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Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the June 6, 1996
issue of Workers World newspaper
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Crucial New Evidence For Mumia Abu-Jamal

By Andy McInerney

In a breakthrough for the case of death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, a witness in the original trial has said her court testimony was coerced by police. On May 22, lawyers for Abu-Jamal filed a motion to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to have the testimony heard at the Common Plea level.

Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 for killing a cop. He has always maintained his innocence. His supporters say he was framed for his political views and journalism exposing police racism and brutality.

Last year, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge signed Abu-Jamal's death warrant. A wave of protest erupted around the world, culminating in a demonstration of 10,000 people in Philadelphia on Aug. 12.

Abu-Jamal was granted a stay of execution. But Judge Albert Sabo refused to grant a new trial, upholding what is widely viewed as fabricated evidence.

Now, new testimony by Veronica Jones dramatically highlights the cop frame-up against Abu-Jamal.

Jones was a witness to the cop's death on Dec. 9, 1981. Less than a week later, she told police about two men jogging from the scene of the shooting. Abu-Jamal was lying on the ground, shot at the scene.

When the defense attorney in the 1982 trial called Jones to testify, she completely changed her story. She denied that she saw anyone other than Abu-Jamal and his brother at the scene.

Now, in a sworn deposition, she says police officers threatened her with felony charges if she didn't change her story. "The detectives threatened me by reminding me that I faced a long prison sentence--15 years on drug charges-all the while persisting that I testify to their version of events," she says.

After the trial, she was convicted of the felony charges- and got probation.

Defense lawyer Leonard Weinglass says the testimony is critical. It supports Abu-Jamal's contention that the real shooter fled the scene. And it confirms that police pressured witnesses to support their version of events.

Weinglass is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to send the case back to the Court of Common Pleas so the new evidence can be reviewed. But Abu-Jamal's supporters know the legal case alone will not be enough to free him, given the police pressure to see him executed.

The group International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal has called for a demonstration in Philadelphia on July 4, the anniversary of Abu-Jamal's sentencing. More information is available at (215) 476-8812.

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