!*Free Mumia News (9/20/99)Awareness Week Fights FOP Campaign!
nattyreb@ix.netcom.com
Tue, 21 Sep 1999 15:55:27 -0600
Sorry if you get this twice .. mail problems yesterday
====================================================
>CAN'T STOP ... WON'T STOP ... BRING OUR PEOPLE HOME!!!
>//////////////////////////////////////////////////
>
>From: "C. Clark Kissinger" <cck1@earthlink.net>
>
>Summary of Mumia’s Current Legal Situation (September 1999)
>by C. Clark Kissinger
>
>Because many people have requested an explanation of Mumia’s legal
>situation, let me explain con-cisely why Mumia’s case is at a critical point
>as we go into the September Mumia Awareness Week.
>
>All appeals by Mumia Abu-Jamal in the Pennsylvania court system have been
>denied, and he is about to begin his appeals in the federal courts. Under
>the restrictive terms of the Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Mumia must
>file his petition for a writ of habeas corpus before the end of Octo-ber,
>1999. “Habeas corpus” is simply the technical legal term for asking the
>federal courts to review whether Mumia has been sentenced legally by the
>state courts.
>
>This is a most critical moment in the whole appeals process. At the
>beginning of October, a federal district judge in Philadelphia will be asked
>to hold a hearing on Mumia’s petition. If he agrees, this hearing will be
>Mumia’s LAST opportunity to present the evidence and witnesses denied by the
>Pennsylvania court system. After the federal district court, higher appeals
>courts will only review tran-scripts -- they will not hear new evidence.
>
>The federal judge who gets this case is not required to grant a hearing. He
>could simply read the trial transcripts and issue a ruling. In fact, the
>1996 federal law is specifically designed to discourage fed-eral courts from
>reviewing and overturning death sentences handed down in the state courts.
>This is why public action for Mumia in September is so important -- the
>government has to hear a loud popu-lar demand for a new trial for Mumia.
>
>Although the state court action is finished, the governor of Pennsylvania
>has not yet signed a new death warrant. If he does sign a death warrant, the
>federal district court will issue a stay, preventing an execution (until the
>federal district court rules). But until the federal court issues a stay,
>Mumia would be put under the horrible new conditions of a “death watch.”
>
>Earlier this year, Mumia’s legal team also petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court
>for a “writ of certiorari.” This is a request to the Supreme Court to look
>at the case before it works its way up through the nor-mal federal appeals
>process. Sometimes the Supreme Court will do this, when an important legal
>question is presented. In Mumia’s case, the Supreme Court is being asked to
>consider whether it was constitutional to deny him the right to act as his
>own attorney and to bar him from the court room when he protested this
>denial. Most petitions for “cert” are denied by the Supreme Court. The court
>prefers to allow cases to work their way up through the normal appeals
>process.
>
>If the judge at the federal district court level rules against him, Mumia
>will then appeal to the federal 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. But if the
>judge rules in favor of Mumia, the state of Pennsylvania is sure to appeal
>to the 3rd Circuit Court. So there will be two rounds of federal court
>action in Philadelphia over the next year (the district court and the
>circuit court of appeals).
>
>In general, action in the federal courts will go much faster than it did in
>the state courts. Thus we are now entering the final phase of the battle to
>save Mumia’s life. This is why we must proceed with a greater sense of
>urgency and determination.
>
>For more details, see my longer article “What’s Next in the Courts for
>Mumia,” which can be found in the Mumia Resource Book or on the Refuse &
>Resist! web site at:
>http://mojo.calyx.net/~refuse/mumia/011699whatsnext.html
>==========================================>
>
>FOP CORNERED ... LIKE ROACHES EXPOSED IN THE LIGHT OF DAY
>//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
>
>From: "Taylor, Professor Mark" <mark.taylor@ptsem.edu>
>
>OPEN LETTER TO THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE FROM
>MARK TAYLOR OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
> _________________________________________________________
>TO: Timothy M. Richardson
> Legislative Assistant
> Grand Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police
>
>Dear Mr. Richardson,
>
>I wrote to you last week for help in finding the list, which the
>Fraternal Order of Police maintains on its website, of supporters of
>Mumia Abu-Jamal, because I thought perhaps I might be on it. With your
>response to me this week, this is now confirmed. This letter will be
>short, because I and many teacher colleagues am in the midst of the starting
>Fall classes at Princeton, where I teach Christian ministry and theology (as
>an ordained member of the Presbyterian Church, USA) and religious and
>cultural studies.
>
>I object, of course, to the list being named "Supporters of Daniel
>Faulkner's Killer." I believe we best honor Officer Faulkner and all
>slain officers by being absolutely convinced about the identity of the
>killer. I, along with 500 to 600 other professors in colleges and
>universities across this country, believe that the conditions of the
>first and only trial, the Post Conviction Relief Hearings and the appeals
>process were flawed and skewed by the context of racist-adversarial
>politics in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. At the very least, he
>deserves a new trial. Many of us believe he should be released
immediately.
>I am among them. Even a lawyer writing for AMERICAN LAWYER magazine, who
>had little or no sympathy for Mumia's politics, said he was joining the
>"Save Mumia Campaign" right away.
>
>Moreover, I find the FOP's compilation of this list to be especially
>disturbing in this year of 1999, the same year that AMNESTY
>INTERNATIONAL singled out the United States as featuring a serious problem
>of police use of excessive force ("Police Brutality - A Pattern of Abuse,"
>UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: RIGHTS FOR ALL, www.rightsfor all-usa.org). So
>epidemic is the problem, that this consistently cautious international
>rights organization argues that this constitutes a violation by the
>government of U.S. citizens' human rights.
>
>Instead of responding positively to this year's Amnesty report, with
>corrective actions and a cooperative attitude, the largest police union
>in the U.S. is found to be compiling lists of citizens who, in exercise of
>their freedom of expression, simply want a new trial for a figure in a
>controversial case.
>
>In the process of this list-building, the FOP is arranging itself in
>clear opposition to ordinary folk trying to be good citizens. In
>addition, the FOP strikes an oppositional stance toward some of the most
>distinguished writers, educators, people of conscience of our time
>(including several Nobel Laureates). This does not look like a police
>force ready to respond positively to the Amnesty report, or to the
>struggle of all peoples to build a just society.
>
>I suspect that the FOP is within its rights to organize and express
>itself, even as a police union. As long as you are making lists,
>therefore, why not add some more names. In the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS
>of August 11, 1995, more than 500 faculty members (in Philadelphia and in
>Pennsylvania schools of higher education, and throughout the nation)
>signed and financed an ad calling for a stay of execution, a new trial
>for Mumia, and (at that time) the recusal of Judge Albert Sabo from the
>case. All signers contributed money to the ad, and thus meet the Union's
>criterion (i.e. financial aid to Abu-Jamal) for being a person or group
>subject to "boycott" and listing.
>
>Many of us are working for, and dreaming of, a more positive working
>relationship between police and all our communities. We share this
>work and dream with some police officers. Recall, that the National
>Association of Black Police Officers is also on record as opposed to
>Mumia's execution, and has called for a new trial.
>
>Actually, I believe that the FOP's legitimate interests, and those
>of all citizens, are better served by stopping the exercise in
>list-building. When groups like the police, who have socially
>sanctioned powers to use force, compile such lists of citizens, many
>will feel this to be more than just your freedom of expression. It will
>seem like an act of intimidation. Our society is not well served by a
>police force that works by intimidation, either direct forms as in police
>brutality, or indirect forms like police listing.
>
>In search of a better future,
>
>Mark Taylor, Professor of Theology and Culture
>Princeton Theological Seminary
>Coordinator, Academics for Mumia Abu-Jamal
>
>===============================>
>
>The FOP has been busy online, here is one of their more
>ludicrous responses to an e-mail they received. They are
>most definitely feeling the people's pressure! KEEP IT ON!
>-------------------------------------------
>
>> Thanks for the input.
>>
>> First, we have compiled our information from three years worth of
>> research. We have read, several times over, the entire set of
>> transcripts. All 10,000 pages. We have also reviewed all of the
>> original witness statements, and we have spent endless hours on the
>> internet reading Jamal's supporters arguments. We have read and re-read
>> Weinglass' book, we have reviewed several articles written in support of
>> Jamal, we have been present at several of Leonard Weinglass' personal
>> presentations. We have recorded his radio and TV interviews. We also
>> have reviewed, although it angers us so much it's hard to take, the HBO
>> docudrama "A Case for Reasonable Doubt" several times. (It's a twisted
>> piece of propaganda, pure and simple, and HBO should be exposed for their
>> lack of due diligence before allowing it to air. They refused Mrs.
>> Faulkner's request to pre screen it for factual accuracy, stating that it
>> was a violation of their contract with the producers. Then they pre
>> released it to several TV writers, for their review prior to airing it.)
>> In short, we have researched this case better than anyone else we have
>> ever spoken to. Please, we respectfully encourage anyone who can show us
>> where we have gotten something factually wrong, to point out our error.
>> Please do so. In the mean time, we disagree with your comments. The real
>> facts, not those spewed by Leonard Weinglass and Mumia's blind and
>> uninformed supporters, are clear. Mumia is a stone cold killer who won't
>> even speak out and tell you, his supporters, what "really" happened. He,
>> Weinglass, Pam and Ramona Africa and all the others, are using Mumia to
>> get rich. Most of the hundreds of thousands of dollars raised by them,
>> more or less from decent well meaning people, has been stolen by them.
>> (Check out the Philadelphia Inquirer's 5 part report on this topic that
>> they ran back in May) Additionally, Mumia has used the very same system
>> he criticizes each day as being corrupt, to extend his life.
>>
>> As for the FOP boycott. First of all, how many times do we have to tell
>> you folks, WE ARE NOT COPS! The FOP is conducting their boycott on their
>> own. We fully support it. But we have nothing to do with running it. As
>> for condemning them. No way. Just like Mumia, they are exercising THEIR
>> RIGHTS. Apparently, the shoe can hurt when it's on the other foot.
>> Shouldn't Mumia and his supporters be applauding the FOP, their families
>> and their friends for "organizing and taking action against their
>> oppressor"? Please don't tell us that cop killers, those who seek to
>> make them heroes and those who want to free them, are not oppressors of
>> the law enforcement community and their families.
>>
>> Actually, we sense a bit of hypocrisy here. The FOP is a LABOR UNION.
>> Mumia loves labor unions. We thought labor unions were to be supported
>> and encouraged, not ridiculed.
>>
>> Please fill us in on our incorrect facts. We may use your comments to
>> update our site, as we have in the past with other comments. Thanks for
>> the civil input.
>>
>>> Reuel Clement wrote:
>>>
>>> > Where do you guys get all your information from. I have been
>>> > following this case for a long time and I have not reached the same
>>> > conclusions as you have. I respect your organization, but I think in
>>> > this case you are mistaken. Mumia should be a free man. One more
>>> > question. How can you as police officers pose a boycott on those who
>>> > support Jamal. Shouldn't you be protecting their rights and not
>>> > punishing them for excercising them.
>>> >
>>> > Respectfully yours
>>> >
>>> > Rob Conner
>================================>
>
>MUMIA AWARENESS WEEK IS HERE! DO SUMPIN'!
>FOR A COMPLETE LISTING GO TO www.peoplescampaign.org
>and/or www.mumia.org and its links!!
>---------------------------------
>From: Lesegomo@hotmail.com
>
>I am a member of the Black Consciousness Movement in Azania, Azanian
>People's Organisation (Azapo). I am currently co-ordinating all Mumia
>Abu Jamal Campaign by the Azapo and its structures.
>
>Please let me know if there are any other people in South Africa doing
>the same, who are necessarily not members of the Black Consciousnes
>Movement, AZAPO.
>
>Our struggle down here in the Southern tip of Africa, has been
>generally dominated by liberalism. If there are any people inside the
>country doing the same, kindly let them get in touch with me.
>
>Regards.
>Lesegomo@hotmail.com
>=============================>
>
>From: Paul Ryan <ryan@student.law.ucla.edu> (by way of Michael Novick
<part2001@usa.net>)
>
>SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER:
>A Conference on Progressive Law and Community Action Strategies
>
>EVERYONE'S INVITED!
>
>PRESENTED BY: UCLA School of Law's Coalition for Progressive Action
>
>WHEN: Saturday, September 25, 1999, Registration / check-in begins at 9AM
>Conference runs from 9:45 AM until 6 PM.
>
>WHERE: UCLA School of Law
>
>COST: $10.00 suggested minimum donation includes lunch. Sliding scale-no
>one will be turned away for lack of funds. UNDER 18 FREE. You must
>pre-register if you want lunch, even if you can't pay because we need to
>know what our food requirements will be.
>
>SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
>
>* Leonard Weinglass: Chief Attorney for Mumia Abu Jamal
>* Norma Jean Almodovar: President of the International Sex Worker
> Foundation for Art, Culture and Education; Author of Cop to Call Girl
>* And more than 35 other activists.
>
>ENTERTAINMENT: LA Hip Hop Artists El Nuevo Xol
>
>PANELS / WORKSHOPS:
>
>* Stop Framing Youth!: Bringing Justice to the Juvenile Justice System
>* Caste in America: Immigrants' Rights After Immigration Reform
>* Building Real Democracy: Strategies for Progressive Election Reform
>* Resisting Environmental Racism: Bringing the Environmental and Social
> Justice Movements Together
>* Rethinking the War on Drugs: Grassroots and Policy Strategies
>* Se Puede? ¡Si Se Puede!: Power, Democracy and Justice for Workers in LA
>* What Happened to Sexual Liberation?: Strategies for Challenging the
> Criminalization of Sex in the Age of Aids
>* Without Just Cause: The Case of Mumia Abu Jamal and the Death Penalty
>* Economic Justice in LA: Strategies for Community Development Through
> Enterprise
>
>All community organizations are encouraged to sign up for a table to
>distribute information when you register. For more information visit our
>website: http://www.law.ucla.edu/programs/ppilp/homepage.htm , call (310)
>474-8744, or send an email to Paul Ryan at ryan@student.law.ucla.edu .
>
>To register send your name, address, phone number, email address, whether
>your organization would like to reserve a table to distribute info. and a
>check (payable to "STTP") for $10 per person to:
>
>STTP c/o PPILP
>UCLA School of Law
>405 Hilgard Ave.
>Los Angeles, CA 90095-1476
>
>Thanks. See you September 25th!
>
>====================================>
>
>From: J P <philnpc@op.net>
>
>MUMIA AWARENESS WEEK ACTIVITIES IN PHILADELPHIA
>
>Media ZAPP! Tell the media what YOU think about their biased coverage
>of Mumia:
>ABC - 2020: 212-456-2020; FAX 212-456-0533; 2020@ABC.COM
>VANITY fAIR : 212-880-8800; FAX 212-286-6707; VFMAIL@VF.COM
>Phila Daily News: 215-854-2000; fax 215-854-5691
>Phila Inquirer: 215-854-2425
>
>TUESDAY 9/21
>Youth & Students Day for Mumia!
>Video screenings in schools, etc citywide
>CASE FOR A REASONABLE DOUBT (HBO Special)
>For listings, call 215-248-2101
>
>WEDNESDAY, 9/22
>1.LEAFLETTING
>Broad & Olney/Erie 7:15 am to 9am
>Phila Housing Units citywide
>2. Bill Bachman on trial for "violating" July 4th Liberty Bell demo
>permit -- Federal Court, 6 & Market, 9am
>3. Case for Reasonable Doubt Video at Temple Student Conference Center,
>Broad & Ontario, 3 - 6 pm
>
>THURSDAY, 9/23
>1.Community College of Phila. - Day against the Death Penalty
>Bonnell Bldg, 17th & Spring Garden
>Speakers and Videos 9am to 5pm
>2. Death Penalty (SPEAK OUT) training
>15th & Cherry 6 - 9pm Free Pizza to participants
>
>FRIDAY 9/24
>Community Forum/Press Conference
>Time/Location TBA
>215-476-8812 for more details
>
>SATURDAY 9/25
>PHILADELPHIANS FOR MUMIA demo
>12 NOON TO 4PM
>STATE OFFICE BUILDING
>BROAD & SPRING GARDEN (Near FOP Headquarters)
>215-476-8812
>
>WEEKLY MEETINGS . WEDNESDAYS 7PM . 4601 MARKET ST, 5TH FL....
>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>x<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>National Peoples Campaign - Phila
>215-724-1618
>=====================================>
>
>From: Paul Lefrak <plefr@umich.edu>
>
>Ann Arbor/Univ. of Michigan events for Mumia as part of the 100 Cities for
>Mumia Campaign. Sponsored by Anti-Racist Action (ARA) Ann Arbor.
>
>MOVIE: "MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: A CASE FOR REASONABLE DOUBT?" (1996 HBO)
>Thurs. Sept. 23 * 7:30pm * Room 'D' Michigan League
>
>PROTEST: DEMAND A NEW TRIAL FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL! STOP THE EXECUTION!
>Sat. Sept. 25 * 12pm * Federal Building (5th & Liberty)
>
>NEXT ARA MEETING: Mon. Sept. 27 * 8pm * Tap Room, basement Michigan Union
>
>=====================================>
>
>SEATTLE:
>
>From: "The Campaign to End the Death Penalty" <cedp@hotmail.com>
>
>MUMIA AWARENESS WEEK, 9/19 - 9/25
>
>For those of you who don't know, Mumia Abu-Jamal is an award-winning
>journalist, a political activist, and one-time member of the Black Panther
>Party. He currently sits on Pennsylvania's death row after an atrociously
>unfair trial in 1982. As Mumia's case enters the dangerous final stage of
>the appeal process - his death warrant could be signed at any time - now is
>the time to act.
>
>Where do you stand??? EVENTS INCLUDE:
>
>TUESDAY, 9/21, CEDP is showing "A Case for Reasonable Doubt" - the HBO
>documentary on Mumia Abu-Jamal - at 7pm in SCCC's Student Activities Center
>(SAC) Rm 209 (on Broadway just north of Pine on the east side of the
>street). Discussion to follow. Donation only.
>
>FRIDAY, 9/24, Schools for Mumia
>We encourage students to do whatever they want to do to get the word out
>about Mumia, i.e. tabling, debates, discussions, guest speakers, video
>showing, or even a walk-out to leaflet. It is up to the students. CEDP can
>supply the materials - just contact us.
>
>SATURDAY, 9/25, 3pm at SCCC, March/Rally 4 Mumia, to Victor Steinbrueck Park
>(near Pike Place Market). Speakers include CEDP, SMDC (Seattle Mumia
>Defense Committee), Omowali, Gary Owens (former Black Panther), SAVE
>(Students Against Violence Everywhere), Dick Burton, Arthur Miller of LPSN,
>etc. Without public outcry, Mumia will be executed! March with us to
>demand justice.
>
>ALL WEEK LONG: Tabling, leafleting, debate, sticker sales, etc. should be
>happening all the time. Other ideas welcome!
>
>For more info, contact:
>
>CEDP at (206)368-9196 or cedp@hotmail.com
>SMDC at (206)333-4290 or smdc@scn.org
>
>THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!! Andrea
>
>"Every generation should have a moral assignment, and one of ours must be
>justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal." - Ossie Davis
>==================================>
>
>From: iacenter@iacenter.org
>
>NEW YORK CITY EVENTS FOR MUMIA AWARENESS WEEK
>
>TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 – INTERNATIONAL YOUTH AND STUDENT DAY
>
>Hunter College activities all day. Sponsored by SLAM!. Call 212-772-4261.
>Youth Rally and March Columbus Circle, marching to Times Square.
>Refuse & Resist! Youth Network, NYC (212) 385-9305
>
>International Action Center volunteers’ meeting featuring reports on
>Mumia and from activists who have just returned from South Africa.
>Includes video footage of both struggles. 6:30 pm at 39 W. 14 St.,
>#206. For more information, call 212-633-6646.
>
>WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 – OUTREACH TO HOUSING PROJECTS
>
>NYC Campaign To End the Death Penalty is hosting a LIVE FROM DEATH ROW
>featuring a call-in message and question and answer session with members
>of the Death Row 10, a group of death row inmates convicted on the basis of
>tortured confessions. Also speaking: Manning Marable, Professor of African
>American Studies/History at Columbia University, Francis Golden, Literary
>agent for Mumia Abu-Jamal, Frank Smith, survivor of the Attica prison
>uprising; Lucy Herschel, Campaign to End The death Penalty.
>7:30 pm at 602 Schermerhorn Hall Columbia University, 116th & Broadway
>
>THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 – ANTI-DEATH PENALTY DAY
>
>Rally at the College of Staten Island sponsored by the College Voice.
>1:30 to 5 pm. For more information, call 718-982-3091.
>
>FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 – STUDENT WALK OUTS
>
>Workers World Party Forum: Fighting racist government repression
>Speakers include Dona Rosa Escobar of Pro Libertad, Monica Moorehead and
>Larry Holmes of WWP, and a Youth and Student organizer for Mumia
>Awareness Week. Topics include an update on Mumia’s fight for a new
trial,
>the ongoing struggle to free all the Puerto Rican political prisoners, the
>growth of the prison-industrial complex, and anti-repression struggles.
>7 pm at 55 W. 17th St. For more information, call 212-627-2994.
>
>The Code will be holding a Open Mic Slam for Mumia at 7:00pm at
>Sistas' Place, 456 Nostrand Ave. (corner of Jefferson), Brooklyn.
>Call 718 398-1766 for more information.
>
>SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 – 100 CITIES FOR MUMIA
>
>March for Mumia
>Two assembly points:
>12 noon at Harlem State Office Building, 125th St. and Adam Clayton
Powell Blvd.
>
>March to Columbus Circle at 1 pm
>2:30 pm at Columbus Circle, 59th St. and 8th Ave.
>
>At 3:30 pm, march to ABC network headquarters, through Times
>Square, ending at Vanity Fair magazine offices.
>Sponsored by New Afrikan Liberation Front, December 12th Movement,
>Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition, International Action Center,
>Refuse & Resist!, Campaign to End the Death Penalty
>For more information, call 212-330-8029 or 718-398-1766.
>
>International Action Center 39 West 14th Street, Room 296 New York, NY
10011 email: iacenter@iacenter.org http://www.iacenter.org phone: 212
633-6646 fax: 212 633-2889
>==================================>
>
>From: Art McGee <amcgee@igc.org>
>
>September 16, 1999
>
>CRUCIAL HOUR IN THE BATTLE FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL'S LIFE
>
>By Carl Dix
>
>Imagine a case in which a person isn't allowed to represent
>himself...witnesses are threatened or even arrested on the stand...a man
>charged with killing a cop is tried by a judge who is a lifetime member of
>the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)...[the] appeal is heard and denied by
>a court where five out of [the] seven judges have either received campaign
>contributions or campaign endorsements from the FOP...[and] a "confession"
>was manufactured. I don't have to imagine such a case. It's mine.
> Mumia Abu-Jamal in Source magazine, February 1999
>
> 1999 is a crucial year of decision in the fight to stop the
>execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal. And Mumia Awareness Week, September 19-25,
>is a pivotal hour of outreach and activity, to culminate in marches and
>rallies in dozens of cities on September 25.
> Last year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously rejected
>Mumia's appeal of an unjust conviction. Before the end of October, his
>lawyers will file his appeal in Federal Courts. This filing will initiate
>the crucial and FINAL rounds of the legal battle.
> To be blunt, unless there is tremendous POLITICAL pressure brought
>on the powerstructure, Mumia will be killed within the next few years. It
>is urgent that we send up a roar that will rattle the cowardly hearts of
>the powers-that-be with our message: WE WILL NOT LET YOU KILL MUMIA. We
>weren't able to stop the assassination of Malcolm X or Fred Hampton. But
>we can and must do everything to stop the government from its legal
>assassination of Mumia.
> Mumia is the only political prisoner on death row.* He's been
>there since 1982. His railroad typifies how the U.S. government deals
>with political opponents--especially revolutionaries who connect with
>those on the bottom of society.
> On December 9, 1981, Mumia was driving his cab on a downtown
>Philadelphia street. He saw a cop beating his brother, and he rushed to
>the scene. When the smoke cleared, Mumia was shot in the chest. Nearby,
>Philadelphia cop Daniel Faulkner lay dying from bullet wounds. Mumia was
>charged with Faulkner's death. The prosecution suppressed evidence,
>removed 11 qualified African-Americans from the jury, threatened and
>bribed witnesses, and used Mumia's history in the Black Panthers to argue
>for the death sentence.
> As a teenager in Philadelphia, Mumia was the Minister of
>Information of the Black Panther Party. Later, as a radio journalist he
>was known as the "voice of the voiceless." He supported the MOVE
>organization and exposed the racism and police brutality against these
>Black revolutionaries, and others. At age 26, he was elected chair of the
>Philadelphia chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.
> But for the past 18 years Mumia has been on death row--locked in a
>cell 23 hours a day. His mail, including confidential correspondence with
>his lawyer, has been opened and copied by prison authorities. He was put
>into punitive detention for writing his book, Live from Death Row. His
>commentaries have been censored on the radio. As Mumia put it, "They
>don't just want my death, they want my silence."
> In 1995, a worldwide campaign stopped Mumia's execution just 10
>days before the government tried to put this brother to death. But the
>authorities have continued to escalate threats on Mumia's life,
>intensifying in recent months. To stop his execution now will take a
>diverse and determined struggle many times more powerful.
> The battle for Mumia's life has grown by leaps and bounds, which
>is very positive and heartening. Our struggle has held up the
>executioner's hand, but it's not yet strong enough to stop it from coming
>back down. Recent attacks on Mumia and his supporters make it clear that
>the death threat still hangs over him.
> Our ability to stop his execution is based on the solid foundation
>we have laid in this battle so far, especially the past year. Tens of
>thousands of people, of all nationalities, from all walks have life, have
>cried out for justice for Mumia. In particular, the youth have been in
>the house in a big way. There's been school teach-ins and rock concerts.
>35,000 people total marched in the streets of San Francisco and Philly in
>support of Mumia on April 24th. Ads have been taken out in newspapers,
>including a full page ad New York Times. Last week as part of an effort
>called Mumia 911, more than 1,000 artists participated in over 100 events
>in cities across the US and some in Europe and Africa too. This is very
>good, and we need a lot more of it, very quickly.
> The powers-that-be have responded with an intensive and
>multi-faceted campaign of lies and threats in order to proceed with his
>execution. On April 25, the city of Philadelphia launched its attack on
>the Black United Fund of Pennsylvania (BUF/PA)--by not allowing city
>workers to donate to this charitable organization. This not only
>threatens the very survival of the BUF/PA but also many charities that
>serve the Black community. The BUF/PA has not even taken a position on
>Mumia but simply provide a service to the International Friends and Family
>so people can donate funds to Mumia's defense through the BUF/PA. This is
>a vicious assault on Mumia by assaulting the entire Black community.
> Like the Israeli Zionists who blow up whole Palestine villages to
>punish the rock throwing youth, the BUF/PA attack is this government's way
>of collective punishment on the Black community. It is their demand for
>the Black community to renounce and distance itself from this unrepentant
>rebel-slave Mumia. In keeping with the all American white supremacist
>tradition, their message is clear: there's a price to pay for anyone who
>stands up for (or even just sides with) Mumia, and a higher price still
>from Black organizations and people.
> And acting like a lynch mob in blue, the Fraternal Order of
>Police--this country's largest cops' organization (over 283,000
>members)--have been leading the demand for Mumia's execution. Their
>August press release launched a nationwide boycott against those
>businesses and individuals who support Mumia. It ends with the words
>"[a]nd we will not rest until Abu-Jamal burns in hell." They have
>harassed artists who stood up for Mumia and posted their target list of
>artists on the FOP website.
> I'm a founder and national organizer of the October 22nd Coalition to
>Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a
>Generation. This Coalition has endorsed and taken up the fight for Mumia
>because he's a victim of police brutality and a fighter against police
>brutality. His is a CLASSIC case of police brutality against a BLACK, ANY
>Black man. The frame-up of Mumia concentrates the way Black people are
>routinely abused by the police, the courts, the prisons, and the media.
>There are high stakes for every person who wants to see justice in the
>world, and for every person who wants to see an end to the brutal
>oppression of Black people.
> A sign of the power's murderous intent is the flood of scandalous
>lies pumped out through the media--rabid calls for Mumia's death were
>aired on ABC: the first on KGO TV in San Francisco, an ABC affiliate; and
>then TWO on ABC's 20/20, hosted by Sam Donaldson.
> The most recent attack on Mumia was spearheaded by the magazine
>"Vanity Fair" in a hit piece fabricating yet another "confession." Scores
>of TV and print media ran this story but none bothered to check the facts
>check with Mumia, his lawyers, or court documents. Every lie that stokes
>the execution engine has been blown up into headlines when it comes to
>their attempt to rush Mumia to the gas chamber.
> The government's case is so weak that they have to come up with
>one "Mumia confession" hoax after another over these 18 years. It's a
>desperate move of conducting a trial by media because they have no legal
>case that can stand careful scrutiny! Mumia has ALWAYS maintained his
>innocence, and he has always refused to be tried in the media but demanded
>he get a new trial. As Tom Morello of the rock band Rage Against the
>Machine has said "...if these people are so sure of Mumia's guilt, then
>why not have a new trial?"
> While we step up the most broad, diverse and determined struggle to
>date, especially during this Mumia Awareness Week, we need a real
>YOUTHQUAKE in the center. Mumia has given love and inspiration to the new
>generation to step out to fight the power, to fight for a different
>future, to fight for a far better world than this dog-eat-dog nightmare.
>Rebel youth of all nationalities can and must put an exclamation point of
>"no justice, no peace" on the end of this millennium by going all out for
>Mumia, and help to shape the direction of things to come.
> What kind of a sick system would brutalize and try to kill a
>caring and courageous brother like Mumia? It's a system that has shown
>through their treatment of Mumia, and millions like him, that it cares
>nothing for truth or justice, or even abiding by their own rules. It's a
>heartless system that has always used and abused millions here and
>worldwide, and doesn't deserve to exist another minute. It's my view that
>a hateful system like this will never change and must be overthrown by
>mass armed revolution when the time is ripe.
> Today, the system is building prisons fast and furious. They're
>criminalizing our youth, sending thousands of them to a lifetime behind
>bars. Police brutality and murder is epidemic with cops acting like
>judge, jury and executioner on the streets. The politicians answer to
>every social problem is more prisons, cops, more repression and
>executions. The struggle for Mumia is a key battlefront to get involved
>with if you want to defeat this wholesale assault on the people. It is a
>key battle for all who stand for justice and emancipation.
>
>Note: Carl Dix is national spokesperson for the Revolution Communist Party
>USA. A veteran activist and former GI resister, Carl is also a founding
>member of the National Coordinating Committee of the October 22nd
>Coalition to Stop Police Brutality.
>
>Carl Dix can be reached at PO Box 400381, Brooklyn NY 11240. Phone: 212-
>713-5084. E-mail: CarlDix@hotmail.com.
>
>*(NOTE from Sis. Marpessa: I cannot ever let this be said without pointing
>out that many, including myself, would argue it; it certainly takes
>nothing away from this very powerful piece from a very gifted writer
>and organizer.)
>================================>
>
>From: "Oct22 National Office" <Oct22@unstoppable.com>
>--------------------------------------------
>
>OCTOBER 22nd COALITION SAYS:
>
>STOP THE EXECUTION OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL!
>
>Download this document: http://www.unstoppable.com/22/pdf/oct22mumia.pdf
>
>The October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the
>Criminalization of a Generation fully supports the fight to stop the
>execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Mumia is a former Black Panther who has
>remained a revolutionary since the 60's. He is also an award winning
>journalist who uses his skills to give voice to those this society wants to
>make voiceless and powerless. Mumia has been on death row in Pennsylvania
>since 1982 when he was framed on charges of killing a cop. During his trial,
>Mumia was denied the right to choose his attorney, testimony against him was
>gotten through bribery and intimidation and witnesses who said he was
>innocent were either hidden from the defense or intimidated from showing up
>in court! Judge Sabo, who presided over this kangaroo court, demonstrated
>his pro cop bias (he's a life long member of the Fraternal Order of Police)
>by denying almost all of Mumia's defense motions and even banning Mumia from
>the court during the trial! Mumia deserves a new trial because his first
>trial was a travesty of justice.
>
>Mumia is on death row because he is outspoken against police brutality and
>other government abuses aimed at poor people. Even from the bowels of death
>row, Mumia continues to expose official misconduct across the country and
>around the world. The government is even ignoring its own laws as it tries
>to execute Mumia. Witnesses who have come forward to testify to his
>innocence have been persecuted. The Black United Fund of Philadelphia has
>seen its sources of funding being squeezed by the authorities because it
>provides tax-exempt status for Mumia's defense. This shows that the powers
>that be are determined to execute Mumia in order to silence him. We have to
>fight to save his life with equal determination. All people who oppose
>injustice should stand with Mumia because he is a victim of injustice AND
>because he is an outspoken opponent of injustice.
>
>The October 22nd Coalition was formed in 1996 to fight the nationwide
>epidemic of police brutality and police murder. Our annual National Day of
>Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a
>Generation shines a spotlight on police brutality and helps build resistance
>to it. Our Stolen Lives Project (SLP) exposes how widespread the problem of
>police murder really is. SLP documents more than 2,000 cases of people
>killed by police and other law enforcement agents in the US just in the
>1990's. From 1997 to today, we have documented more than one death per day
>at the hands of law enforcement. This doesn't even count the killings
>they've covered up, or the people who survived being brutalized by cops.
>What we're dealing with here aren't isolated incidents. They're part of a
>growing nationwide epidemic that must be stopped.
>
>We in the October 22nd coalition know what happens when cops stop a car
>driven by a Black man at 4am, like they stopped Mumia's brother back in
>December of 1981. We know cops make up false evidence and that cops,
>prosecutors and judges conspire to suppress evidence favorable to a
>defendant and to railroad people into prison in rigged trials, which they
>also did in Mumia's case. This is the experience of far too many people,
>especially young people of color and poor people, at the hands of the
>criminal justice system.
>
>We also know Philadelphia cops have a long history of brutality and
>corruption. In one precinct, cops were caught manufacturing evidence in
>cases that put more than 1,000 people in jail. Back in the 1960's under
>Rizzo, Philadelphia cops beat protesting school children as viciously as any
>red necked, southern sheriff. They brutalized members of the Black Panther
>Party and stripped them naked in the street. In 1985, they dropped a bomb on
>a house occupied by members of MOVE and let the resulting fire burn till it
>had killed 11 people, 5 of them children, and burned down a whole city
>block!
>
>If you're somebody who's been abused by the cops and the courts, or somebody
>who has a loved one or a friend that has suffered this kind of abuse or just
>somebody who thinks this kind of injustice is wrong and must be stopped,
>then you have to do two things. You have to join the fight to stop the
>execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal. We can't let the authorities silence this
>powerful voice against injustice. We need to get Mumia back out on the
>streets with us, helping to build a powerful movement to stop police
>brutality. You need to add your voice to those crying out, "Free Mumia
>Abu-Jamal!"
>
>And you need to join the thousands of people of all races and from many
>different backgrounds who will take to the streets in cities across the
>country on October 22nd, the National Day of Protest to Stop Police
>Brutality. Together we will demonstrate. Many, many people will wear black
>in solidarity with the protests and in memory of the victims of the cops.
>And together we will say in a loud voice, "Stop Police Brutality, Repression
>and the Criminalization of a Generation!" Join us.
>
>100 CITIES FOR MUMIA
>SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25th
>
>This is a short list! For a full listing, see
>http://mojo.calyx.net/~refuse/mumia/demos.html
>
>Atlanta, GA
>2:00--6:00 PM-Mumia Awareness Festival; Coan Park on Boulevard Drive, 1/2
>mile east of Moreland Ave. in Kirkwood. Many bands, spoken word, AIM
>drummers, mural artists. Speakers: Councilman Michael Julian Bond, David
>Gunn, Jr. and speakers from SCLC, Rainbow Coalition, Amnesty Int'l info:
>770-989-2536, 404-239-8054
>
>Chicago, IL
>11:00 AM-March & Rally-Three feeder marches start at State/Lake, 11th/State,
>Van Buren/Clark-Rally 1:00 PM in Federal Plaza, Adams/Dearborn info: Chicago
>Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal 773-381-6507
>
>Detroit, MI
>1:00 PM-Leaflet on the Avenue of Fashion. Meet at 1pm at McDonalds at 6 Mile
>and Livernois info: 313-628-4932, 313-831-0750, 313-338-1850, 313-869-8383
>
>Los Angeles, CA
>10:00 AM-DEMONSTRATION/RALLY South Central L.A.'s Leimert Park, at 43rd and
>Degnan at 11:00am (gather at 10:00am).
>7:00 PM-DEMONSTRATION/RALLY
>Le Conte and Westwood info: 323-653-4510, 310-397-6801, or 310-649-0357.
>
>San Francisco Bay Area, CA
>11:00 AM-Caravan For Mumia-Taking The Truth To The Community-Join with
>scores of cars, bicyclists, bladers and boarders as three caravans will wind
>their way through important communities in San Francisco. Help distribute
>the truth of Mumia, his case, and the need to mobilize for a new trial and
>to Stop The Execution! Meet at 11:00 am at the following locations: Bay View
>Playground-Third St. between Armstrong and Carroll-Marina Green Parking lot
>at Marina Boulevard and Filmore-George Washington High School, Geary between
>30th and 32nd Avenues in the Richmond District-Call the Mobilization to Free
>Mumia Abu-Jamal at 415-695-7745 for more information.
>
>... and much more! Check the web for details about other cities, such as
>Houston, Green Bay, Santa Cruz, Pensacola, DC. Other countries: Holland,
>Norway, Germany, UK.
>
>(end)
>======================================>
>
>WHATCH'ALL GONNA DO? TAKE A STAND!!!!!!
>FREE MUMIA AND ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS + EXILES!
>ABOLISH THE RACIST, CLASSIST DEATH PENALTY!
>------------------------------------------
>
>International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
>P.O. Box 19709 - Philadelphia, PA 19143
>Ph: 215-476-8812 / Fax: 215-476-7551
>Web: www.mumia.org / E-mail: mumia@webcom.com
>
>MUMIA MUST LIVE!
>
>
>