In August 1995, international mass mobilizations of supporters--including many trade unions--succeeded in staying Mumia's execution, which was within days of being carried out. But he remained on death row. A legal ruling on his case is expected soon which may open the way to a new warrant for his death. New mobilizations are needed based forthrightly on the demand for Mumia's freedom and the abolition of the death penalty. Learn more about his case and what you can do to help. This is an international campaign!
Mumia Abu-Jamal in danger
Posted by: anti_caste
Thu Sep 7, 2006 7:18 am (PST)
I would like to invite other members of ZestCaste to join an urgent
campaign I have been working for, organized by the Partisan Defense
Committee, on behalf of the American political prisoner Mumia
Abu-Jamal.
I'm sure that many people on this list will be familiar with the case
of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a prize-winning journalist, former Black Panther,
outspoken fighter for black rights in the U.S., and radical critic of
American imperialism--an innocent man who was framed up and has spent
the past 24 years on death row.
There have been urgent developments in Mumia's case. Mumia is now in a
lot of danger, and to save his life a mass, international movement
must be built as soon as possible.
For those not familiar with his case: Mumia, who had been under
surveillance by the FBI and the notoriously racist Philadelphia police
for his militant views from the age of fifteen, was framed up and
falsely convicted of the murder of a police officer in 1982. To get
him convicted, the police extorted lying testimony from witnesses and
pressured others to keep quiet. Several have since bravely recanted or
spoken out. The trial was run by a hanging judge known as the "King of
Death Row" whose open, racist bias against the defense is succinctly
captured in a boast he made at the time, overheard by a court
stenographer who later testified to it, that he was "going to help 'em
fry the n----r." The prosecutor argued that Mumia deserved to die for
his political views, telling the rigged, predominantly white jury that
Mumia's having been a member of the Black Panthers proved he had always
wanted to kill a cop. Seven years ago, in a spectacular development, the man
who actually committed the murder Mumia was convicted of confessed in a
sworn, videotaped affidavit--a confession that is powerfully
corroborated by multiple witness accounts, ballistics, physical
evidence, and other known facts--but the courts have outrageously
refused to even allow this testimony to be heard. In the current
right-wing climate in this country, there is a lot of political
pressure from the ruling class to kill Mumia--a symbol of resistance
to racism and imperialism.
Last December a federal appeals court put the question of Mumia's
death sentence on a "fast track" to decision. They have agreed to hear
three of Mumia's appeals, but they will also be hearing the state's
appeal of the 2001 reversal of his death sentence. While it is
possible that the court may uphold one or more of his appeals and
grant him the right to further legal proceedings, the reality is it is
far more likely that they will reaffirm his death sentence, which
would open the way to his execution. This is the outcome Mumia himself
has said he expects, and there is little reason to doubt it unless a
strong movement in his defense can soon be mobilized. Mumia filed his
opening papers in July; a decision could come within a few months
To save Mumia's life, the organization I support--the Partisan Defense
Committee--is fighting for mass, international demonstrations of the
kind that won a stay of Mumia's execution back in 1995, days before it
was to be carried out. Many people on this list may have taken part in
that outpouring of protest from anti-racists, civil libertarians, and
trade unionists around the world--that is what is needed now, times
ten. The PDC is building united-front actions and soliciting
statements of support around the slogans "Free Mumia!" and "Abolish
the racist death penalty!"
A list of ways to help can be found on the Partisan Defense Committee
website at https://www.partisandefense.org/campaigns/mumia.html.
Individuals and organizations who want to take part in the campaign to
free Mumia can help publicize his case, raise funds for his legal
defense, and send statements of support.
The PDC--a class-struggle, non-sectarian legal and social defense
organization which has been fighting for Mumia's freedom since
1987--has received statements of support for this current campaign
from Nobel-Prize-winning South African author Nadine Gordimer, black
scholar and activist Manning Marable, Israeli peace activist Uri
Avnery, Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas, and officials from
hundreds of unions including the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
and the CGT, one of the biggest trade union confederations in France.
A partial list of supporters can be found here:
https://www.partisandefense.org/campaigns/signers.html .
For more information on Mumia and the fight for his freedom, see the
campaign brochure "Mumia Is an Innocent Man: Free Mumia!" at
https://www.partisandefense.org/pubs/mumiabr/english.html.
If you would like to help, or if you have any questions, feel free to
get in touch with me or with the PDC directly.
Alan
www.anti-caste.org
Mumia Abu-Jamal was born April 24, 1954, in Philadelphia. At the time of his arrest there on December 9, 1981, on charges of the murder of a police officer, he was a leading broadcast journalist and president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Black Journalists. Widely acclaimed for his award-winning work with NPR, Mutual Black Network, National Black Network, WUHY (now WHYY), and other stations, he was known as Philadelphia�s �voice of the voiceless.�
At the age of fourteen, Mumia was beaten and arrested for protesting at a presidential rally for George Wallace. In the fall of 1968, he became a founding member and Lieutenant Minister of Information of the Philadelphia chapter of the Black Panther Party. During the summer of 1970, he worked for the Party newspaper in Oakland, California, returning to Philadelphia shortly before the Revolutionary People�s Constitutional Convention and the city police raid of all three local offices of the Panther Party.
Throughout the following decade, Mumia�s hard-hitting criticism of the Philadelphia Police Department and the Rizzo administration marked him as a journalist �to watch.� His unyielding rejection of Mayor Rizzo�s version of the city�s 1978 siege of the MOVE organization (in the Powelton Village neighborhood of West Philadelphia) particularly incensed the establishment, and eventually cost him his broadcast job. In order to support his growing family, Mumia began to work night shifts as a cabdriver.
In the early morning hours of December 9, 1981, Mumia was critically shot and beaten by police and charged with the murder of officer Daniel Faulkner. Put on trial before Philadelphia�s notorious �hanging judge,� Albert Sabo, he was convicted and sentenced to death on July 3, 1982.
After years of challenges and international protests, on December 18, 2001, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the death penalty sentence, but upheld the conviction. Judge Yohn�s Third Circuit decision is being appealed from both sides, with the prosecution objecting to the overturn of the capital sentence, and Mumia�s attorneys rejecting the upheld conviction. As of October 2002, Mumia�s appeal is stayed (on hold) pending the Pennsylvania Supreme Court�s ruling on the state appeal.
Starting with the Black Panther Party�s national newspaper, Mumia has reported on the racism and inequity in our society. He added radio to his portfolio, eventually recording a series of reports from death row for NPR�s All Things Considered. However, NPR, caving in to political pressure, refused to air the programs. Mumia Abu-Jamal is still fighting for his own freedom from prison, and, through his powerful voice, for the freedom of all people.
Mumia Abu-Jamhttps://he author of Live from Death Row, All Things Censored, Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner ofhttps://ence, and Faith of Our Father, [and, most recently, We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party]. His audio recordings include 175 Progress Drive and All Things Censored. His commentaries appear in periodicals throughout the world and can be heard on www.prisonradio.org.
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!
(campaign brochure)
The Fight to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal: Mumia Is Innocent!
Anatomy of a Frame-Up
(47-page pamphlet including affidavits related to the confession that proves Mumia's innocence)
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal! Abolish the Racist Death Penalty!
(talk at Goucher College in Maryland by Rachel Wolkenstein of the Partisan Defense Committee)
Mobilize Labor Power to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!
(speech by Rachel Wolkenstein at a rally for Mumia in Harlem)
To find out more about the fight for Mumia's freedom, or to offer to help, visit the Partisan Defense Committee website or contact the campaign at [email protected].