Mumia still in danger

Wadiya Jamal was finally allowed to visit her spouse, Mumia Abu-Jamal, on May 21. “He was in a wheelchair; his legs are swollen; his hands are blistered and dried up and they hurt,” Jamal told supporters after leaving SCI Mahanoy prison in Frackville, Pa.

For a week starting May 12, the internationally known African-American journalist had been held virtually incommunicado at the Geisinger Medical Center, where he was shackled to his bed as he underwent medical tests and was being treated for a severe skin disorder. He was not allowed to communicate with family, lawyers or even doctors who had been advising him. On May 20, he was transferred back to the prison infirmary.

The transfer occurred after hundreds of supporters from around the world contacted prison and government officials by phone and email. In addition, a lawsuit was filed May 18 seeking an end to the violation of Abu-Jamal’s constitutional right to contact his lawyer and family.

Jamal ended her report with a plea to “Free Mumia before they kill him.”