Events planned to ‘Free Mumia!’
By
Monica Moorehead
Published Apr 20, 2005 4:38 PM
On April 24, African American revolutionary
journalist and political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal will turn 51 years old. He has
spent almost 23 years on Pennsylvania’s death row for a killing that he
did not commit—the fatal shooting of a white cop, Daniel Faulkner, in 1981
in Philadelphia.
Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther, has maintained since
his arrest until the present that he did not carry out the shooting—that
he is in fact the victim of a racist frame-up spearheaded by the Phila del phia
Fraternal Order of Police and their allies. Why else will the courts not allow
important suppressed evidence to be heard?
This evidence includes a video
confession from someone who admitted to shooting Faulkner. It also includes an
affidavit from a white stenographer who overheard the original trial judge,
Albert Sabo, use a racist epithet against Abu-Jamal.
April 24 is also the
ninth anniversary of the signing by President Bill Clinton of the notorious
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. This act placed severe
restrictions on the ability of state and federal prisoners to get federal courts
to review their sentences and convictions under habeas corpus relief. It also
created a six-month statute of limitation within which habeas corpus petitions
must be filed after appeal in death penalty cases.
In other words, if a
death row inmate wants to use a federal appeal to challenge the biased ruling of
a state court, the federal court can use a technicality like a passed time limit
as an excuse not to hear that appeal. And it doesn’t matter one iota if
the inmate has any vital evidence to prove his or her innocence. The result can
be the speeding up of an execution. The courts have used this act to deny
Abu-Jamal’s appeals time and time again.
In December 2001, a federal
district judge overturned Abu-Jamal’s death sentence but not his
first-degree murder conviction. This means that Abu-Jamal could face a
re-sentencing hearing which could either sentence him to life imprisonment or
reimpose the death penalty. Abu-Jamal’s lawyers are appealing this ruling,
stating that nothing short of a new trial to prove his innocence is
acceptable.
The attempts to legally lynch Mumia Abu-Jamal have not
deterred the political movement here and worldwide from organizing and fighting
for his freedom. On the contrary, many in the movement understand that
ultimately Abu-Jamal’s freedom will be won not in the courts but in the
streets. Many understand that the courts, the police and the government want to
silence Abu-Jamal’s voice because he speaks out so clearly and strongly in
his audio and written commentaries on international and domestic
issues—including the war and occupation of Iraq and the struggle to save
Social Security.
Three important Free Mumia events will coincide with his
birthday:
*On April 22 in Philadelphia, “It’s time for the
African/Black Community to take a serious STAND” and “Get Up, Stand
Up Cultural Celebration, Edutainment, and Freedom Bash” will take place at
7:30 p.m. at the Mantis School of Boxing, 4522 Balti more Ave. Guest speakers
will include Pam Africa, national leader of International Concerned Family &
Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Basiymah Mu-Bey.
Performances will
include: Universal Dance and Drum Ensemble; South African percussionist
Magauwane; hip-hop/poet Maj Toure; poetry and lyrical verse, Seasons of the
Mind; rap artists Seeds of Wisdom, and many more. Call: 215-213-0078 or Email:
BlacxPhilly@ aol.com for information.
*On April 23 in Harlem a 1 p.m.
outdoor rally at the Harlem State Office Building will be followed by a 3 p.m.
indoor meeting and concert at the Salem United Methodist Church. Speakers will
include Mayor David Dinkins; Million Worker March leader Brenda Stokely; City
Council persons Charles Barron and Margarita Lopez; Pam Africa; MOVE
representative Ramona Africa; Rev. Luis Barrios; International Action Center
co-director Larry Holmes; former political prisoner Herman Ferguson, and many
more. Cultural performances will be given by Nana Soul, Camille Yarborough,
Spirit Child from Movement in Motion, Seeds of Wisdom and Hasan Salaam, to name
a few. Call (212) 330-8029 or (212) 633-6646 for more information.
*On
April 24 in San Francisco, a “Michael Franti and Friends in Concert to
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal” will be held at the Mission High School at 2 p.m.
Besides Franti, other rally participants will include Lynne Stewart, New York
human rights attorney facing a 35-year federal prison term for “abetting
terrorism”; Pam Africa; Robert Bryan, Abu-Jamal’s lead attorney;
Barbara Becnel, literary agent for death row inmate Stanley “Tookie”
Williams, and others. Call (415) 255-1085 for more information.
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