THE ICCFMAJ TRUTH
VS. THE FOP STORY
The September 13, 1999 message from the National Secretary,
Jerry Atnip titled: "The FOP STORY," *is just that, a story* ...
A LIE! ... So we can all rest easy, because before we even get
into the context of the script, we know not to take anything we
read in this story seriously. The shame of it all is that the
American public, and all other people outside of America, reading
the FOP story have to continuously be bombarded with this same old
racist, hate-filled propaganda, this Ku Klux Klan rhetoric (coming
at you live from the grand ole lodge down in Mobile, Alabama). Do
we really need to say more? Every intelligent, fair-minded,
*thinking* person in America knows that the score is here; this is
a vigilante call-to-arms of all racist cops and Southern good ole
boys, under the guise of seeking justice for Daniel Faulkner, to
justify attacking and killing another Black man, namely, Mumia
Abu-Jamal. Jerry Atnip doesn't love Daniel Faulker (he admitted
he hardly even knew him. To quote him, "Danny, we hardly knew you"),
but he does hate Black people, and him and his cronies have no qualms
about prostituting Daniel Faulkner, even in death, if it serves their
racist, murderous agenda. The FOP doesn't want Daniel Faulkner's
murderer to be caught and brought to justice, they already have
Mumia, and they want Mumia's blood, and that's obvious. They keep
referring to this "fair trial," trying to hide behind these *words*
to convince the public to agree with them. That Mumia deserves to die
because they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's guilty, another
lie, just add that one onto all of the rest. The FOP can't *prove*
Mumia is guilty of killing Officer Faulkner just because Mumia went
to trial and was so called found guilty: The trial was not a fair
one, and the jury not an impartial jury of Mumia's peers.
The FOP story is slanted to say the least, they paint a picture of
Daniel Faulkner that's so squeaky clean, it sparkles like a brand new
penny, but if we're to believe all they're saying, then we would have
to believe that Officer Faulkner was a saint who walked around with a
halo over his head; but how can that be true, when at the "murder trial",
the trial the FOP swears by, certain witnesses claimed Faulkner
solicited prostitutes, was involved in drugs, police brutality, and
abused and misused his authority as a police officer. The FOP goes on
to say that Daniel Faulkner "left high school prior to graduation".
Well, to most of us that's just a nice way of saying that he was a
high school drop-out, and in 100% of the incidents of school drop-outs,
when it involves Blacks and Minorities, its not seen as something nice
at all. On the contrary, these people are usually seen as mal-adjusted,
social misfits. However, the FOP uses this candy-coated language when it
refers to Daniel Faulkner dropping out of school, trying to convince us
that while he may have dropped out of school, he did it *very nicely*;
and that he absolutely had *none* of the problems that generally go
along with this type of behavior. Do they really think people are so
blinded by the title, Fraternal Order of Police, that we can't see the
truth of what's going on? They're saying Daniel Faulkner truly represents
the best tradition of America, and that's sad, because despite the fact
that we really are *not* trying to malign Faulkner's character, if the
testimony at Mumia's so-call fair trial is to be given any credence
(which the FOP says it should) then how can we overlook the "dark side"
of Faulkner's character that was exposed during Mumia's trial, and just
swallow this FOP story that he was all goodness and light? Daniel Faulkner
is not a symbol, he's a victim of the society that spawned him, a casualty,
an unfortunate man who's life was wasted because he allowed himself to be
misled by standards. Call it law enforcement, criminal justice, call it
whatever you will, but being a cop is a dangerous job, and just for the
sake of clarity, not to be facetious, we have to admit it does bring to
mind that old adage, "live by the sword die by the sword." Only in this
case we're talking about a gun, a modern day sword. The question is,
however, was the gun that killed Officer Faulkner, Mumia Abu Jamal's or
somebody elses? We're saying besides Mumia, Officer Faulkner and the
killer, nobody really knows, because Mumia may have went to trial for
the crime, but he's consistently maintained his innocence and he was never
proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, or even a reasonable doubt --
the trial was a farce, the jury partial as hell, and not towards Mumia,
the testimony, at best, shaky and unclear (after the trial, several
key prosecution witnesses came back recanting their testimonies, stating
they were threatened and coerced by the cops into saying they saw Mumia
kill Officer Faulkner).
Everything aside, such as the FOP story vs. The International Concerned
Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the effort to save Mumia's life
as opposed to the obsession with his death, the search for the truth in
this matter, rather than railroading Mumia to the gas chamber, all of
this aside, the demand for a new trial for Mumia is still a valid demand,
therefore it stands.
Mumia Abu-Jamal is innocent of the crime of killing Officer Daniel Faulkner.
The trial he was subjected to was a gross travesty of justice and one more
blight, among many, on the character of the American Courts, which is
ultimately a blight on America itself (recall Waco, Texas, 1993, The Move
Organization, 1985).
The ICFFMAJ is calling for justice, a fair trial for Mumia, there's
nothing wrong with that. The FOP needs to examine itself, and the public
should observe, because their obsessive opposition to Mumia having a new
trial is very telling. At this point, we feel its safe to say that the
FOP's inactions in regards to finding the real murderer and seeking
justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal, is not helping their credibility, on the
contrary, it is in fact destroying it. For future generations to come
this paragraph in FOP history will be known, *not* as the FOP's cause
celebre, but as the FOP Debacle!
Finally, let's just sum it all up and see what conclusions we come to:
One word keeps coming up, *conspiracy*! After carefully reading "The FOP
Story," then recalling the experience of all these years of hard struggle
to save Mumia's life, despite nothing but threats and opposition from the
FOP, after the blatent governmental collusion to sabotage any efforts on
our part to free this innocent man, and the outrageous "trial" that
railroaded him to prison and the death penalty, the only word *to*
describe this mess is conspiracy. A conspiracy so foul you can almost
smell it, taste it; and The International Concerned Family and Friends
of Mumia Abu-Jamal do indeed smell conspiracy in the air, not justice!
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal, he's an innocent man. Stop prostituting the death
of Daniel Faulkner, let this man rest in peace, find the real killer!
The International Concerned Family and
Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
(end press release)
===============================>
FROM PHILLY DAILY NEWS - 9/16/99
BYKO! Column by Stu Bykofsky
FAULKNER BILLBOARD
Within the next 10 days (weather permitting) a 60-by-20 foot bilboard
with the likeness of Police Officer DANNY FAULKNER will be looking down
on the southbound lanes of I-95 around Girard.
The billboard will have the familiar black-and-white photo of the fallen
officer, with the words, "Danny, Gone But Never Forgotten." At the bottom
of the billboard will be this type, www.danielfaulkner.com, which is the
address of the Web site that tells the story the Mumidiots - supporters
of convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal - don't want you to hear.
The billboard is scheduled to remain in that high-traffic location for
a month, paid for with funds raised during the sold-out memorial rally
held earlier this year at the Union League. Danny's widow, Maureen, told
me yesterday she knew and approved of the billboard. Last Sunday, a plane
was hired to circle the Vet displaying a banner with a similar message.
(end)
======================================>
From: "Oct22 National Office" <Oct22@unstoppable.com>
THEY DON'T JUST WANT MY DEATH, THEY WANT MY SILENCE.
Mumia Abu-Jamal, African-American Journalist
Below is an urgent request by prominent Bay Area writers Alice Walker,
Isabel Allende, Ben Bagdikian, Tim Graham, Adrienne Rich, Ishmael Reed,
Tim Redmond, Lawrence Ferlingetti, Bill Wong, Chrystos, and Maxine Hong
Kingston to join them in demanding a new trial for death-row inmate,
Mumia Abu-Jamal.
This petition will be published as a newspaper ad in October, so please
respond quickly. We welcome signatures from all writers, known and
unknown.
Some recent signees include:
Angela Davis, Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Parenti, Diane diPrima, Peter
Coyote, Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, Tillie Olsen, Norman Soloman, Cecile
Pineda, Jewelle Gomez, Elizabeth Martinez, and Ron Takaki.
PLEASE COPY THIS MESSAGE AND MAIL IT TO ALL YOUR WRITER FRIENDS AND
ASSOCIATES...
For background information, see http://www.igc.org/nwusf/Mumia.html
_________________________________________________
Dear Writer,
Please join us in demanding a new trial for condemned African-American
journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal. An outspoken advocate on behalf of poor and
working people, Abu-Jamal has spent the last 17 years on Pennsylvania's
death row. Though his 1982 conviction was fraught with judicial and
prosecutorial misconduct, his appeals in Pennsylvania have been denied
and a death warrant is imminent.
Abu-Jamal's case has tremendous relevance for writers. His journalistic
work against police brutality during the 1970s brought him into direct
confrontation with the Rizzo administration in Philadelphia. His
writings were explicitly used by the prosecution to secure the death
penalty. Once on death row, Abu-Jamal's writings and commentaries have
continued to be an issue, as his enemies have sought to silence him.
Abu-Jamal's execution would constitute the ultimate censorship of his
eloquent and powerful exposure of criminal injustice in America.
We urge you to sign the ad below and make a contribution toward printing
it in Bay Area publications. With this action you take a stand for
freedom of speech and add your voice to those demanding justice.
SIGN ON NOW! Please fill out form and return to mumiad@igc.org
(Ad statement follows form.)
-----------------------------------------------------------
| Yes, I'll support publication of the Abu-Jamal ad!
|
| Name:______________________________________
|
| Address:______________________________________
|
| Telephone:______________________________________
|
| Email:______________________________________
|
| I pledge: $25__ $50__ $100__ $500__ $ Other__
| ($25 minimum contribution to place name in ad)
|
| Organizational Affiliation(s), if any:_________________________
|
| Author___ Poet___ Journalist____ Essayist_____ Other____
Please send contributions to:
Media Alliance-Mumia Ad Campaign
814 Mission Street, Suite 205
San Francisco, CA 94103
Note: This campaign sponsored by * National Writers Union, Bay Area *
Media Alliance * PEN Oakland * Pacific News Service * Independent Press
Association * PEN American Center * International Black Writers and
Artists, #5
________________________________________
We Writers, Poets, and Journalists
Demand a New Trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a writer and journalist who has spent the last 17
years of his life on Pennsylvania's death row.
In the 1982 trial that convicted him of killing Philadelphia police
officer Daniel Faulkner, Abu-Jamal was denied the right to defend
himself. He was assigned a court-appointed attorney who was unprepared
to mount an effective defense, banished from the courtroom for much of
his trial, and judged by a jury from which his peers were systematically
excluded. His political views were used to argue that he should be put
to death.
In his appeals of this conviction, Abu-Jamal presented evidence that
witnesses were intimidated and coerced to provide false testimony, that
a purported "confession" was fabricated by the police, and that vital
evidence was withheld from the defense.
But Abu-Jamal was forced to make his appeals before the same judge that
sentenced him to death in 1982. That judge, Albert Sabo, is notorious
for having sentenced 33 people to death (all but two of them people of
color), more than twice as many as any other sitting judge in the United
States. Judge Sabo rejected Abu-Jamal's bids for a new trial, and last
fall the elected justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court concurred,
paving the way for Abu-Jamal's execution.
Voice of the Voiceless
At the time of his arrest, Abu-Jamal was a well-respected journalist,
known for his exposure of police brutality against Philadelphia's
minority communities. In the 17 years that Abu-Jamal has been locked up
on death row, he has written almost 400 columns and two books. His
writings give a human face and a voice to a U.S. prison population which
now numbers 1.8 million, with more than 3,500 prisoners on death row.
Abu-Jamal's eloquent exposure of criminal injustice and his unflagging
stand in defense of poor and working people have made him the target of
an increasingly strident effort to hasten his execution and silence his
voice.
In May 1994, caving in to pressure from the Fraternal Order of Police,
National Public Radio canceled a series of 10 Abu-Jamal commentaries
produced for their news show All Things Considered. After publication of
his book Live From Death Row, prison authorities placed Abu-Jamal in
punitive detention. They have illegally opened his mail and barred him
from contacts with journalists. Since October, 1996, no recordings or
photographs of Abu-Jamal have been allowed. As Abu-Jamal puts it, "They
don't just want my death, they want my silence."
Meanwhile, establishment media, ignoring evidence of his innocence, has
branded Abu-Jamal a "cop killer" and attempted to discredit both him and
his supporters.
Abu-Jamal must not be silenced. He must not be executed. He deserves a
new trial free of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct.
In 1995 massive pressure from justice-loving people around the world
forced a stay of execution, pending appeals. Today this pressure must be
multiplied ten-fold. We join those demanding a new trial for Mumia Abu
Jamal and urge you to do the same.
--------------------------
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL AD CAMPAIGN
Bay Area Writers Demand A New Trial...
Phone: (510) 839-1248 Contact: David Carson
Fax: (510) 839-6097
http://www.igc.org/nwusf/Mumia.html
==============================================>
From: Refuse & Resist! <rnradmin@calyx.net>
Families Victimized by Brutal, Murdering Cops Say:
STOP THE EXECUTION OF
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL!
We are parents and other family members of people killed by police
or racist mobs or railroaded to prison on false charges. Our experience
has taught us some things about the criminal justice system in this
country. We know that when the police confront young people of color at
night on the streets of our cities, they often brutalize them and even
kill them. We know that cops, district attorneys and judges often hide
evidence of our children's innocence and use manufactured evidence to
railroad them to jail. We know that the media almost always just runs
the police story and paints our children as wrong.
We work with the Oct 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality whose
Stolen Lives Project has documented more than 2000 cases of people
killed by law enforcement. We are well qualified to speak on the case
of Mumia Abu Jamal because his experience is the same as ours. He was a
victim of police brutality. Police beat his brother when they stopped
his car in Philadelphia back in Dec. of 1981, and they beat and shot
Mumia when he stopped to help his brother. Mumia survived, and the
system charged him with murder for the death of a cop, even though
witnesses said the person who shot the cop ran from the scene. The
authorities hid these witnesses from the defense and bribed and
intimidated other witnesses to say Mumia was guilty.
Mumia was railroaded to jail on charges of killing a cop because
he is an outspoken opponent of police brutality and other forms of
government injustice. He joined the Black Panther Party at the age of
14, and he's been fighting for his people ever since. He is also a
renowned journalist who uses his skill to expose what the authorities do
to people who are poor and powerless. In fact, the authorities want to
execute him to silence his voice. The fact that they have ignored
witnesses and other evidence that has been dug up that proves Mumia's
innocence shows this to be true.
Mumia is a victim of police brutality who survived, and he's a
fighter against police brutality. We support him for both of these
reasons. Mumia is a fighter for the people like Malcolm X, Rosa Parks,
Martin Luther King and many others who went before him. Many of them
were silenced. Mumia is still alive, and we need to do all we can to
make sure the government doesn't get away with killing him.
That's why we as parents of police murder victims are adding our
voices to the growing movement to stop his execution and free him from
jail. We need his powerful voice out here on the streets with us,
helping to build a movement to stop police brutality and other forms of
injustice. We need many more people to join with us in calling for his
freedom. Especially people with influence, many of whom are only where
they are today because of the sacrifice and struggle of people like
Mumia.
Think about it. Mumia is on death row for a crime he did not
commit. Almost all of the police officers who killed our children are
still free to walk the streets with a badge and a gun. Mumia must be
set free, and the cops who murder and brutalize our children must be
tried, convicted and jailed.
STOP THE EXECUTION OF MUMIA ABU JAMAL AND FREE HIM FROM JAIL!
STOP POLICE BRUTALITY, REPRESSION AND
THE CRIMINALIZATION OF A GENERATION!
Signed (in formation)
New York
Nicholas Heyward Sr., father of Nicholas Jr.
Andree Smith, mother of Justin
Cleveland
Willie Horton Sr., father of Stephen
Genevieve Mitchell, mother
The Family of Michael Pipkins
Other Areas
Cornelius Hall, father of Jerrold, San Francisco
Arnetta Grable, Sr., mother of Lamar, Detroit
Emma Jones, mother of Malik, New Haven CT
Chicago
George Morris, father of Kevin
Carmen & Emilio Montanez, parents of Jose
Bertha & Knotch Escamilla, parents of Nick
Ruth Pena, sister of Angel Rodriguez
Gladys Ramirez
Mary Rodriguez, aunt of Roberto Almodor
Iris Mojica, aunt of Roberto Almodor
Bessie Perkins, mother of Frankie
Mildred Hamilton, mother of Michael Russell
Mary Reed, mother Leroy
May Artiz, mother of Salvador
Sharon LaRoy, friend of Salvador Artiz
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Office of the October 22nd Coalition
to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a
Generation
(888)NO BRUTALITY or 212 477 8062 Fax: 212 477 8015
Oct22@unstoppable.com <http://www.unstoppable.com/22>
=======================================>
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