Support Mumia Abu-Jamal -- May 17
Houstonians in Solidarity with Mumia Abu-Jamal
Who? All who believe that Mumia Abu-Jamal did not received a fair trial.
All who believe that the death penalty is racist and
anti-poor. All who support political prisoners & POW's
What? Protest and press conference in support of political prisoner Mumia
Abu-Jamal as his appeal is heard by the 3rd Court of Federal Appeals in
Philadelphia
When? Thursday, May 17, 2007 -- 11-1 pm and from 4-6 PM--
Press Conference at 4:30 PM
Where? If you cannot be in Philadelphia, then come to Houston's Harris
County Courthouse,
1201 Franklin Street at San Jacinto
Why? To show solidarity with Mumia and inform Houstonians about the
injustice in his case. To avenge Shaka, Frances Newton, Joseph Nichols and other
innocent people sent to death row by racist Harris County DA's, we will
work to free Mumia!
Sponsored by the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement; S.H.A.P.E. Center;
Minister Robert Muhammad; Ray Hill, Host of KPFT’s Prison Program; National
Black United Front, Houston Chapter; Khallid Greene III, IN-C.E.R.T.;
Panthers United for Revolutionary Education; Peoples Party III; Mocha Life
Café; Houston Anarchist Black Cross, and Prince Imari Obadele, Chair Houston
New Black Panther Party/former political prisoner.
For info: 713-503-2633 or Abolition.Movement@
~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN ARTICLE IN SUNDAY'S PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE ON MUMIA
(The Tribune is the oldest Black community newspaper in the U.S.)
Glover sees ‘villainy’ in Abu-Jamal case
By Linn Washington, Tribune Columnist
For acclaimed actor/activist Danny Glover, the controversial case of
journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal is a “legal lynching” pure and simple.
“Every aspect of the Mumia Abu-Jamal case reeks with villainy,” Glover
said during a recent interview in Philadelphia where he was the featured
speaker in a program for Abu-Jamal, who is on death row for the slaying
of a policeman.
“We have seen consistent patterns of legal lynchings, from the great
Paul Robeson to the COINTELPRO Program,” Glover said, referring to
assaults by federal authorities against Blacks, especially those
critical of racism.
Robeson, a legendary actor/activist, spent the last years of his life
living in virtual seclusion in West Philadelphia.
U.S. authorities strangled Robeson’s ability to make money, retaliating
against his strident criticisms of race-based inequities across American
society including injustices in courts.
Abu-Jamal consistently criticizes injustices in print and broadcast
commentaries from death row, where he has written five books during the
past 25 years.
“Mumia’s case is symbolic of so many other cases,” Glover said while
speaking at a Center City program held on April 24 – Abu-Jamal’s birthday.
A predominantly white jury sentenced Abu-Jamal to death row in July 1982
after finding him guilty of the December 1981 murder of Philadelphia
policeman Daniel Faulkner.
Abu-Jamal’s trial and unsuccessful state court appeals have sparked
intense criticism, citing instances of misconduct by police, prosecutors
and judges.
For example, a witness overheard Abu-Jamal’s trial judge proclaim that
he would help prosecutors “fry the n----r” days before the opening of
the 1982 trial.
Yet, Pennsylvania’
of judicial bias as irrelevant without allowing this witness to testify
in court.
“The ability to find the truth in this case has been denied by the
authorities,” Glover said. “That is wrong.”
The FBI’s illegal COINTELPRO covert operations campaign referenced by
Glover targeted the Black Panther Party for disruptive dirty tricks and
deadly raids.
Ironically, a December 1969 COINTELPRO connected raid in Chicago that
killed an influential Black Panther leader played a major role in
sending Abu-Jamal to death row 13 years later.
When Abu-Jamal, a teen-aged Black Panther Party member in 1969, returned
from the Chicago funeral for Black Panther leader Fred Hampton he told a
Philadelphia newspaper reporter that deadly police attacks on Panthers
nationwide proved that “power flows from the barrel of a gun.”
During Abu-Jamal’s trial, the prosecutor twisted that statement out of
context convincing jurors that Abu-Jamal’s teenaged statement really
meant he favored killing police and he finally acted on his teenage
desire in December 1981.
Some jurors later said they approved the death sentence based on the
twisted presentation of Abu-Jamal’s statement, believing the statement
showed Abu-Jamal favored violence against police instead of fearing
police violence.
“A foundation of democracy is due process,” Glover said during the
interview.
“Every aspect of Abu-Jamal’s case from so-called eyewitnesses to actions
by the prosecutor shows that due process was subverted,” Glover said.
“In a democracy, it is important that all sides of a situation are heard
not just the side that’s coercively fashioned for us to hear,” noted
Glover, who once narrated a documentary film examining a biased ABC
network news account of Abu-Jamal’s case.
“We demand that Mumia’s side be heard,” Glover told a cheering audience
that numbered in the hundreds.
PDF
1 comment:
Democracy? Mumia's case took so long to get to the Third Circut BECAUSE there were obvious illegallities in the processing of this case from the beginning.
Who and how will they have a “new trial” for Mumia when there is no star witness and no paperwork?
Evidence that can not be backed by the MAIN WITNESS themselves is hearsay and you certainly can not prosecute a case on that. See article on death of STAR witness in Mumia Case.
Cop with Link to Jamal Frame Up Dies Under Suspicious Circumstances
by Tony Allen and Lori Tetrault
This weekend advocates for controversial death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal will seek to highlight the plight of the prisoner, whose case and writings have propelled him to the forefront of social justice agendas the world over. Central to Jamal’s contentions is the overwhelming evidence of gross police misconduct that tainted his prosecution and subsequent appeals. It is perhaps fitting that as Jamal supporters converge from all over the world, the Philadelphia Police Department may once again find itself in yet another scandal….this time due to the events surrounding the death of a police officer who, himself, was involved with the now infamous “frame up” of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
In the beginning, the Nov 13th, 2001 death of Thomas Bray seemed to be nothing more than a tragic end to the celebrated life of a popular and decorated veteran officer. The truth, however, may not be so cut and dry. Bray was a police diver, a notoriously dangerous, and at times grizzly, job. He was a popular cop, was featured on national TV shows, and met President Bush and Clinton. His peers labeled him as aggressive and he had a reputation as a media hound. Much earlier in his career, he was involved in a case that would be catapulted into the world spotlight for it’s shocking misconduct on the part of police and prosecutors of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
On the early morning of Dec 9th, 1981, Bray arrived at Jefferson Hospital, where Jamal and slain officer Daniel Faulkner were taken. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bray testified that as Jamal was being handcuffed to a gurney, had said to Bray “I’m glad. If you let me go I will kill all you cops.” This psuedo-confession was purportedly given in addition to the other damning statement that was attributed to Jamal “Yeah I shot the motherf—er and I hope he dies.” This supposed confession has been one of the most widely discredited aspects of Jamal’s case. The most telling components of the confession fallacy is the length in time it took for police to come up with the confession (two months) and the fact that only police and a security guard who knew the slain officer allegedly heard it. This was in an emergency room full of hospital personnel, none of whom report the gravely wounded Jamal saying anything. The involvement of Bray, a purported “good cop,” speaks volumes as to the depths of the depravity of law enforcement with regard to this case and lends credence to the widely held belief that the Philadelphia Police department is and was rife with corruption. Indeed, it’s the very same corruption that may have led to the death of Officer Bray.
It seems that Bray may have been a victim of the same corruption that he once sought to perpetuate against Mumia Abu-Jamal. At the time of his death, Bray was involved in a corruption investigation against his former supervisor and had, in that endeavor, worn a “wire.” The exact contents of the taped conversations remains unclear, as DA Lynne Abraham has yet to release the tapes to the public; however, the aforementioned supervisor was later charged with four misdemeanor corruption charges: theft, conspiracy, intimidation of witnesses, and obstruction in the administration of law.
Officer Bray was near death when he was brought to the surface of the Delaware River where he had been ensnared, attempting to dislodge a buoy. He died a short time later at University of Penn Hospital of his injuries and asphyxiation. The district attorney, after an investigation, made the assertion that there was no “wrong doing” in the death of Bray. However, the media has uncovered gross procedural errors that may have helped lead to the death of Bray. Whether this train of mistakes were simply that, or were of a more deliberate and sinister nature, remains to be seen.
What exactly happened to Officer Bray will likely never be known. Bray, who likely was going along with the “team” in 1981 when he fraudulently attributed incendiary statements to Jamal, may have suffered the penalty for going against the grain in a police department that has long been known to be one of the most brutal and corrupt in the nation. Whether as a “good cop” or as a result of saving his own skin, the allegations that Officer Daniel Faulkner was killed for interfering with police corruption and other criminal activities sets a precedent for what may have also happened to Officer Bray. Many dismiss this as mere coincidence or as works of fiction, but the growing number of these cases seems more to be exposing a widespread plague rather than there being rare occurrences.
http://antimove.blogspot.com/
I think it is VERY interesting that it has taken THIS long for Mumia to get to the Third Circuit. I believe it is, not just because of the lack of evidence, but the ILLEGALLITY in the fact that MANY if not MOST of Mumia’s records are not locatable, documented or certified. In essence, a court can do WHATEVER it sees fit with cooperation of those in the mix. ESPECIALLY if they KNOW the paperwork is NOT real. I challenge anyone to look online and find Mumia’s case in PACER. It can ONLY be located in WESTLAW and is cited as an ED file. There is no REAL case number. I think if we look at the HOW and not just the WHY Mumia would be free TOMMORROW. USE the UNITED STATES FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST SHOWS NO STATE COURT RECORDS OR APPEALS for Mumia.
So which “records” will be used Against Mumia?
I am extremely curious as to how this will play out legally by law of the US Consitution.
A new trial may be considered unfair as the evidence used to convict in the first case no longer exits. There has to be NEW evidence or a writ of mandamus or certortari can be filed and Mumia would be free to go.
I think this will not happen as this case has been so dramatic for years it needs a dramatic end. Although the “suspicios” death of the MAIN witness is pretty dramatic!
Why do you suppose no one is speaking about this?
Carla J
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