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Mumia Abu-Jamal's Court Case Hits Fast Track
by Philly Thursday December 07, 2006 at 03:37 AM

Pam Africa with French delegates, Feb.11, 2005

Pam Africa with French delegates, Feb.11, 2005

World-renowned black death-row prisoner and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of killing white Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in a 1982 trial that Amnesty International has deemed unfair (see report). Supported internationally by a variety of activists, workers, and educators, his books and radio essays challenging injustice everywhere have earned the former Black Panther the nickname "The Voice of the Voiceless."

His court case has now hit the fast track with oral arguments beginning any month. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals is considering four issues in regards to granting Abu-Jamal a new trial. Supported by the NAACP, NLG, UK Lawyers, and The German Parliament, Philly Journalists Linn Washington and Dave Lindorff have optimistically written of Abu-Jamal's chances for a new trial.

In April, longtime French support (2005 photos) continued when the Paris suburb of St. Denis named a major street after Mumia (see video) and was quickly condemned with government resolutions in the US (pdf booklet), while local media continued a long history of bias.

In November, Philadelphia Republicans (radio interview) filed criminal charges against St. Denis and Paris for allegedly "glorifying" a "cop-killer". In response, Abu-Jamal and his lawyer wrote to Paris. Abu-Jamal's support network is organizing a ,mass demonstration at Philadelphia City Hall on December 9--the 25th anniversary of Abu-Jamal's arrest. Also, German author Michael Schiffmann has just released a new book on Abu-Jamal's case, revealing new evidence and original ballistics analysis.
Philly IMC journalist's series on Mumia
Trial Transcripts (on anti-Mumia site)
Mumia on Oaxaca
New Philadelphia Inquirer article
New Linn Washington article

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Good
by nonya Friday December 08, 2006 at 05:20 PM

Maybe they will finally execute the murderer

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What's with all the right-wingers?
by Saab Lofton Friday December 08, 2006 at 11:12 PM

WHICH murderer? The one in the White House? The ones in the Pentagon? The CIA?

No, I'm guessing yo' ignant ass is referring to Mumia. Well, he didn't do it--any more than Rubin Hurricane Carter did ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubin_Carter

http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2003/11/05/scorched_earth/fear_no_evil/fearnoevil.txt

In the Oct. 16 issue of Workers World (a competitor of People's Weekly World), 1996 and 2000 U.S. presidential candidate Monica Moorehead wrote the following: "On Oct. 4th, death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal was made an honorary citizen of Paris during an award ceremony. ... Former U.S. political prisoner Angela Davis accepted the award on behalf of Abu-Jamal. ...

"The socialist mayor of Paris ... raised his fist in the air and chanted, 'Mumia is a Parisian!'

"Throughout [France's] school system, students are required to study the case of Abu-Jamal."

Well, I'll be dag-nabbered! Now, as I understand it, Abu-Jamal's attorneys have taped sworn testimony from Arnold Beverly, who passed a lie-detector test while confessing that he killed Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. Even though physical evidence and witness testimony backs this confession up, Mumia's still in the penitentiary -- with health problems, no less.

At a meeting held by the Coalition to Prevent the Erosion of Human Rights, I met a local Frenchman named Philippe Bouhourdin. When I recently asked him what he thought about his country honoring Abu-Jamal, as it did Pablo Picasso in 1971, he compared Abu-Jamal to Captain Alfred Dreyfus (the sole Jewish member of France's general staff in 1894, who was falsely accused of being a spy). "It's the 21st century," Bouhourdin said, "and I feel that somehow we are regressing and living in a barbaric time."

Bringing this full circle, Packard wrote that "about 450,000 at most have committed violent crimes," while the war on drugs is responsible for the remaining 1.6 million people in American prisons. In contrast, Alan Travis of the U.K.'s Guardian stated that China had 1.43 million in its prisons last year.

So the "Land of the Free" locks up more folks for drug violations than an overpopulated, Stalinist regime has in its entire prison system.

... at last count, America now has TWO million folks in its prison system and still outpaces China ... the reason why the left is predominantly white is because people of color don't feel as though white leftists will stand by them in times of trouble. If y'all continue to delude yourselves into thinking that a problem (as in whoever the fuck "nonya" is--the one who wrote that last, racist comment) can ever be solved by hiding from it, your political meetings will continue to look like mayo on whitebread. Ghandi and Dr. King may have been pacifists, but they sure as hell weren't masochists. Quit acting like the Eloi from H.G. Wells' The Time Machine! I won't be around forever--who'll fight off these right-wingers then ..?

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