better than, say, a commentary on the war [laughs]. So you don't loose your journalist's eye. This is just, I guess, another beat, so to speak.
MP: How do you structure your day? About how many hours a day you have outside, and how do you use that time?
MAJ: Death row is what is actually in many states comparable to what's called solitary confinement. By that I mean you're in a cell by yourself, solitary. And with the exception of two hours a day, when you're in a cage; some people call it yard, but I think the proper reference is, cage, you're either alone or with one other person.
So, for 22 hours a day, that's a lot of time to think, to read, to write, and so, while it may astound a lot of people, I actually have probably more time [laughs] than the average reporter or the average commentator working on a radio station or for a general publication.
MP: So in terms of strucˇturing the 22 hours you're spending reading, writˇing, and thinking etc. and then the two hours you have some time for some exercise, perhaps…
MAJ: Yes, yeah. Well, exercise in a cage really means, sometimes jogging around, doing pushups and what have you. For me, I've become an aficionado of handball. That's like tennis without rackets. [Both laugh] And it's very vigorous, it's a good workout, and usually three days a week, I'm able to get a good game, and I got a very, very good set-up game early this morning.
MP: How has prison life changed in the last quarter of a century?
MAJ: In ways that were not conceivable certainly over 30 years ago. It was unthinkable then that several decades later, we would be looking at, let's say, roughly three million people, you know, that there are more people in the prison system in the state where you're at, in California, right now than in the whole country of France. It's crazy, I mean, it's un – you couldn't even conceive of those kinds of numbers.
So in the last quarter of a century, what we're really looking at is what many people have come to call the prison-industrial complex. There is a great deal of money, there's a great deal of business, there's a great deal of social power to be gained by the prison industry, in this sense, that many of the people who people the prisons, who populate the prisons, come from the urban core, the cities, and they're transported to the rural districts, where population has traditionally been very sparse.
But what a lot of people don't know is that everybody in prison is counted as part not just of the census, but of political districts, and if you want to talk about a cause of revolution being taxation without representation, or at least counting without representation – we're counted in congressional districts, but obviously, you know, our voices, our concerns, our livelihood – none of our interests are counted when it comes to those people whose numbers help get them elected, so to speak.
MP: When you are inside, Mumia, and your major supporters are outside, there's a real problem. How do you give direction to their support work?
MAJ: Usually in personal ways, and that is writing letters to people and just calling people up and talk to them, and usually also through supporters, who are able to communicate at a deeper, more intense level with younger supporters. We work people to people, you know, person to person, that's the only real effective way I think to really arm someone to do this very arduous task of being an anti-prison activist.
MP: What about how you see your case in influencing that of other prisoners?
MAJ: That's difficult to assess because it's difficult to communicate farther than people on your block. It's difficult also for people outside of prison to understand how truly isolated people are in some prison systems because of the differences in terms of construction with new prisons as opposed to old prisons.
In the old prisons, people were able to communicate and move around far better and easier than they are now. The new prisons have been built and constructed with an eye towards isolating people. So there might be a guy on the next block, but you may not see that person for six months, a year, I mean it's really quite that isolated, so it's difficult to communicate beyond what you can see on your own part of your own block.
MP: What are the older prisoners like in contrast to the younger prisoners? I mean, is there a difference that you have noted between those who have been inside for a long time, and the newer prisoners coming in? How do the younger prisoners compare with what you are like, for example?
MAJ: Well, when I came in, I was considerably older than many of the young people who are coming in now. I was 27, 28 years old, which sounds like a kid to me now, but when you consider that many of the guys coming in now are in their late teens or 20, 21, this means that there's a profound difference between then and now.
Many of the older guys tend to be – ah, I have to say many, not all – but many tend to be more settled, more sober, and I think more patient, more conscious – that I think is a safe assessment. Many of the younger guys, especially in more recent years, it isn't just that they're younger, but that they come from a situation that is far more dire, far more provocative than those of the ones who came maybe 20 years from now.
By that I mean, the situation in many communities, especially, let us say in Philadelphia, is far more dangerous, far more economically unstable, far more socially disastrous frankly, than it has been 20 years ago. You can see that when you meet young people who really, I think, are in a constant state of rage, in a constant state of an inability, an unwillingness to listen to older people.
MP: Now, turning to your situatˇion… I'd like you to tell us a little bit about this push for a new trial. Your legal team and your supporˇters are pressing for a new trial. Why a new trial, and why now?
MAJ: Why now? Well, of course, it didn't begin now. We've been fightˇing for that for many years, in many places across the state, and many courtrooms. We've only been in the federal courts for the last, almost the last decade, but certainly since 2001, since the ruling came down. We're now, of course, in the Court of Appeals.
We're fighting for a new trial, and I am reminded when I think of our new trial of what a former attorney who was on the case used to say: We're fighting for, not just a new trial, but a true trial, because in front of the former judge, Albert F. Sabo, who was a life member of the Fraternal Order of Police, who was referred to by many people who've practiced in front of him as a "prosecutor in black robes," it cannot be said that that was a true, reasonable, fair, just trial by any standard.
MP: If you are granted a new trial, can we expect to hear anything new?
MAJ: I think we will hear a great deal that is new. I said, many years ago, that the jury didn't hear a great many things, and heard things that were, frankly, quite unfair, untrue, and not representative. I said that in 1982 to the jury. I think if we have a new trial, we can prove that.
MP: And if you're denied your right to a new trial?
MAJ: I am not a negative person. I don't think in negative terms. That's simply not my nature; I can honestly say that I'm not a person who is pollyannaish – but I think that we have made a good, strong case! And I think the results will be good.
MP: How do you keep yourself together, Mumia? I mean, it's been 25 years, you've been through all of this miscarriage of justice, the overwhelming racism in the first trial – and now here you are on the battle front again, struggling for a new trial. How do you keep yourself together?
MAJ: I guess I can best be described as a busy person. It's not a new thing, but it's a true thing; I've always been the kind of person who feels like there is not enough hours in the day, 24 hours certainly isn't not enough. I always have projects unfinished, requests that cannot be met, letters that have not been [laughs] written frankly that I thought were written, art that I want to draft or draw or paint, pieces that I want to write – so, there are many hours in the day, and I try to use them well, but I've always been busy, and I think that's helpful.
Also, I've been surrounded by extraordinary people. I've met extraordinary people. From my first day, many years ago, down in Philadelphia, in the county, all across the state. Extraordinary men, on death row. And I have also met people from many walks of life, who are remarkable, men and women, writers, activists, you name it. So that has been helpful – that has been very helpful.
MP: Are you hopeful?
MAJ: I'm always hopeful, believe that. [Both laugh.] You know, people can't escape their essential nature. Well I said I'm not pollyannaish, but I've always been hopeful, and that's just how I look at the world.
MP: Certainly that comes across. Anything else you would like to say to those who are listening around the country and online indeed around the world?
MAJ: I just wish people would understand that I am very, very appreciative and thankful for the many expresˇsions of love and support that I've seen from people for many years. Every day I get letters; unfortunately, I can't answer them all, but I try to read them all. I've had a problem in the last weeks because about seven times a week at least I get letters from friends in Germany, but I, I am not quite able to read German yet! [Both laugh.] So I can't say I've read it all!
But I wish I could tell those people, you know, one on one, thank you! Thank you for taking the time to write to me, thank you for your thoughts, thank you for the good wishes, and thank you for the love and support. That I apˇpreciate it, that I feel it, and I'm immensely grateful.
MP: Mumia Abu-Jamal, thank you so very much for joining us.
MAJ: Thank you, Margaret.
Transcript & design: Michael Schiffmann
http://www.againstthecrimeofsilence.de
http://www.abu-jamal-news.com
View the PDF file of the transcribed interview, with numerous graphics at: http://againstthecrimeofsilence.de/News/Mumia-July-2007.pdf
Interview with Margaret Prescod for Her KPFK Program "Sojourner Truth"
July 2007
Margaret Prescod: On behalf of Pacifica Radio Network, Mumia Abu-Jamal, thank you so much for joining us.
Mumia Abu-Jamal: Thank you for the invitation, Margaret.
MP: Mumia, people argue over how you should be defined: as a taxi driver, as an investigative journalist, Black Panther, black militant, jailhouse lawyer – how do you see yourself?
MAJ: Well, in a way, all of those things and more. I mean, when people argue, sometimes people argue for simplicity, when life is rarely that simple. Life is complex. All of those things, many other things, an herbalist, a jailhouse lawyer, a writer, a poet – not a great one, but I try –, a father, a grandˇfather, a husband; you know, all of those things are correct.
MP: Can you say how you manage to get the information and the focus to do the weekly commentaries that are played on more than 100 radio stations around the country?
MAJ: I read, quite a bit, good, interesting books on political subjects, sometimes history books, I try to read several newspapers, and also try to keep my eye on what's happening here, around me, so you know sometimes a local story is better than, say, a commentary on the war [laughs]. So you don't loose your journalist's eye. This is just, I guess, another beat, so to speak.
MP: How do you structure your day? About how many hours a day you have outside, and how do you use that time?
MAJ: Death row is what is actually in many states comparable to what's called solitary confinement. By that I mean you're in a cell by yourself, solitary. And with the exception of two hours a day, when you're in a cage; some people call it yard, but I think the proper reference is, cage, you're either alone or with one other person.
So, for 22 hours a day, that's a lot of time to think, to read, to write, and so, while it may astound a lot of people, I actually have probably more time [laughs] than the average reporter or the average commentator working on a radio station or for a general publication.
MP: So in terms of strucˇturing the 22 hours you're spending reading, writˇing, and thinking etc. and then the two hours you have some time for some exercise, perhaps…
MAJ: Yes, yeah. Well, exercise in a cage really means, sometimes jogging around, doing pushups and what have you. For me, I've become an aficionado of handball. That's like tennis without rackets. [Both laugh] And it's very vigorous, it's a good workout, and usually three days a week, I'm able to get a good game, and I got a very, very good set-up game early this morning.
MP: How has prison life changed in the last quarter of a century?
MAJ: In ways that were not conceivable certainly over 30 years ago. It was unthinkable then that several decades later, we would be looking at, let's say, roughly three million people, you know, that there are more people in the prison system in the state where you're at, in California, right now than in the whole country of France. It's crazy, I mean, it's un – you couldn't even conceive of those kinds of numbers.
So in the last quarter of a century, what we're really looking at is what many people have come to call the prison-industrial complex. There is a great deal of money, there's a great deal of business, there's a great deal of social power to be gained by the prison industry, in this sense, that many of the people who people the prisons, who populate the prisons, come from the urban core, the cities, and they're transported to the rural districts, where population has traditionally been very sparse.
But what a lot of people don't know is that everybody in prison is counted as part not just of the census, but of political districts, and if you want to talk about a cause of revolution being taxation without representation, or at least counting without representation – we're counted in congressional districts, but obviously, you know, our voices, our concerns, our livelihood – none of our interests are counted when it comes to those people whose numbers help get them elected, so to speak.
MP: When you are inside, Mumia, and your major supporters are outside, there's a real problem. How do you give direction to their support work?
MAJ: Usually in personal ways, and that is writing letters to people and just calling people up and talk to them, and usually also through supporters, who are able to communicate at a deeper, more intense level with younger supporters. We work people to people, you know, person to person, that's the only real effective way I think to really arm someone to do this very arduous task of being an anti-prison activist.
MP: What about how you see your case in influencing that of other prisoners?
MAJ: That's difficult to assess because it's difficult to communicate farther than people on your block. It's difficult also for people outside of prison to understand how truly isolated people are in some prison systems because of the differences in terms of construction with new prisons as opposed to old prisons.
In the old prisons, people were able to communicate and move around far better and easier than they are now. The new prisons have been built and constructed with an eye towards isolating people. So there might be a guy on the next block, but you may not see that person for six months, a year, I mean it's really quite that isolated, so it's difficult to communicate beyond what you can see on your own part of your own block.
MP: What are the older prisoners like in contrast to the younger prisoners? I mean, is there a difference that you have noted between those who have been inside for a long time, and the newer prisoners coming in? How do the younger prisoners compare with what you are like, for example?
MAJ: Well, when I came in, I was considerably older than many of the young people who are coming in now. I was 27, 28 years old, which sounds like a kid to me now, but when you consider that many of the guys coming in now are in their late teens or 20, 21, this means that there's a profound difference between then and now.
Many of the older guys tend to be – ah, I have to say many, not all – but many tend to be more settled, more sober, and I think more patient, more conscious – that I think is a safe assessment. Many of the younger guys, especially in more recent years, it isn't just that they're younger, but that they come from a situation that is far more dire, far more provocative than those of the ones who came maybe 20 years from now.
By that I mean, the situation in many communities, especially, let us say in Philadelphia, is far more dangerous, far more economically unstable, far more socially disastrous frankly, than it has been 20 years ago. You can see that when you meet young people who really, I think, are in a constant state of rage, in a constant state of an inability, an unwillingness to listen to older people.
MP: Now, turning to your situatˇion… I'd like you to tell us a little bit about this push for a new trial. Your legal team and your supporˇters are pressing for a new trial. Why a new trial, and why now?
MAJ: Why now? Well, of course, it didn't begin now. We've been fightˇing for that for many years, in many places across the state, and many courtrooms. We've only been in the federal courts for the last, almost the last decade, but certainly since 2001, since the ruling came down. We're now, of course, in the Court of Appeals.
We're fighting for a new trial, and I am reminded when I think of our new trial of what a former attorney who was on the case used to say: We're fighting for, not just a new trial, but a true trial, because in front of the former judge, Albert F. Sabo, who was a life member of the Fraternal Order of Police, who was referred to by many people who've practiced in front of him as a "prosecutor in black robes," it cannot be said that that was a true, reasonable, fair, just trial by any standard.
MP: If you are granted a new trial, can we expect to hear anything new?
MAJ: I think we will hear a great deal that is new. I said, many years ago, that the jury didn't hear a great many things, and heard things that were, frankly, quite unfair, untrue, and not representative. I said that in 1982 to the jury. I think if we have a new trial, we can prove that.
MP: And if you're denied your right to a new trial?
MAJ: I am not a negative person. I don't think in negative terms. That's simply not my nature; I can honestly say that I'm not a person who is pollyannaish – but I think that we have made a good, strong case! And I think the results will be good.
MP: How do you keep yourself together, Mumia? I mean, it's been 25 years, you've been through all of this miscarriage of justice, the overwhelming racism in the first trial – and now here you are on the battle front again, struggling for a new trial. How do you keep yourself together?
MAJ: I guess I can best be described as a busy person. It's not a new thing, but it's a true thing; I've always been the kind of person who feels like there is not enough hours in the day, 24 hours certainly isn't not enough. I always have projects unfinished, requests that cannot be met, letters that have not been [laughs] written frankly that I thought were written, art that I want to draft or draw or paint, pieces that I want to write – so, there are many hours in the day, and I try to use them well, but I've always been busy, and I think that's helpful.
Also, I've been surrounded by extraordinary people. I've met extraordinary people. From my first day, many years ago, down in Philadelphia, in the county, all across the state. Extraordinary men, on death row. And I have also met people from many walks of life, who are remarkable, men and women, writers, activists, you name it. So that has been helpful – that has been very helpful.
MP: Are you hopeful?
MAJ: I'm always hopeful, believe that. [Both laugh.] You know, people can't escape their essential nature. Well I said I'm not pollyannaish, but I've always been hopeful, and that's just how I look at the world.
MP: Certainly that comes across. Anything else you would like to say to those who are listening around the country and online indeed around the world?
MAJ: I just wish people would understand that I am very, very appreciative and thankful for the many expresˇsions of love and support that I've seen from people for many years. Every day I get letters; unfortunately, I can't answer them all, but I try to read them all. I've had a problem in the last weeks because about seven times a week at least I get letters from friends in Germany, but I, I am not quite able to read German yet! [Both laugh.] So I can't say I've read it all!
But I wish I could tell those people, you know, one on one, thank you! Thank you for taking the time to write to me, thank you for your thoughts, thank you for the good wishes, and thank you for the love and support. That I apˇpreciate it, that I feel it, and I'm immensely grateful.
MP: Mumia Abu-Jamal, thank you so very much for joining us.
MAJ: Thank you, Margaret.
Transcript & design: Michael Schiffmann
http://www.againstthecrimeofsilence.de
http://www.abu-jamal-news.com
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Legal Update
Dear Friends:
On May 17, 2007, we presented oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeal of the Third Circuit, Philadelphia, on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal v. Horn, U.S. Court of Appeals Nos. 01-9014, 02-9001 (death penalty). It was an extraordinary day in my experience of three decades of death penalty litigation. This was certainly the most promising legal proceeding since the arrest of my client over 25 years ago. At last there is light at the end of the tunnel. Even though there is no way to know when or how the federal court will rule, the three-judge panel's numerous questions certainly reflected their concern about what the prosecution had done wrong. A decision could be forthcoming anytime from mid-July to the fall.
It was encouraging to see the courtroom packed with supporters for my client. A large crowd also waited outside during the hearing. There were international observers from various countries including France, and a prominent human rights lawyer from Berlin who is also a member of the German parliament.
The focus of the federal court was on issues concerning the death penalty, misrepresentations by the prosecutor in his argument to the jury, and his racism in jury selection. The atmosphere was far different than previously experienced in this case, as reflected by the judges' overriding concern regarding misconduct by the prosecution. Early on one judge asked opposing counsel in reference to the prosecutor's misrepresentations to the jury during the 1982 trial: "Isn't that a denial of one of the rights secured by the Bill of Rights?" I therefore concluded the hearing by pointing out that even though it is judicially recognized that the Philadelphia District Attorney employed racism in cases both before and after that of Mr. Abu-Jamal, can anyone seriously believe that racism was not at work in this case involving an outspoken journalist who was a former member of the Black Panther Party and a supporter of MOVE's right to exist.
Even though Mr. Abu-Jamal began writing me in 1986, it was not until 2003 that I was finally able to agree to take over as lead counsel. Since then my focus has been on raising his level of credibility, convincing courts to give serious consideration to the many constitutional violations what have occurred in this complex case, and overcoming the errors of the past case lawyers. To date we have been largely successful. Interestingly, every motion I have filed since briefing was ordered federally has been granted.
Oral argument aimed to calmly and candidly dealing with the questions and concerns of the judges. It was not a time for political speeches or emotional-type arguments which I have successfully made before juries in countless murder cases. All possible arguments with supporting legal authority were previously made in our extensive written briefs. Supporting us with excellent briefs and argument was the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, and the National Lawyers Guild, both of whom I brought into the case some years ago.
People frequently ask what can happen now. The federal court's choices involve various scenarios. These include remanding the case back to the U.S. District Court for further hearings, or granting an entirely new trial, or ordering a new jury trial limited to the penalty issue of life or death, or denying all relief with the case headed towards an execution. Our objective is a reversal of the conviction and death sentence, and the granting of a new trial.
The primary problem we have experienced in Mr. Abu-Jamal's case, in additional to prosecution misconduct and racism, has been mistakes made by prior counsel ranging from not pursing an adequate investigation to failing to raise certain fundamental issues, e.g., judicial bias at trial. This has been evident in the federal appeal, accentuated by some of the judges' questions on May 17. We have taken all possible steps to overcome these shortcomings.
The issues in the case of Mr. Abu-Jamal concern the right to a fair trial, the struggle against the death penalty, and the political repression of an outspoken journalist. Racism and politics are threads that have run through this case since his 1981 arrest. The issues under consideration, all of great constitutional significance, are:
Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied the right to due process of law and a fair trial under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution because of the prosecutor's "appeal-after-appeal" argument which encouraged the jury to disregard the presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt, and err on the side of guilt.
Whether the prosecution's use of peremptory challenges to exclude African Americans from sitting on the jury violated Mr. Abu-Jamal's rights to due process and equal protection of the law under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, and contravened Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).
Whether the jury instructions and verdict form that resulted in the death penalty deprived Mr. Abu-Jamal of rights guaranteed by the Eight and Fourteenth Amendments to due process of law, equal protection of the law, and not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, and violated Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367 (1988), since the judge precluded the jurors from considering any mitigating evidence unless they all agreed on the existence of a particular circumstance.
Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied due process and equal protection of the law under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments during post-conviction hearings as the result of the bias and racism of Judge Albert F. Sabo which included the comment that he was "going to help'em fry the nigger."
It is a pleasure to announce that we are once more engaged in briefing before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. On June 1, 2007, we filed on behalf of Mr. Abu-Jamal the opening Brief for Appellant. Commonwealth v. Abu-Jamal, Pa. Sup. Ct. No. 485, Capital Appeals Div. (death penalty). The issues presented include the prosecution falsely manipulating eyewitness testimony, and its use of fabricated evidence. There are procedural problems which occurred before I entered the case, these are issues of such constitutional importance that they must be aggressively pursued. A copy of our brief is attached.*
I am in this case to win a new and fair trial for Mr. Abu-Jamal. That is his and my wish. The goal is for his freedom following a retrial. Nevertheless, Mr. Abu-Jamal remains in great danger. If all is lost, he will be executed.
Your interest in this struggle for human rights and against the death penalty is appreciated.
Yours very truly,
Robert R. Bryan
London
[Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan
2088 Union Street, Suite 4
San Francisco, California 94123-4117]
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal
* Download the brief at http://www.freemumia.com/pdfs/june2007.pdf
On May 17, 2007, we presented oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeal of the Third Circuit, Philadelphia, on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal v. Horn, U.S. Court of Appeals Nos. 01-9014, 02-9001 (death penalty). It was an extraordinary day in my experience of three decades of death penalty litigation. This was certainly the most promising legal proceeding since the arrest of my client over 25 years ago. At last there is light at the end of the tunnel. Even though there is no way to know when or how the federal court will rule, the three-judge panel's numerous questions certainly reflected their concern about what the prosecution had done wrong. A decision could be forthcoming anytime from mid-July to the fall.
It was encouraging to see the courtroom packed with supporters for my client. A large crowd also waited outside during the hearing. There were international observers from various countries including France, and a prominent human rights lawyer from Berlin who is also a member of the German parliament.
The focus of the federal court was on issues concerning the death penalty, misrepresentations by the prosecutor in his argument to the jury, and his racism in jury selection. The atmosphere was far different than previously experienced in this case, as reflected by the judges' overriding concern regarding misconduct by the prosecution. Early on one judge asked opposing counsel in reference to the prosecutor's misrepresentations to the jury during the 1982 trial: "Isn't that a denial of one of the rights secured by the Bill of Rights?" I therefore concluded the hearing by pointing out that even though it is judicially recognized that the Philadelphia District Attorney employed racism in cases both before and after that of Mr. Abu-Jamal, can anyone seriously believe that racism was not at work in this case involving an outspoken journalist who was a former member of the Black Panther Party and a supporter of MOVE's right to exist.
Even though Mr. Abu-Jamal began writing me in 1986, it was not until 2003 that I was finally able to agree to take over as lead counsel. Since then my focus has been on raising his level of credibility, convincing courts to give serious consideration to the many constitutional violations what have occurred in this complex case, and overcoming the errors of the past case lawyers. To date we have been largely successful. Interestingly, every motion I have filed since briefing was ordered federally has been granted.
Oral argument aimed to calmly and candidly dealing with the questions and concerns of the judges. It was not a time for political speeches or emotional-type arguments which I have successfully made before juries in countless murder cases. All possible arguments with supporting legal authority were previously made in our extensive written briefs. Supporting us with excellent briefs and argument was the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, and the National Lawyers Guild, both of whom I brought into the case some years ago.
People frequently ask what can happen now. The federal court's choices involve various scenarios. These include remanding the case back to the U.S. District Court for further hearings, or granting an entirely new trial, or ordering a new jury trial limited to the penalty issue of life or death, or denying all relief with the case headed towards an execution. Our objective is a reversal of the conviction and death sentence, and the granting of a new trial.
The primary problem we have experienced in Mr. Abu-Jamal's case, in additional to prosecution misconduct and racism, has been mistakes made by prior counsel ranging from not pursing an adequate investigation to failing to raise certain fundamental issues, e.g., judicial bias at trial. This has been evident in the federal appeal, accentuated by some of the judges' questions on May 17. We have taken all possible steps to overcome these shortcomings.
The issues in the case of Mr. Abu-Jamal concern the right to a fair trial, the struggle against the death penalty, and the political repression of an outspoken journalist. Racism and politics are threads that have run through this case since his 1981 arrest. The issues under consideration, all of great constitutional significance, are:
Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied the right to due process of law and a fair trial under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution because of the prosecutor's "appeal-after-appeal" argument which encouraged the jury to disregard the presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt, and err on the side of guilt.
Whether the prosecution's use of peremptory challenges to exclude African Americans from sitting on the jury violated Mr. Abu-Jamal's rights to due process and equal protection of the law under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, and contravened Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).
Whether the jury instructions and verdict form that resulted in the death penalty deprived Mr. Abu-Jamal of rights guaranteed by the Eight and Fourteenth Amendments to due process of law, equal protection of the law, and not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, and violated Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367 (1988), since the judge precluded the jurors from considering any mitigating evidence unless they all agreed on the existence of a particular circumstance.
Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied due process and equal protection of the law under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments during post-conviction hearings as the result of the bias and racism of Judge Albert F. Sabo which included the comment that he was "going to help'em fry the nigger."
It is a pleasure to announce that we are once more engaged in briefing before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. On June 1, 2007, we filed on behalf of Mr. Abu-Jamal the opening Brief for Appellant. Commonwealth v. Abu-Jamal, Pa. Sup. Ct. No. 485, Capital Appeals Div. (death penalty). The issues presented include the prosecution falsely manipulating eyewitness testimony, and its use of fabricated evidence. There are procedural problems which occurred before I entered the case, these are issues of such constitutional importance that they must be aggressively pursued. A copy of our brief is attached.*
I am in this case to win a new and fair trial for Mr. Abu-Jamal. That is his and my wish. The goal is for his freedom following a retrial. Nevertheless, Mr. Abu-Jamal remains in great danger. If all is lost, he will be executed.
Your interest in this struggle for human rights and against the death penalty is appreciated.
Yours very truly,
Robert R. Bryan
London
[Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan
2088 Union Street, Suite 4
San Francisco, California 94123-4117]
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal
* Download the brief at http://www.freemumia.com/pdfs/june2007.pdf
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Photos from June 15 event for the Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Pam AfricaCheck out the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition website for great pictures by lalroohk of the June 15 event calling for the naming of a Harlem Street for Mumia, "...pictures of the very exciting youth-oriented event of the Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal, starring Immortal Technique. Nana Soul, Orie Lumumba, and other young activists joined DeLacy Davis of Black Cops Against Police Brutality, Igwe Williams of the Guillermo Morales-Assat Shakur Center of City College, and an NAACP youth speaker from Jamaica in focusing on Mumia, police terror, and the criminalization of our youth. Strong support for Mumia and the street naming campaign was clearly evident in the many statements the performers and the audience made ending with a rousing statement from Pam Africa about the power of the people, and the demonstration of that power in the streets of Philadelphia on May 17th, as well as the very moving performance and statement from Immortal Technique."
Saturday, June 02, 2007
As lawyers appeal for new trial, rally demands: `FREE MUMIA'
By Betsey Piette
Philadelphia
Published May 24, 2007 12:38 AM
Over a thousand people rallied in support of death row, political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal on May 17 outside the Federal Building in downtown Philadelphia, where a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit convened to hear oral arguments on his right to a new trial.
Around 200 Mumia supporters, including Dick Gregory, former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Lynne Stewart, Kathleen Cleaver, and international delegates from France and Germany, were also eyewitnesses on Mumia's behalf inside the courtroom. Abu-Jamal was prohibited from attending this oral hearing.
Participants included busloads from New York and Boston; youth organized by FIST (Fight Imperialism, Stand Together) and Students for a Democratic Society, who traveled overnight from North Carolina; a car caravan from Georgia led by McKinney; and supporters from Richmond, Cleveland and as far away as Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, the overwhelming majority were from the Philadelphia area, many who took off from work to attend.
There were rallies supporting Abu-Jamal in several other U.S. cities (see page 7 round-up article) and demonstrations in many countries around the world, including France, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden and Britain.
The oral arguments were presented before Chief Judge Anthony Scirica and Judge Robert Cowen, both Reagan appointees, and Judge Thomas Ambro, a Clinton appointee. All three appeared to be familiar with the arguments contained in written briefs filed by attorneys prior to the hearing. During their time on the Third Circuit all three have overturned capital convictions based on the same claim Abu-Jamal is making about race-based exclusion of jurors by the prosecution.
Abu-Jamal was represented by Attorneys Robert Bryan and Judith Ritter, along with NAACP Attorney Christina Swarns. They argued that racial bias in jury selection and improper instructions by the prosecutor to the jury during the sentencing phase of Abu-Jamal's 1982 murder trial provided grounds for a new trial. Arguing for the prosecution, Assistant District Attorney Hugh Burns presented the state's appeal of the December 2001 decision by Federal Judge William Yohn that overturned Abu-Jamal's death sentence even though he remains on death row.
Burns, who was the first to present, often referred to Abu-Jamal's court appointed attorney Anthony Jackson and his failure to file a complaint about racism in jury selection during the trial. Jackson, assigned to "represent" Mumia by Judge Albert Sabo, was disbarred in 1992 for drug abuse, yet the state is still using this attorney to prosecute Mumia 25 years later.
Jackson did file a pre-trial motion in March of 1982 requesting information on the racial composition of the entire venire (jury pool) because he strongly suspected that there would be a problem. However, his motion was denied by Sabo, and the fact that Jackson did not raise this concern again during the trial proceedings was used by Burns to argue that it should not be considered today.
The appellate judges devoted considerable time debating whether racism in jury selection could be determined if the racial makeup of the jury pool was unknown. When asked about the racial composition of the jury pool at Abu-Jamal's PCRA (Post Conviction Relief Act) hearing in 1995, Prosecutor Joseph McGill claimed he didn't remember. However, given that African Americans made up 44 percent of the population of Philadelphia in 1982, the fact that less than 15 percent (two out of fourteen) of the jurors at Abu-Jamal's trial were Black should be evidence enough.
The racial composition of the final pool of jurors is known. Twenty-eight out of forty-three were white and fifteen Black. Each side in a trial can use twenty challenges to eliminate potential jurors without stating why; however, these peremptory challenges may not be used to keep members of a particular race off the jury. McGill used 15 peremptory challenges to remove 10 of the 15 remaining Black jurors, but only five of the 28 whites.
An added factor in support of defense claims was the systematic pattern of exclusion of African Americans from juries by Philadelphia prosecutors around the time of Mumia's 1982 trial. This was addressed by Swarns, who presented oral arguments contained in an amicus brief on behalf of Abu-Jamal by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
The LDEF pioneered the affirmative use of civil actions to end jury discrimination. Their 31-page brief, which underscores the seriousness of the evidence of racial discrimination, can be found at www.naacpldf.org/content/pdf/jury/Abu-Jamal_v_Horn_amicus_brief.pdf.
The LDEF brief cites the 1986 case of Batson v. Kentucky, in which the Supreme Court declared that a criminal defendant who is able to prove that his trial prosecutor used peremptory challenges to exclude potential jurors on the basis of race is entitled to a new trial. Attorneys on behalf of Abu-Jamal are asking the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to consider the combination of factors that infer that his was unquestionably a racially charged case.
Case tainted with racism
Abu-Jamal is African-American and the victim was a white policeman. In the months between the Dec. 9, 1981, shooting death of Daniel Faulkner and the July 1982 trial, the local media continually emphasized the racial aspects of the case, particularly Abu-Jamal's membership in the Black Panther Party and his support of the MOVE organization, including the political prisoners known as the MOVE 9.
In his work as a journalist, Abu-Jamal often reported on prisons and police brutality and in one instance publicly challenged then Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo. He also wore his hair in dreadlocks at the time and the LDEF brief cites a Philadelphia Inquirer article from June 10, 1982, which stated, "Several prospective jurors left the courtroom Tuesday saying they were too upset and afraid to serve after being questioned by Abu-Jamal, who wears his hair in the dreadlocks style of the MOVE sect."
Swarns argued that the trial prosecutor in Abu-Jamal's case, Joseph McGill, had a history of systematically striking Black jurors. The LDEF brief notes that "a survey of homicide cases tried by Mr. McGill between September of 1981 and October 1983 reveal that he excluded prospective African-American venire persons approximately three times as often as he excluded non-black prospective jurors."
The brief points out that "A comprehensive statistical study of Philadelphia County death penalty cases tried between 1981 and 1997 reveals that, `in 317 capital trials in Philadelphia between 1981 and 1997, prosecutors struck 51 percent of black jurors and 26 percent of non black jurors.'" Both Swarns and Bryan made reference to a notorious video training tape prepared by Philadelphia D.A. Jack McMahon advocating the systematic exclusion of African-American prospective jurors based on his experience in the D.A.'s office.
Swarns also noted that African-American jurors were struck from the jury pool because they were unemployed, divorced or single parents, yet these criteria were not applied to white jurors. Black jurors were asked if they had heard Abu-Jamal on Black radio stations, yet white jurors were not asked if they had heard Abu-Jamal's commentaries that played on NPR. One African-American man was dismissed because he admitted to having a hearing problem, while a white juror who had to turn up his hearing aid to listen to Prosecutor McGill's questions was allowed to remain.
One African-American woman whom McGill picked for the jury because "she hated Abu-Jamal" was later thrown off by Sabo when she had to attend to a dying pet. She'd asked for a brief time off but was refused. Meanwhile Sabo adjourned the proceedings for an entire afternoon so that a white, male juror could take a civil service exam.
The issue of McGill's clearly inappropriate instructions to jurors during the July 1982 sentencing phase was addressed by Ritter who also questioned the legality of McGill's three-page verdict form.
Each death sentence must rest on two findings: proof beyond a reasonable doubt of at least one aggravating circumstance that would have increased the seriousness of the crime; and the finding that there are no mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to call for leniency in sentencing. The verdict form in Abu-Jamal's case consisted of a list of aggravators without any instructions on their application.
While the law doesn't require jurors to be unanimous when it comes to considering mitigating circumstances (for example, positive character witnesses or the fact that the defendant in this case had never been convicted of a crime), the verdict form provided no space for jurors to indicate that some jurors felt these were relevant even if not all agreed upon them.
In fact McGill's instructions gave jurors the impression that they had to be unanimous in order for mitigating circumstances to be considered. In addition, Ritter challenged the constitutionality of McGill's charge to the jury that it was alright if they gave Abu-Jamal the death sentence because he would have "appeal after appeal."
A third appeal by Abu-Jamal's attorneys argued that his 1995 PCRA hearing was constitutionally flawed because the judge—the same Judge Albert Sabo who tried Mumia's original case—was biased in favor of the prosecution. The PCRA transcript shows that Sabo denied subpoenas of witnesses requested by the defense, cut off defense lines of questioning and threatened Abu-Jamal's attorneys with contempt of court when they challenged him. One defense witness who testified to being coerced by prosecutors to lie in the 1982 trial, found herself arrested in the courtroom while she was still on the witness stand in the PCRA hearing.
Sabo's racism and bias against Abu-Jamal is also evidenced by his comment to another judge, "I'm going to help them fry the n****r," overheard by court stenographer Terri Maurer Carter.
`The Mumia rule'
While many of the cases cited as legal precedent by Abu-Jamal's attorneys have been grounds for the reversal of a number of convictions in capital cases, that is no guarantee of a new trial for Abu-Jamal. In a May 15, article by author Dave Lindorff and columnist Linn Washington Jr. titled "Justice System on Trial as Mumia Case Reaches Climax," they point out that over the course of Abu-Jamal's more than two-decade-long appeals process, the courts have shown a willingness to create special exceptions that apply only to him.
They note an example of what might be called `The Mumia Rule' that occurred in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The state's top judges in 1986 overturned a death sentence where McGill had made the same closing arguments to jurors at the conclusion of a murder trial presided over by none other than Sabo.
The state's top court declared that McGill's language had "minimized the jury's sense of responsibility for a verdict of death" and ordered a new trial. Three years later in 1989, this court reversed itself when it came to upholding Abu-Jamal's conviction. Eleven years later in 1997 the court flip-flopped again and barred such language by all prosecutors "in all future trials."
In his closing arguments during the May 17th hearing, defense attorney Robert Bryan made a point of this when he listed defendants whose capital cases have come before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals—Donald Hardcastle, Arnold Holloway, Curtis Brinson and Harold Wilson—whose convictions were overturned because of racial discrimination in the proceedings. "Are we to believe that there was no racism in this highly charged case in which a political Black defendant was accused of killing a white police officer; that his is the exception to the rule?" Bryan charged.
The three white, male judges appeared to take a cavalier view when discussing the "criteria" by which they would decide whether racism was a factor in this case. An example of this was their debate over what percentage of exclusion of African Americans from a jury would constitute "bias." At one point Judge Ambro even acknowledged that the intentional exclusion of even one juror on the basis of race violates Abu-Jamal's constitutional rights.
John Parker, a Mumia supporter who flew in from Los Angeles, told Workers World that "While some have applauded the judges for their `fair attitude' at the hearing, in the first place it's ridiculous that there had to be a hearing since there is more than ample proof that Mumia did not have a fair trial. The judges read the arguments before the trial started. They should have granted a new trial automatically. In the second place, if these judges were really concerned about fairness, truth and decency, they would see more of a sense of urgency in getting Mumia free, not waiting a month or so to make a decision while Mumia remains tortured under the conditions he's placed in on death row."
The judges are expected to return a ruling within the next 45 to 90 days.
Before, during and after the two-hour-plus legal proceedings, demonstrators took to the streets, including marching up Market Street and several times around City Hall, blocking traffic for nearly 30 minutes. The march was led by a sound truck packed with youthful supporters. Along the way, shoppers, motorists and workers on their lunch hour stopped to receive material on the case, ask questions and often express their support by honking their horns and waving their fists in the air.
Widespread support was also evident at three separate events the night before, including a reception at the Friends Center for Cynthia McKinney and the French delegation, a teach-in at Drexel University sponsored by Educators for Mumia, and a jam-packed hip-hop and spoken word performance at the Rotunda featuring Immortal Technique.
This community support is a critical factor in winning freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal. For all the legal dancing around how the federal courts should weigh the claims raised by the attorneys, many suspect that this case will not be determined on the basis of law, but on the basis of the political movement mobilizing in the streets.
Speaking at the teach-in the night before the appellate hearing and at a public forum the following evening, German author and researcher Michael Schiffman provided stark evidence that a lot of people have lied in order to put Abu-Jamal on Pennsylvania's death row and to keep him there. Schiffman presented a slide show of photos taken by press photographer Pedro Polakoff that exposes police manipulation of the 1981 crime scene and contradicts statements made by key witnesses for the prosecution and is further evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. Schiffman noted, "To bring this to light would put many careers on the line—some in very high places."
Already an on-line petition is being circulated calling on the Third Circuit Court judges to do the right thing and rule in favor of a new trial, but organizing has to be done to raise broader awareness of the facts in the case and to prepare Abu-Jamal's supporters for what comes next. Toward this end, the Philadelphia International Action Center has issued a call for a meeting on May 29 at 7 p.m. at the Calvary Church, 48th and Baltimore in Philadelphia. Call 215-724-1618.
Piette was an eyewitness to the May 17 oral argument.
Articles copyright 1995-2007 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Philadelphia
Published May 24, 2007 12:38 AM
Over a thousand people rallied in support of death row, political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal on May 17 outside the Federal Building in downtown Philadelphia, where a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit convened to hear oral arguments on his right to a new trial.
Around 200 Mumia supporters, including Dick Gregory, former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Lynne Stewart, Kathleen Cleaver, and international delegates from France and Germany, were also eyewitnesses on Mumia's behalf inside the courtroom. Abu-Jamal was prohibited from attending this oral hearing.
Participants included busloads from New York and Boston; youth organized by FIST (Fight Imperialism, Stand Together) and Students for a Democratic Society, who traveled overnight from North Carolina; a car caravan from Georgia led by McKinney; and supporters from Richmond, Cleveland and as far away as Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, the overwhelming majority were from the Philadelphia area, many who took off from work to attend.
There were rallies supporting Abu-Jamal in several other U.S. cities (see page 7 round-up article) and demonstrations in many countries around the world, including France, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden and Britain.
The oral arguments were presented before Chief Judge Anthony Scirica and Judge Robert Cowen, both Reagan appointees, and Judge Thomas Ambro, a Clinton appointee. All three appeared to be familiar with the arguments contained in written briefs filed by attorneys prior to the hearing. During their time on the Third Circuit all three have overturned capital convictions based on the same claim Abu-Jamal is making about race-based exclusion of jurors by the prosecution.
Abu-Jamal was represented by Attorneys Robert Bryan and Judith Ritter, along with NAACP Attorney Christina Swarns. They argued that racial bias in jury selection and improper instructions by the prosecutor to the jury during the sentencing phase of Abu-Jamal's 1982 murder trial provided grounds for a new trial. Arguing for the prosecution, Assistant District Attorney Hugh Burns presented the state's appeal of the December 2001 decision by Federal Judge William Yohn that overturned Abu-Jamal's death sentence even though he remains on death row.
Burns, who was the first to present, often referred to Abu-Jamal's court appointed attorney Anthony Jackson and his failure to file a complaint about racism in jury selection during the trial. Jackson, assigned to "represent" Mumia by Judge Albert Sabo, was disbarred in 1992 for drug abuse, yet the state is still using this attorney to prosecute Mumia 25 years later.
Jackson did file a pre-trial motion in March of 1982 requesting information on the racial composition of the entire venire (jury pool) because he strongly suspected that there would be a problem. However, his motion was denied by Sabo, and the fact that Jackson did not raise this concern again during the trial proceedings was used by Burns to argue that it should not be considered today.
The appellate judges devoted considerable time debating whether racism in jury selection could be determined if the racial makeup of the jury pool was unknown. When asked about the racial composition of the jury pool at Abu-Jamal's PCRA (Post Conviction Relief Act) hearing in 1995, Prosecutor Joseph McGill claimed he didn't remember. However, given that African Americans made up 44 percent of the population of Philadelphia in 1982, the fact that less than 15 percent (two out of fourteen) of the jurors at Abu-Jamal's trial were Black should be evidence enough.
The racial composition of the final pool of jurors is known. Twenty-eight out of forty-three were white and fifteen Black. Each side in a trial can use twenty challenges to eliminate potential jurors without stating why; however, these peremptory challenges may not be used to keep members of a particular race off the jury. McGill used 15 peremptory challenges to remove 10 of the 15 remaining Black jurors, but only five of the 28 whites.
An added factor in support of defense claims was the systematic pattern of exclusion of African Americans from juries by Philadelphia prosecutors around the time of Mumia's 1982 trial. This was addressed by Swarns, who presented oral arguments contained in an amicus brief on behalf of Abu-Jamal by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
The LDEF pioneered the affirmative use of civil actions to end jury discrimination. Their 31-page brief, which underscores the seriousness of the evidence of racial discrimination, can be found at www.naacpldf.org/content/pdf/jury/Abu-Jamal_v_Horn_amicus_brief.pdf.
The LDEF brief cites the 1986 case of Batson v. Kentucky, in which the Supreme Court declared that a criminal defendant who is able to prove that his trial prosecutor used peremptory challenges to exclude potential jurors on the basis of race is entitled to a new trial. Attorneys on behalf of Abu-Jamal are asking the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to consider the combination of factors that infer that his was unquestionably a racially charged case.
Case tainted with racism
Abu-Jamal is African-American and the victim was a white policeman. In the months between the Dec. 9, 1981, shooting death of Daniel Faulkner and the July 1982 trial, the local media continually emphasized the racial aspects of the case, particularly Abu-Jamal's membership in the Black Panther Party and his support of the MOVE organization, including the political prisoners known as the MOVE 9.
In his work as a journalist, Abu-Jamal often reported on prisons and police brutality and in one instance publicly challenged then Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo. He also wore his hair in dreadlocks at the time and the LDEF brief cites a Philadelphia Inquirer article from June 10, 1982, which stated, "Several prospective jurors left the courtroom Tuesday saying they were too upset and afraid to serve after being questioned by Abu-Jamal, who wears his hair in the dreadlocks style of the MOVE sect."
Swarns argued that the trial prosecutor in Abu-Jamal's case, Joseph McGill, had a history of systematically striking Black jurors. The LDEF brief notes that "a survey of homicide cases tried by Mr. McGill between September of 1981 and October 1983 reveal that he excluded prospective African-American venire persons approximately three times as often as he excluded non-black prospective jurors."
The brief points out that "A comprehensive statistical study of Philadelphia County death penalty cases tried between 1981 and 1997 reveals that, `in 317 capital trials in Philadelphia between 1981 and 1997, prosecutors struck 51 percent of black jurors and 26 percent of non black jurors.'" Both Swarns and Bryan made reference to a notorious video training tape prepared by Philadelphia D.A. Jack McMahon advocating the systematic exclusion of African-American prospective jurors based on his experience in the D.A.'s office.
Swarns also noted that African-American jurors were struck from the jury pool because they were unemployed, divorced or single parents, yet these criteria were not applied to white jurors. Black jurors were asked if they had heard Abu-Jamal on Black radio stations, yet white jurors were not asked if they had heard Abu-Jamal's commentaries that played on NPR. One African-American man was dismissed because he admitted to having a hearing problem, while a white juror who had to turn up his hearing aid to listen to Prosecutor McGill's questions was allowed to remain.
One African-American woman whom McGill picked for the jury because "she hated Abu-Jamal" was later thrown off by Sabo when she had to attend to a dying pet. She'd asked for a brief time off but was refused. Meanwhile Sabo adjourned the proceedings for an entire afternoon so that a white, male juror could take a civil service exam.
The issue of McGill's clearly inappropriate instructions to jurors during the July 1982 sentencing phase was addressed by Ritter who also questioned the legality of McGill's three-page verdict form.
Each death sentence must rest on two findings: proof beyond a reasonable doubt of at least one aggravating circumstance that would have increased the seriousness of the crime; and the finding that there are no mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to call for leniency in sentencing. The verdict form in Abu-Jamal's case consisted of a list of aggravators without any instructions on their application.
While the law doesn't require jurors to be unanimous when it comes to considering mitigating circumstances (for example, positive character witnesses or the fact that the defendant in this case had never been convicted of a crime), the verdict form provided no space for jurors to indicate that some jurors felt these were relevant even if not all agreed upon them.
In fact McGill's instructions gave jurors the impression that they had to be unanimous in order for mitigating circumstances to be considered. In addition, Ritter challenged the constitutionality of McGill's charge to the jury that it was alright if they gave Abu-Jamal the death sentence because he would have "appeal after appeal."
A third appeal by Abu-Jamal's attorneys argued that his 1995 PCRA hearing was constitutionally flawed because the judge—the same Judge Albert Sabo who tried Mumia's original case—was biased in favor of the prosecution. The PCRA transcript shows that Sabo denied subpoenas of witnesses requested by the defense, cut off defense lines of questioning and threatened Abu-Jamal's attorneys with contempt of court when they challenged him. One defense witness who testified to being coerced by prosecutors to lie in the 1982 trial, found herself arrested in the courtroom while she was still on the witness stand in the PCRA hearing.
Sabo's racism and bias against Abu-Jamal is also evidenced by his comment to another judge, "I'm going to help them fry the n****r," overheard by court stenographer Terri Maurer Carter.
`The Mumia rule'
While many of the cases cited as legal precedent by Abu-Jamal's attorneys have been grounds for the reversal of a number of convictions in capital cases, that is no guarantee of a new trial for Abu-Jamal. In a May 15, article by author Dave Lindorff and columnist Linn Washington Jr. titled "Justice System on Trial as Mumia Case Reaches Climax," they point out that over the course of Abu-Jamal's more than two-decade-long appeals process, the courts have shown a willingness to create special exceptions that apply only to him.
They note an example of what might be called `The Mumia Rule' that occurred in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The state's top judges in 1986 overturned a death sentence where McGill had made the same closing arguments to jurors at the conclusion of a murder trial presided over by none other than Sabo.
The state's top court declared that McGill's language had "minimized the jury's sense of responsibility for a verdict of death" and ordered a new trial. Three years later in 1989, this court reversed itself when it came to upholding Abu-Jamal's conviction. Eleven years later in 1997 the court flip-flopped again and barred such language by all prosecutors "in all future trials."
In his closing arguments during the May 17th hearing, defense attorney Robert Bryan made a point of this when he listed defendants whose capital cases have come before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals—Donald Hardcastle, Arnold Holloway, Curtis Brinson and Harold Wilson—whose convictions were overturned because of racial discrimination in the proceedings. "Are we to believe that there was no racism in this highly charged case in which a political Black defendant was accused of killing a white police officer; that his is the exception to the rule?" Bryan charged.
The three white, male judges appeared to take a cavalier view when discussing the "criteria" by which they would decide whether racism was a factor in this case. An example of this was their debate over what percentage of exclusion of African Americans from a jury would constitute "bias." At one point Judge Ambro even acknowledged that the intentional exclusion of even one juror on the basis of race violates Abu-Jamal's constitutional rights.
John Parker, a Mumia supporter who flew in from Los Angeles, told Workers World that "While some have applauded the judges for their `fair attitude' at the hearing, in the first place it's ridiculous that there had to be a hearing since there is more than ample proof that Mumia did not have a fair trial. The judges read the arguments before the trial started. They should have granted a new trial automatically. In the second place, if these judges were really concerned about fairness, truth and decency, they would see more of a sense of urgency in getting Mumia free, not waiting a month or so to make a decision while Mumia remains tortured under the conditions he's placed in on death row."
The judges are expected to return a ruling within the next 45 to 90 days.
Before, during and after the two-hour-plus legal proceedings, demonstrators took to the streets, including marching up Market Street and several times around City Hall, blocking traffic for nearly 30 minutes. The march was led by a sound truck packed with youthful supporters. Along the way, shoppers, motorists and workers on their lunch hour stopped to receive material on the case, ask questions and often express their support by honking their horns and waving their fists in the air.
Widespread support was also evident at three separate events the night before, including a reception at the Friends Center for Cynthia McKinney and the French delegation, a teach-in at Drexel University sponsored by Educators for Mumia, and a jam-packed hip-hop and spoken word performance at the Rotunda featuring Immortal Technique.
This community support is a critical factor in winning freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal. For all the legal dancing around how the federal courts should weigh the claims raised by the attorneys, many suspect that this case will not be determined on the basis of law, but on the basis of the political movement mobilizing in the streets.
Speaking at the teach-in the night before the appellate hearing and at a public forum the following evening, German author and researcher Michael Schiffman provided stark evidence that a lot of people have lied in order to put Abu-Jamal on Pennsylvania's death row and to keep him there. Schiffman presented a slide show of photos taken by press photographer Pedro Polakoff that exposes police manipulation of the 1981 crime scene and contradicts statements made by key witnesses for the prosecution and is further evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. Schiffman noted, "To bring this to light would put many careers on the line—some in very high places."
Already an on-line petition is being circulated calling on the Third Circuit Court judges to do the right thing and rule in favor of a new trial, but organizing has to be done to raise broader awareness of the facts in the case and to prepare Abu-Jamal's supporters for what comes next. Toward this end, the Philadelphia International Action Center has issued a call for a meeting on May 29 at 7 p.m. at the Calvary Church, 48th and Baltimore in Philadelphia. Call 215-724-1618.
Piette was an eyewitness to the May 17 oral argument.
Articles copyright 1995-2007 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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