"We struggled in the streets, to get a better verdict for Angela Davis. We struggled in the streets to change the verdicts of the Scottsboro Boys. There comes a time when we must take the struggle beyond the courtroom and into the streets and arouse the people's wrath against the powers that be and put a stop to all of this. We are in for the fight of our lives and we might as well face that. But once facing that, the power, the strength, the purpose of the people, once focused and set in motion, can achieve justice. Maybe the time has come for us to recognize that in this country, there ain't no other way to do it." Bro. Elder Ossie Davis
===================================>
EMERGENCY ACTION FOR MUMIA Saturday, September 15th Mass Demo at Philadelphia CityHall at 1pm Let Judge Dembe know that justice must be done!
ONA MOVE!,
On August 17th, while about 2,000 demonstrators rallied outside, State Court Judge Pamela Dembe heard Mumia's lawyers argue why there should be another Post Conviction Relief Appeal. Dembe strongly leaned towards the prosecution's arguement that certain time limits for presenting evidence have expired and therefor the court doesn't have to reopen the PCRA process. Dembe's approach to the hearing was eerily like Judge Yohn's denial of a deposition from Arnold Beverly as she hinted that Mumia's innocence or guilt doesn't matter in her courtroom. Mumia's lawyers have until Sepember 7th to file on why evidence of innocence should be heard in court and then the prosecution has until the 21st to file a rebutal. Our demands for Judge Dembe are:
1) That the Arnold Beverly confession be heard by the State Courts
2) That an evidentiary hearing be held in the State Courts to consider all of the evidence pointing to Mumia's innocence
3) That Mumia be present at this hearing and at all legal proceedings in his case
4) That Mumia be released from prison because of evidence of his innocence as well as police, prosecutorial, and judicial misconduct in his original "trial"
We are at the end of the war to save Mumia's life! EVERYONE must act now! We are calling on all organizations, churches and public figures who care about justice to take action now, speak up and be there on Sept. 15. Mumia is absolutely innocent, the courts know this and are trying to kill him anyway using excuses such as time. Be there on Sept. 15th to let these officials know... NOT ONE MORE INNOCENT PERSON! We must let Judge Dembe know that she MUST do JUSTICE!
ONA MOVE!,
Kevin-ICFFMAJ
======================================>
From: Bro. Dalaniaamon
MUMIA TRIAL IN PHILLY
IT MAY BE LEGAL BUT IS IT RIGHT?
The last time I went to Philly to march for Mumia I could not believe my eyes. A major protest for our Brother in the city of Brotherly Love but a severe shortage of Brothers. Anisa and I drove to this march from Washington,D.C. hoping to see a change of attitude concerning our support for MUMIA. Again our folks stayed home knowing white folks would show up and handle OUR business. You were right we were outnumbered by people from all over the world. The last time we marched in Philly I was critical of the lack of our own people backing Mumia in this attempted modern day lynching. If this Brother and fellow Warrior goes down, I want to say that I showed my displeasure in person, loudly protesting all day.
As a Black man it makes me feel good to show up and let out my frustrations. I also think it's a good idea to let all the non Black people know that MUMIA has concerned BLACK people that will come to Philly in a show of support. I applaud all of our folks, Sisters and Brothers that took the time to support our Brother Mumia. What did we really do? Nothing, if you consider that Mumia has been on death row for twenty years while getting what even white people call an unfair trial.
This March started Friday August,17,2001 at nine in the morning as protesters met at the center of this judicial nightmare. We all waited on word of MUMIA'S fate in his attempt to get a new trial. Around noon time or so word came down that there would be further delays but the court didn't see any reason to view any new evidence. The time had already expired for anything to be presented that would exonerate this innocent man. Many people question why we back Mumia so much in his quest for freedom. Ask yourself in light of all you know about the misconduct of the police and judicial system,who do you believe?
We were lucky to have a real good vantage point in the march.Dick Gregory, Ossie Davis and Jessie Jackson all spoke about our need to do more in this struggle for equality. If you don't like what's going on, speak with your money. Spend with your own folks.
After we were briefed by Mumia's legal team about the delay.Ramona and Pam then led the March up and down Market street etc. This March disrupted traffic for hours as police and other city officials nervously tried to figure out what to do.
DEATH ROW, HELL NO,DEATH ROW,HELL NO could be heard for blocks. The outpouring of LOVE was unbelievable as we Marched beside hundreds of angry police and city official on bikes. The city used 4 helicopters to keep us in check and in sight.
There comes a time when we must all understand that we LIVE and DIE by the laws of some criminal people. Just because its LEGAL don't make it right. Slavery,Apartheid, The Holocaust and G.W Bush were all LEGAL but not right.If this racist system kills Mumia it may be LEGAL but not right.
Hotep,
Dalaniaamon
====================
============================================================
Pan-African News Wire, Daily Dispatch, Sunday 19 August 2001 ============================================================
Thousands Stand For Mumia Abu-Jamal on Friday in Philadelphia
Legal team request a hearing to examine new evidence in State courts
By Abayomi Azikiwe Thabang, PANW Editor
PHILADELPHIA, 19 August (PANW)--Several thousands activists gathered in Philadelphia on Friday morning to support the death row prisoner and award-winning journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal, at a hearing held in Common Pleas Court.
Jamal, a founding member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s, has been on death row for nearly two decades, despite his claims of innocence and the international support movement that has sprung up in his defense. Defense attorney's for Jamal are seeking to re-open the Post-Conviction Relief Appeal process so that new evidence surrounding the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner can be examined in open court.
Supporters of Jamal began to arrive after 8:00 am in front of the Criminal Justice Building in Philadelphia. Hundreds of police were on the scene in marked and unmarked vehicles as the crowds began to appear on the streets right across from City Hall. A sign hung on the City Hall Building that said "Fry Mumia"--it was probably placed there by the local police department which has mounted an expensive campaign to bring about the execution of Jamal, who is known as the "voice of the voiceless."
Other voices from white males screamed out from an abandoned building under construction calling Jamal a "cop killer" and saying that he should be hung. When a group of activists from Detroit walked to the front of the Criminal Justice building around 8:15 am, the apparent chief of police security, Captain Fisher, along with dozens of other officers, surrounded them and order the activist to move across the street. A small area had been cordoned off with steel barricades for protest activity.
Soon hundreds of other activists arrived to participate in the support demonstration for Jamal. A delegation of court observers arrived after 9:00 which included the Rev. Jesse Jackson, actor Ossie Davis, former comedian and activist Dick Gregory, Julia Wright, the daughter of the late African-American novelist and essayist Richard Wright, who had led a delegation from France which included the Mayor of Paris, as well as other dignitaries.
By 10:00 the crowd had grown to over 3,000 people creating an extremely tense situation around the police cordoned barricades. Pam Africa, of MOVE and the International Friends and Family of Mumia Abu-Jamal, took a microphone and began to speak out against the banner hanging from the City Hall building calling for the execution of Jamal. Soon the banner was taken down, which was probably indicative of its official origin.
"What's going on is an injustice", said Pam Africa. "Mumia is still not in the courtroom." Africa was refering to the refusal to allow Jamal to attend his own hearing on Friday. According to the official report, a court administrator denied Jamal's right to appear in court because of a lack of space in the jails in Philadelphia. Defense attorneys for Jamal filed a motion on Wednesday to hold the court administrator in contempt because Jamal had been ordereded to appear at the hearing by the Judge. However, the motion to hold the Court Administrator in contempt was denied.
"We are not here to ask for no justice," said Pam Africa, "and we will not move from this position until we receive justice."
Jamal's case is also still before Judge William H. Yohn in Federal District Court. According to Pam Africa, Yohn has cited case law including the Herera case where the question of innocence in a death penalty case was not enough to justify a new trial or the release of a death row inmate.
"We have investigated the story of Arnold Beverly," said Pam Africa. Beverly recently filed an affidavit in Federal Court claiming that he was hired to assassinate Officer Daniel Faulkner by organized crime elements working in conjunction with certain police officers in 1981. Africa stated that Beverly "pulled the trigger to kill Daniel Faulkner."
"Yohn says if he does not get a PCRA, he has the right under the Herera case to kill an innocent man," Pam Africa continued. However, she strongly proclaimed that they will "not kill this one."
The barricades come down
Soon afterwards Pam Africa left the crowd to return to the courtroom in the Criminal Justice Building. Ramona Africa of MOVE and the International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu-Jamal took the microphone and demanded that the police remove the barricades surrounding the growing crowd of Jamal supporters.
Ramona Africa said that "these people should not be caged like defenseless animals." She then called out Captain Fisher of the Philadelphia police department and demanded that he remove the steel barricades. Fisher came over to the mike and eventually agreed to move the erected steel so that the crowd could spread out into the street and directly in front of the courtroom.
"People are here from France, Belgium and Spain, and they did not come here from around the country and the world to be harrassed by the cops, but to seek justice", Ramona Africa continued. "We ain't going no where, we are more commited than ever," Ramona Africa declared to the crowd and the police.
A journalist from Belgium, Peter Terryn, took the microphone and stated that "It's not Mumia who should be on trial , but the criminal justice system in America." "If he dies there will be a lot of trouble in Belgium and around the world," he continued. "I can not allow another journalist to be executed," said Terryn.
Other speakers included a delegation of students from South Korea, a solidarity activist representing Puerto Rican political prisoners, a representative from the Refuse & Resist! organization as well as others. Also a statement prepared by Mumia Abu-Jamal was read to the cheers of the burgeoning crowd.
"At the first trial in 1982 I spent half of the proceeding outside the courtroom," said Jamal in the prepared statement. "I am being told once again that I cannot be in the courtroom even though it was ordered by the judge," Jamal continued.
A brief hearing
The actual hearing only lasted a few minutes inside the Criminal Justice Building. The delegation of leaders and the defense lawyers immediately came down to report to the crowd of supporters on what transpired inside the courtroom.
Defense attorney Elliot Grossman said that "The judge told us that the District Attorney might have a point that it is to late to present this new evidence, even though Beverly said he carried out the killing on behalf of corrupt cops."
Another person involved with the killing of Faulkner named Mr. Freeman, was also refered to by Attorney Grossman. "Freeman was picked up and picked out of a line up twice by Cynthia White, Grossman continued. "They know Mumia is innocent," Grossman said.
The defense attorneys have until September 7 to file papers that will prove why it is not to late for the evidence to be presented. Then the prosecution will have another two weeks to file papers in response to the defense attorneys' claims. Then the judge will decide whether there will be a hearing on the new evidence or she could merely issue a ruling without a formal proceeding.
"I am here because the people are here," said actor and activist Ossie Davis. "Just like the cases of Angela Davis and Ben Chavis, the people will decide," Davis continued.
Jesse Jackson of the National Rainbow Coalition addressed the crowd after Ossie Davis. Jackson said that people should go back home and "talk to everyone about Mumia. Resist for Mumia, resist and be against capital punishment," Jackson declared.
Dick Gregory said in a speech that "I thank God, not for waking me up, but for allowing me to survive another 24 hours in the most racist country in the world."
"We are going to win this one; what you do here is also protecting me," Gregory said to the crowd.
A delegation from France was present with petitions containing over 160,000 signatures calling for the freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Demonstration across downtown
The crowd then left the Criminal Justice Building and marched through the streets to the federal district court building where another rally was held. During the rally at the federal court house a heckler wearing a Daniel Faulkner t-shirt began shouting: "what about Daniel Faulkner?" However, he largely ignored by the crowd.
When the rally was completed at the federal district court, marchers headed back to the City Hall for the conclusion of the days activities. Just before the demonstrators reached the City Hall, a group of hecklers emerged from an abandoned building under construction shouting anti-Mumia slogans and obscenities at the crowd. These white men were dressed like construction workers but many believed they were undercover police since they were not prevented from engaging in this type of activity while they were supposedly on the job.
One of the white men held up a Daniel Faulkner t-shirt that was produced by the Fraternal Order of the Police (FOP).
The days activity ended with a rally on the City Hall grounds. No arrests were made in the protests and supporters of Jamal pledged to return when the case is brought before the courts next month. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ================================>
From: "stop the execution ..."
****** DEMONSTRATE, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15th at 1 pm! ******
Welcome back!
This is the first SYSTEM update of the school year. Lots is going on.
You might already know from the news that death row journalist Mumia
Abu-Jamal's court case is moving really fast. He is in a final stage of
appeals in the federal courts -- THIS IS IT. This is the time when we, as a
movement, can potentially save or lose this brother's life.
The first thing happening is a major DEMONSTRATION FOR MUMIA, SATURDAY,
SEPTEMBER 15th, at 1 pm in Center City. We need to demand that Mumia be
granted hearings in Judge Pamela Dembe's court to make sure that all the new
evidence (confessions, etc.) is heard.
SYSTEM is a relatively young student group on Temple's campus. We
invite any of you who want to get involved to reach out to us and introduce
yourself, by email or just on campus. We have a lot of ideas for the fall
semester and we want to hear yours, too. Please forward this to anyone who
might be interested.
Love and liberation, April from SYSTEM
==================================>
Dear Friend of Mumia Abu-Jamal -
San Diego stood in solidarity with Mumia on August 17th. About a hundred
demonstrators with signs, banners, and bullhorns gathered on the four
corners of a busy downtown intersection. Motorists and pedestrians were
handed leaflets. After an hour of chanting, the protestors moved into the
street and marched fifteen blocks down Broadway to the police headquarters
for a rally. Gloria Verdieu of the Mumia Coalition chaired. Speakers
included Tukufu Kalonji of the US Organization, Tim Helsley of the Native
American Rights Network, Elliott Leib for the Mumia Coalition, Amelia Horton
and Miriam Clark for the Committee Against Police Brutality, Cathy Espitia
for the Raza Rights Coalition, Jeff Ghelardi for Death Penalty Focus, and
Craig Mace for the International Action Center. Jon Rodriguez of the
Southwestern College Rainbow Alliance urged everyone to try to find a way to
get to Washington, DC for the September 29th Surround the White House
demonstration.
In Philadelphia, although the courtroom was packed and thousands
demonstrated in the streets outside, Mumia was not permitted to appear at
this hearing. Judge Dembe gave the defense lawyers three weeks to present
written arguments for reopening the case at the state level and then two
weeks for the prosecution to rebut.
Please keep spreading the word about Mumia. Mumia Coalition meetings are
every Tuesday at 5 pm in room D105 at San Diego city College. Join us! And
to keep up with developments, visit www.mumia2000.org.
==================================>
The resolution below was adopted at the National Convention
of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance(APALA), on August 19, 2001.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Support the Campaign for Justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal
WHEREAS, Mumia Abu-Jamal is an outstanding African-American
journalist and member of the National Writers Union-UAW who campaigned
against police abuses and who, with no previous criminal record, has
been on Pennsylvania's death row since 1981, convicted of shooting a
police officer in a trial in which there was compelling evidence of his
innocence and of gross misconduct on the part of the police, prosecutor
and judge; and
WHEREAS, his execution was stopped only by massive international
protests, yet he still faces imminent execution if Federal District
Court Justice William Yohn refuses to hear evidence on 29 charges of
Constitutional violations, even while new evidence and witnesses have
come forth, including one who admitted to the shooting, and
WHEREAS: Court hearings show that the trial, the defense, and the
evidence against him were tainted, that he was denied the right to
act as his own attorney, and that acquitting evidence was not presented
to the jury, and
WHEREAS: In 1995 corruption in the Philadelphia police department was
exposed, including frame-ups based on false, planted evidence and
coerced witnesses, especially against African-Americans, and
hundreds of cases were thrown out, but not Mumia's, and
WHEREAS: The San Francisco Labor Council, calling for a new trial for
Mumia, cited "contradictory evidence from police, coercion,
intimidation, suppression of critical evidence, and the exclusion of
African-American jurors," and
WHEREAS: The AFL-CIO's Work in Progress cited Mumia's support for
NABET/CWA workers striking against ABC, even at the cost of allowing
ABC's 20/20 to air a one-sided version of the case against him, and
WHEREAS: The International Longshore and Warehouse Union shut down all
ports on the west coast on April 24, 1999, as part of a national effort
to prevent Mumia's execution, and
WHEREAS, Mumia Abu-Jamal's struggle for a new trial has been endorsed
by such AFL-CIO affiliates as the Service Employees International
Union, the American Postal Workers Union, the California State
Federation of Labor, and by city governments and by organizations such
as the NAACP, Amnesty International, American Friends Service Committee
and the European Parliament, therefore be it
RESOLVED: That this Sixth Biennial Convention of APALA
commend Mumia Abu-Jamal for his principled and courageous acts of union
solidarity and we continue to take our place alongside those labor
organizations who stand up against racism and injustice, demanding
justice and a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal; and be it further
RESOLVED: That we call upon Justice William Yohn to hear
Mumia Abu-Jamal's new evidence and witnesses, and be it further
RESOLVED: That we support the LABOR FOR MUMIA Campaign urging
the entire labor movement to educate our members using resources
such as websites (www.mumia.org, www.freemumia.com, www.freemumia.org)
and to bring organized labor's power to bear to assure Justice for
Mumia Abu-Jamal; and be it further
RESOLVED: That APALA forward this resolution and encourage
its adoption by the national Executive Council of the AFL-CIO.
Seattle Chapter of APALA
=================================>
From: "molefi molefi"
May GOD reward u all with the work u all doing in the name of justice. i
quote " if the whole world was control by artist there could be peace and
justice ".it does not need to be my Black brothers/sisters who r in minority
to be the majority in state prisons than in universities,collegies of the
state.I am student in the university of the north Southern Africa /AZANIA,
could u please guide me in ways that i can spread the gospel as well, here
in south africa without using the media. BLACK ! BLACK !POWER ,LETS BUILD
UNITY AND BURY DIVISION ,as we all know that being black is not the matter
of pigmentation but the reflection of mental attitetude AND THANNX GOD I AM
BLACK
===============================>
From: "Free Mumia Campagne - Nederland"
On August 17, 2001, a modest demonstration was organized in solidarity with
Mumia who was supposed to be (but was kept away from!) court at that time.
People assembled outside the American consulate in Amsterdam Friday evening
with signs and banners to show their solidarity.
After some time to mill around and talk informally, people came together to
hear a report about the day's proceedings in court and the demonstration
outside the courtroom in Philadelphia. Though not previously planned, given
the enthusiasm of the crowd, a short march around the consulate was
proposed. People raised their placards, banners, and fists, and began to
march, shouting "Free Mumia!" and "They say death row, we say hell no!" The
spirited crowd, followed by police, circled the block containing the
consulate and some other houses. After returning to the starting point,
people gathered around for impromptu speeches. Many people with signs
started attaching them to the tall steel fence around the consulate; many
were left there.
We learned that a separate group of Mumia supporters had earlier in the day
held an unannounced action in The Hague. A small group blocked and chained
themselves to the entrance of the U.S. embassy there. Police cut the chains
and ordered them to leave. There were no arrests.
Photos from the Amsterdam demonstration have been posted on the web at:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~meisner/demos/Amsterdam_17-8-01.htm
The Amsterdam demonstration was organized by the Free Mumia Campaign -
Nederland. It was but one action in our continuing effort to build
international solidarity in defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal. We will not stop
until Mumia is free!!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Free Mumia Campagne - Nederland
[email protected]
010 4781319
http://www.Mumia.nl
=========================================>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Distributed By: THE PAN-AFRICAN RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION CENTER
211 SCB BOX 47, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
DETROIT, MI 48202-- E MAIL: [email protected]
======================================================================
[Note: The following interview with Sam Jordan, former director of the Death
Penalty Program of Amnesty International USA and a leading National
Coordinator of the campaign to free Mumia Abu-Jamal, was conducted August
13th by Alan Benjamin, a member of the Permanent Committee of the
International Tribunal on Africa. The interview was conducted prior to the
announcement that Mumia would not be allowed to attend the August 17th
hearing in Philadelphia to which he had been summoned by Judge Pamela Dembe.]
Question: On July 19, Federal District Court Judge William Yohn Jr. rejected
a request by Mumia's new legal defense team to take a deposition from Arnold
Beverly, who has confessed that he, not Mumia Abu-Jamal, killed police
officer Daniel Faulkner on Dec. 9, 1981. Mumia has been on Pennsylvania's
death row for close to 20 years.
What is the significance of this decision by Judge Yohn?
Sam Jordan: Mumia's new attorneys brought forth a petition for a federal
habeas [appeal] before the Federal Court, but -- as you pointed out -- Judge
Yohn rejected it. He did this citing the Statute of Limitations in the
Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), which Clinton signed
into law in 1996.
Mumia and his legal team are arguing that there are new facts -- the
confession of Arnold Beverly, in particular -- that should be brought to the
attention of the court. But for this to happen, these new facts must first
be accepted into the record of the state courts.
Not only did Judge Yohn reject taking a written statement from Arnold
Beverly, he went further in his opinion, encouraging the state courts to
reject them also.
Mumia has been summoned to appear on August 17th in the Court of Common
Pleas in Philadelphia, which is presided by Judge Pamela Dembe. Mumia and
his attorneys will argue that all the new evidence must be heard and that
the Post Conviction Relief Act hearings must be re-opened.
Judge Yohn's July 19 decision was aimed at advising Judge Dembe not to hear
Mumia's new evidence. Yohn's action on this habeas appeal is unprecedented.
It's beyond Yohn's province to urge the state courts to take any specific
action.
Question: Is there any validity to the claim there is a Statute of
Limitations in this case?
Sam Jordan: Mumia and his attorneys have cited the fact that there is no
Statute of Limitations on murder. So Mumia asks: If there is no Statute of
Limitations on murder, can there be a Statute of Limitations on a confession
of murder?
This is a question the court will have to face on August 17th. It may not be
the only proceeding. Hopefully there will be more to come in terms of Mumia
getting a full opportunity to air issues with respect to the violation of
his Constitutional rights, the behavior of the court, the behavior of the
prosecutors, pressure on the witnesses, and the coerced perjured testimony.
Question: Mumia's new legal team is being challenged to prove their rightful
standing in court. To do this, they are legally obligated to present new
evidence proving Mumia's innocence. But they also must prove "ineffective
assistance of counsel" and/or "constructive denial of counsel" in regard to
the conduct of Mumia's previous attorneys.
Mumia's new attorneys have presented a comprehensive 275-page brief in which
they make their case forcefully. What is Mumia's main claim regarding
"ineffective assistance of counsel"?
Sam Jordan: In a criminal case it is elementary that the attorneys should
assert their client's innocence. But in Mumia's case, the submission of his
claim of innocence was never made. This was not done by Anthony Jackson, his
court-appointed attorney, at the first trial. It was not done by Marilyn
Gelb, his Appellate Court-appointed attorney for the first appeal, and it
was not done by the team of Weinglass and Williams, who were his attorneys
in the Post Conviction Relief Act hearings and in his first appeals at the
federal level.
Mumia's claim of innocence has not been brought properly before the state
court. He was denied one of the most fundamental of representations.
Question: The Big Business media claim that the new scenario presented by
Mumia's new legal team about how police officer Faulkner was killed is
"absurd." They have dismissed Arnold Beverly's testimony altogether. You
would think that if the new evidence presented by Mumia's legal team is as
"frivolous" and "farfetched" as they all claim, the prosecution and the
courts would be more than willing to have it aired in the state and federal
courts.
How do you explain this unwillingness by Judge Yohn to admit Arnold
Beverly's confession into evidence?
Sam Jordan: Arnold Beverly, a self-professed hit man, was a party to a
conspiracy by the Philadelphia police and crime circles in Philadelphia to
eliminate Officer Dan Faulkner because of the difficulties Faulkner was
causing them. Officer Faulkner had been involved in the investigation of
corruption in the Philadelphia police in prostitution, drugs and gambling.
The new evidence presented in the 275-page brief by Mumia's new legal team
exposes the fabricated case against Mumia by the police, the prosecutors and
the courts.
It exposes the police because of their assistance not only in the death of
Daniel Faulkner, but in withholding and destroying evidence, pressuring key
witnesses, and sifting through over 150 witnesses who were at or near the
scene in Philadelphia that December 9th to get the five or six of them who were
most vulnerable to police prosecutorial pressure.
The role of the prosecutor, likewise, is exposed when the evidence of Arnold
Beverly is brought forward. It indicates that the prosecutor's theory of the
case was completely manufactured. The new 275-page brief demonstrates, for
example, that the testimonies of the key prosecution witnesses, Cynthia
White and Robert Chobert, were changed to coincide with the state's
fabricated version of the murder.
The testimonies of Arnold Beverly, Billy Cook and William Singletary all
indicate that Cynthia White was never in a position to have seen the events
at 30th and Locust. They indicate that Chobert was extremely vulnerable to
police and prosecutors to testify in the manner that they required. Chobert,
an arsonist, a man driving with a suspended license who himself was
violating parole, stood to return to prison for up to 30 years.
The new evidence sheds new light on the role of Joseph McGill, who was
Assistant District Attorney at the time. McGill had one of his chief
witnesses, Veronica Jones, testify in the trial against Mumia to say that
there were only three people at the scene: Mumia, Faulkner and Cook. Yet
McGill used that same
witness in William Cook's assault trial two months before Mumia's trial to
say that there was another passenger in the car.
McGill brought forward the same witness knowingly with the two different
testimonies as to what she saw and experienced the same night and in the
same incident. That is exposed with the Arnold Beverly testimony.
Regarding the physical evidence of how Faulkner was killed, Arnold Beverly's
testimony is so accurate that it even matches the medical examiner's files.
The new brief presented by Mumia's legal team, in fact, gives a detailed
account of virtually every moment of the murder of Officer Faulkner. It is
now possible
to see how all the pieces fit together.
What we have with Beverly's affidavit is a completely competing account of
events, one that is corroborated by other witnesses who were on the scene,
some of whom gave their original stories to the police but were then
pressured to change them.
So you can understand why the prosecutors, the police and the courts are not
anxious to have the truth in this matter brought to light. Indeed, the key
elements in Mumia's case indicate that there would be no government cause of
action leading to Mumia's arrest, conviction and incarceration if the government
itself were not willing to deliberately abandon every principle of fairness
in the legal code.
Question: During the first week of September, a United Nations-sponsored
World Conference Against Racism will be held in Durban, South Africa. You
are one of the initiators and main authors of a Letter to UN General
Secretary Kofi Annan requesting UN intervention on behalf of Mumia. [See
attached.] You have stated that your overall objective is to obtain a UN
General Council resolution demanding freedom for Mumia. Could you talk about
this campaign.
Sam Jordan: Our intention is to demonstrate that in Mumia's case is found
the racist kernel of the criminal justice system in the United States.
Mumia's case and the choreography developed by the prosecutor, the police
and the courts to kill Mumia happens every day in the United States to
people of color, though the cases are not always so widely known or
publicized. It is estimated that out of the 2 million people imprisoned in
the United States today, there are about 250,000 who have been wrongfully
convicted, with methods used by the prosecutors and the police that mirror
those used against Mumia.
The World Conference Against Racism should know that of the 96 people
released from death row since 1996, all have something in common: the
arbitrary, discretionary authority used by the police and prosecutor against
poor people and particularly people of color.
When there are people of color in the dock, the prosecutors use perjured
testimonies from their chief witnesses. They deliberately withhold and
destroy evidence. This happens routinely with poor people and people of
color, who don't know the law or have to settle for poorly prepared
court-appointed attorneys.
There is a racial distribution of the availability and access to private
attorneys. Moreover, it is often the case that the evidence was never
sufficient in the first place to sustain a capital verdict charge.
There are in fact eight factors that Mumia shares with these 96 releasees.
Those several hundred thousand people in U.S. prisons who were wrongfully
convicted, 3,700 of whom are on death row in the United States, have met
this kind of machination on the part of the prosecutors.
It is our aim to expose this situation before world public opinion.
Question: On August 29th, the Permanent Committee of the International
Tribunal on Africa, the International Liaison Committee for a Workers'
International, and the Socialist Party of Azania will be hosting a one-day
conference in Durban, South Africa. One of the conference objectives is to
bring out the truth about Mumia and to prepare the delegation that will
submit the Letter to Kofi Annan on Mumia.
Another focus of the August 29th conference will be the need to cancel the
African debt, beginning with the debt inherited from the apartheid regime,
and to promote the fight for reparations. These are among the issues
included in a separate Open Letter to Kofi Annan that has been circulating
for over a year and
that has gathered widespread support from unionists and activists across the
African continent and internationally.
You will be participating in this August 29th conference as part of your
two-week activities in Durban on behalf of Mumia. Why do you feel it is
important for you to be at this conference?
Sam Jordan: The August 29th conference is important; indeed, it is critical.
There is a need to promote an open and honest international dialogue on the
issues of slavery, reparations, and debt cancellation on the eve of this
UN-initiated conference on racism. This dialogue, in my opinion, might even
be expanded to include a discussion on Zionism. We know that every day the
situation in the Middle East is deteriorating.
The legacy of chattel slavery in the United States affects the U.S.
government's willingness to discuss the issues of reparations and slavery or
the issue of the debt. This is because the United States government owes a
debt, and the debt that it owes is frankly a debt that must be paid -- and
will be paid, one way or
another.
The August 29th conference will allow us to raise the issue of Mumia in the
midst of these other critical issues. This is very important. It will help
put the spotlight on the exercise of authority by the state where it is most
evident - and that is the exercise of the criminal justice power.
When the exercise of that power within the state itself - as is the case in
the United States - is found to be governed by considerations of race and
ethnicity, then we have an issue that must be placed before the attention of
world public opinion.
So the U.S. criminal justice system has to be exposed. In fact, it has to be
rid and cleansed of the work of racism. Racism is the chief obstacle to the
full participation, to the full realization, of human beings in our society.
This must come to the attention of world public opinion.
Mumia called the United States a "Herrenvolk" democracy. This is a direct
reference to the racist apartheid rule in South Africa. Mumia is referring
here to egalitarianism for white people and the subordination of people of
color. That's what we have in the United States.
The United States is the most sophisticated example of "Herrenvolk"
democracy. We have to face it. Mumia's case brings this out into the open.
So, yes, the August 29th conference will provide an important forum in which
to discuss Mumia's case. It will highlight the need to put an end to
"Herrenvolk" democracy in the United States.
=====================================>
THEY ARE PLANNING TO MURDER MUMIA!!
!! WE NEED YOU IN PHILLY !!
PLEASE CONTACT:
International Concerned Family & Friends of MAJ
P.O. Box 19709, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Phone - 215-476-8812/ Fax - 215-476-6180/
E-mail - [email protected] /www.mumia.org
AND OFFER YOUR SERVICES!
Send our brotha some LOVE and LIGHT at:
Mumia Abu-Jamal
AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370
!! PEOPLE GET READY !!
