All out to Philadelphia
Mumia to be in court Aug. 17
By Monica
Moorehead
Thousands of people are expected to descend on Philadelphia
Aug. 17 to support the revolutionary death-row prisoner Mumia
Abu-Jamal as he makes his first court appearance in five
years.
This date has historic significance for other reasons as
well. Aug. 17 is the birthday of Marcus Garvey, the leader of
the Back to Africa mass movement of Black nationalism in the
1920s. Also, Aug. 17, 1995, was the date of Abu-Jamal's
scheduled execution on his first death warrant signed by
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.
A mobilization of Mumia supporters forced the governor to
rescind that warrant just days before a mass rally on Aug. 12,
1995. The thousands who came to the demonstration celebrated
this victory and pledged to continue the struggle for
Abu-Jamal's freedom.
New legal team's strategy
Now Abu-Jamal is expected to appear before Commons Pleas
Court Judge Pam ela Dembe for a "status hearing." Dembe is a
state judge who will be hearing oral arguments from Abu-Jamal's
new legal team on why their client should be granted a new
post-conviction relief hearing.
Abu-Jamal has been fighting for his freedom since July 3,
1982, when he was sentenced to death, for allegedly killing
police officer Daniel Faulkner.
Attorneys Marlene Kamish, Eliot Grossman and Nick Brown have
filed a 300-page legal brief that outlines what took place
during the last post-conviction hearing in 1996. The brief
includes the fact that his previous attorneys, Leonard
Weinglass and Dan Williams, never filed a claim of innocence on
Abu-Jamal's behalf.
The lawyers will also argue that other signed affidavits to
prove Abu-Jamal's innocence were not introduced as evidence
during the post-conviction hearing. One of the affidavits,
signed by self-described mob hit man Arnold Beverly, contains
his confession to the murder of Faulkner.
No one expects Dembe to make a final ruling on the question
of a new post-conviction hearing on Aug. 17, but that is
secondary to the fact that Abu-Jamal will make an appearance in
court. This has electrified the progressive movement
worldwide.
Groups from around the United States are mobilizing every
form of transportation, including buses, trains, vans and cars,
to stand with Abu-Jamal inside and outside the courtroom.
The International Action Center is one of the main groups
mobilizing for the Aug. 17 event. Its organizers plan to
distribute at least 40,000 leaflets in Philadelphia, New York
and elsewhere to get out the word about Abu-Jamal being in
court. The IAC leaflet, along with thousands of posters, will
solicit volunteers for massive phone-banking to individuals and
organizations.
Imani Henry, a co-founder of Rainbow Flags for Mumia and a
coordinator of visi bility for the Aug. 17 mobilization, told
Workers World: "The IAC is putting a number of other important
projects on hold to organize for Mumia on Aug. 17. This may or
may not be Mumia's only court appearance, so we at the IAC want
to do every thing possible to maximize the turnout.
"According to the Philadelphia press, a SWAT team and
sheriffs will accompany Mumia to court. This is another attempt
by the Fraternal Order of Police and other repressive state
agencies to intimidate and discourage people from showing
solidarity with Mumia, especially those living in
Philadelphia," continued Henry.
"That is why the IAC will be organizing Mumia brigades to
travel to Philadelphia and other urban centers to reach out to
the Black community and other working-class communities and
link his case to the struggle against racist repression. We
have to show once again that there is strength in numbers and
that no amount of terror will stop us from standing with our
brother and comrade Mumia in his ongoing quest for
freedom."
The group International Concerned Family and Friends of
Mumia Abu-Jamal has announced that a rally and march will take
place across from City Hall at the Criminal Justice Center
where Abu-Jamal will be in court. Information tables with
literature about Abu-Jamal's case and political history will be
available throughout the day.
A follow-up demonstration will be held Aug. 18. The ICFFMAJ
can be reached at (215) 476-8812 for more information.
People can contact IAC offices in New York and
Philadelphia--(212) 633-6646 and (215) 724-1618,
respectively--for literature and to volunteer to build the Aug.
17 mobilization. They can receive updates on developments
around Mumia Abu-Jamal's day in court, along with legal
information, on the following websites:
www.iacenter.org, www.mumia2000.org
and www.mumia.org.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
Support independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
HOME
:: U.S. NEWS ::
WORLD NEWS ::
EDITORIALS ::
SUBSCRIBE ::
DONATE
Email
this article
Printable
page