Racist political attack on Mumia:Ramona Africa speaks (March 2014)
Recently there have been news articles on Debo Adegbile, Barak Obama’s nominee for the US Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division but The MOVE Organization sees clearly what’s going on here. Adegbile is not really the issue, he is simply being misused as a tool to vent hatred of Mumia Abu Jamal. Mumia is the real issue.
There were several articles, one in the Wall Street Journal by US Senator Pat Toomey and Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and there was a Philadelphia Daily News article by Dom Giordano. In both articles, the writers mainly spoke about Mumia and the death of police
officer Daniel Faulkner who Mumia is accused of killing. The question is, why do they focus so much attention on Daniel Faulkner, what about all the other cops killed over the past thirty years? You don’t hear them talking about other cops killed in the line of duty like they do Faulkner. You don’t hear them spouting their racist hateful rhetoric about anybody else accused of killing a cop like they do about Mumia. That’s because they don’t really care about Faulkner, they just hate Mumia.
They hate Mumia for exposing the racism and injustice that runs all through this system and making them face it. The point that should not be overlooked here, a point that JOHN AFRICA has been making for almost forty years now, is that these cops, politicians and journalists don’t give a damn about justice, legality or legal procedure. What they’re accusing Adegbile of doing is following their legal laws, acting
within their legal laws which hold that even the most unpopular defendant is guaranteed a zealous defense. Notice, they never accused Adegbile of acting illegally or violating legal law. They just condemn him for following legality to point out the injustices in the legal system when it comes to Mumia. They’re proving, yet again, that they don’t believe in the very legality that they shove down people’s throats and demand that people adhere to. All three writers pretend that “justice” is their aim but that’s a lie. If justice is really their aim, why are they crucifying Adegbile for pursuing justice, legally available avenues of defense for Mumia, and why are they continuing to spout the same old
tired lies about Mumia, lies that have been disproven over and over again for the past thirty-two years. If Toomey, Williams, Giordano and many others really believe in the legal system and were truly concerned about justice instead of their unfounded hatred for Mumia, they would admit that Mumia did not get a fair trial; that evidence was tampered with (the Polokoff photos prove that); that witnesses were tampered with, intimidated and offered deals to lie against Mumia (Cynthia White and Veronica Jones to name a few); that a confession from a man that says he killed Faulkner was never allowed on the record and a host of other illegal actions on the part of officials designed to get Mumia convicted no matter what.
Toomey and Williams say there was “overwhelming” evidence against Mumia. Where is it? It’s nothing but arrogance and racism that has these three deceptive misfits coming after Mumia and anybody even remotely associated with Mumia with such venom. MOVE knows what we’re talking about because the media and officials have come after us in the same way. Officials have blatantly lied on us and defamed us for decades, for over forty years. They even framed nine innocent MOVE family members for a murder they know we did not commit, just like they’re doing to Mumia.
Toomey and Williams go so far as to say that Mumia became a “MOVE Hero for killing Faulkner”. Nothing could be further from the truth because, first of all, MOVE knows that Mumia is innocent and, furthermore, Mumia gained our respect for telling the truth about MOVE when no other journalist would. This is another reason why Mumia is despised by these system-loving racists. MOVE doesn’t celebrate or encourage murder but system officials do. Officials bombed and murdered eleven innocent MOVE men, women and babies in May of 1985 but no officials were ever charged or imprisoned for murdering our family. Is that the justice system that they’re talking about being attacked? Toomey and Williams think that anybody who points out the injustice and racism in this system is “attacking” the system, as if there’s something wrong with exposing these things. They promote the idea that a conviction, no matter how questionable, no matter the obvious framing, is synonymous with guilt while conveniently ignoring the countless number of people that have been wrongfully convicted, and later proven innocent after spending decades in prison. Officials swore that these people were guilty but they were proven wrong. The point is that this is
a vicious vindictive attack on Mumia.
The FOP & other racist officials bare their fangs anytime anything arises concerning Mumia and they’re perfectly willing to ignore every legal on the books that they to bash Mumia. As far back as 1981, the FOP, their racist supporters in the political arena and the media tried and convicted Mumia long before a trial ever commenced and this is just another in a long history of examples.
It has not escaped MOVE’s attention that criticism of this blatant slap in the face of what people are told is the standard of American legal system did not appear in the media until after Adegbile lost the nomination. MOVE will never allow these misfits to attack Mumia with these same old blatant lies without exposing them, demanding that they substantiate what they’re saying or be exposed as the phonies and liars they are. People should not be fooled by the Seth Williams, Dom Giordanos or Pat Toomeys. The only people that will be fooled by these lies are those that want to be fooled because issue is clear whether you are a Mumia supporter or not.
The media, FOP and officials have made it clear who and what they are, they don’t hide it. On the other hand, when you read Mumia’s writings or talk to him, you see clearly who he is and what he stands for. Stand for the truth; stand for righteousness, stand for Mumia.
ONA MOVE
THE MOVE
ORGANIZATION
Recently there have been news articles on Debo Adegbile, Barak Obama’s nominee for the US Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division but The MOVE Organization sees clearly what’s going on here. Adegbile is not really the issue, he is simply being misused as a tool to vent hatred of Mumia Abu Jamal. Mumia is the real issue.
There were several articles, one in the Wall Street Journal by US Senator Pat Toomey and Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and there was a Philadelphia Daily News article by Dom Giordano. In both articles, the writers mainly spoke about Mumia and the death of police
officer Daniel Faulkner who Mumia is accused of killing. The question is, why do they focus so much attention on Daniel Faulkner, what about all the other cops killed over the past thirty years? You don’t hear them talking about other cops killed in the line of duty like they do Faulkner. You don’t hear them spouting their racist hateful rhetoric about anybody else accused of killing a cop like they do about Mumia. That’s because they don’t really care about Faulkner, they just hate Mumia.
They hate Mumia for exposing the racism and injustice that runs all through this system and making them face it. The point that should not be overlooked here, a point that JOHN AFRICA has been making for almost forty years now, is that these cops, politicians and journalists don’t give a damn about justice, legality or legal procedure. What they’re accusing Adegbile of doing is following their legal laws, acting
within their legal laws which hold that even the most unpopular defendant is guaranteed a zealous defense. Notice, they never accused Adegbile of acting illegally or violating legal law. They just condemn him for following legality to point out the injustices in the legal system when it comes to Mumia. They’re proving, yet again, that they don’t believe in the very legality that they shove down people’s throats and demand that people adhere to. All three writers pretend that “justice” is their aim but that’s a lie. If justice is really their aim, why are they crucifying Adegbile for pursuing justice, legally available avenues of defense for Mumia, and why are they continuing to spout the same old
tired lies about Mumia, lies that have been disproven over and over again for the past thirty-two years. If Toomey, Williams, Giordano and many others really believe in the legal system and were truly concerned about justice instead of their unfounded hatred for Mumia, they would admit that Mumia did not get a fair trial; that evidence was tampered with (the Polokoff photos prove that); that witnesses were tampered with, intimidated and offered deals to lie against Mumia (Cynthia White and Veronica Jones to name a few); that a confession from a man that says he killed Faulkner was never allowed on the record and a host of other illegal actions on the part of officials designed to get Mumia convicted no matter what.
Toomey and Williams say there was “overwhelming” evidence against Mumia. Where is it? It’s nothing but arrogance and racism that has these three deceptive misfits coming after Mumia and anybody even remotely associated with Mumia with such venom. MOVE knows what we’re talking about because the media and officials have come after us in the same way. Officials have blatantly lied on us and defamed us for decades, for over forty years. They even framed nine innocent MOVE family members for a murder they know we did not commit, just like they’re doing to Mumia.
Toomey and Williams go so far as to say that Mumia became a “MOVE Hero for killing Faulkner”. Nothing could be further from the truth because, first of all, MOVE knows that Mumia is innocent and, furthermore, Mumia gained our respect for telling the truth about MOVE when no other journalist would. This is another reason why Mumia is despised by these system-loving racists. MOVE doesn’t celebrate or encourage murder but system officials do. Officials bombed and murdered eleven innocent MOVE men, women and babies in May of 1985 but no officials were ever charged or imprisoned for murdering our family. Is that the justice system that they’re talking about being attacked? Toomey and Williams think that anybody who points out the injustice and racism in this system is “attacking” the system, as if there’s something wrong with exposing these things. They promote the idea that a conviction, no matter how questionable, no matter the obvious framing, is synonymous with guilt while conveniently ignoring the countless number of people that have been wrongfully convicted, and later proven innocent after spending decades in prison. Officials swore that these people were guilty but they were proven wrong. The point is that this is
a vicious vindictive attack on Mumia.
The FOP & other racist officials bare their fangs anytime anything arises concerning Mumia and they’re perfectly willing to ignore every legal on the books that they to bash Mumia. As far back as 1981, the FOP, their racist supporters in the political arena and the media tried and convicted Mumia long before a trial ever commenced and this is just another in a long history of examples.
It has not escaped MOVE’s attention that criticism of this blatant slap in the face of what people are told is the standard of American legal system did not appear in the media until after Adegbile lost the nomination. MOVE will never allow these misfits to attack Mumia with these same old blatant lies without exposing them, demanding that they substantiate what they’re saying or be exposed as the phonies and liars they are. People should not be fooled by the Seth Williams, Dom Giordanos or Pat Toomeys. The only people that will be fooled by these lies are those that want to be fooled because issue is clear whether you are a Mumia supporter or not.
The media, FOP and officials have made it clear who and what they are, they don’t hide it. On the other hand, when you read Mumia’s writings or talk to him, you see clearly who he is and what he stands for. Stand for the truth; stand for righteousness, stand for Mumia.
ONA MOVE
THE MOVE
ORGANIZATION
LINDA CARTY
After a catastrophically flawed trial, British grandmother Linda Carty was sentenced to death in February 2002 by a Texan court and is now, after being denied review by the US Supreme Court in June 2010, dangerously close to execution.
For more information click here: reprieve
You can download information about the case briefing, death row intervention, photographs and listen to Lindy Carty's speech from Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth.
For more information click here: reprieve
You can download information about the case briefing, death row intervention, photographs and listen to Lindy Carty's speech from Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth.
CONNECTICUT ABOLISHES THE DEATH PENALTY
Image from Amnesty International
17 states down 33 more to go! Connecticut became the 17th state to abolish the death penalty after years of hard work and the strong fight. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed the bill, after legislators voted earlier in April to end capital punishment for all future cases. Mr Malloy hailed a "historic moment", but said it was time for "sober reflection, not celebration". Connecticut has carried out one execution in 51 years, in 2005. For all future cases the highest penalty will be life imprisonment without parole.
Elsewhere, in North Carolina a convicted man was taken off death row last week after his trial was ruled tainted by racial bias. Marcus Robinson's case was the first to be heard under North Carolina's Racial Justice Act (RJA).
There is still a lot of work to do. The next aim is California, a state poised to make history this Autumn by ending its death penalty through a referendum. Let's keep working until there are no more states with capital punishment.
Free Mumia. Free All Political Prisoners. Abolish The Death Penalty Now!
Elsewhere, in North Carolina a convicted man was taken off death row last week after his trial was ruled tainted by racial bias. Marcus Robinson's case was the first to be heard under North Carolina's Racial Justice Act (RJA).
There is still a lot of work to do. The next aim is California, a state poised to make history this Autumn by ending its death penalty through a referendum. Let's keep working until there are no more states with capital punishment.
Free Mumia. Free All Political Prisoners. Abolish The Death Penalty Now!
Message from Mumia
On December 18, 2011, from his solitary cell at SCI Mahanoy, Mumia wrote a message to the men and women with whom he shared death row. We share it with you here: (courtesy of 'Greater Friends' the newsletter of Pennsylvania Prison Society)
TO MY BRETHREN & SISTAS ON THE 'ROW
It has been barely a week since I departed Death Row, yet I cannot help but look back, for many of you are in my heart. I may no longer be on Death Row, but because of you Death Row is still with me. How could that not be so, when I've spent more years of my life on Death Row, than in `Freedom?' Or, more time spent on Death Row, than with my family? I write to tell you all—even those I've never met—that I love you, for we have shared something exceedingly rare. I have shared tears and laughter with you, that the world will neither know nor see. I have shared your anguish when some judge shattered your hopes and spit disappointment; or when some politician sought to use you to climb to higher office. We have seen time and disease take some of our people off the Row. We have seen several choose their own date to die, cheating the hangman via suicide (William "Billy" Tilley, Jose "June" Pagan). But, Brothers and Sisters of the Row, I write not of death, but of life. If I can walk off, so can you. Keep rumblin'; keep fightin'; keep rockin'. Check out your Mills issue. But, there is more. Live each day, each hour, as if it is the only time there is. Love fiercely. Learn a new thing. A language. An art. A science. Keep your mind alive. Keep your heart alive. Laugh! Look at each other not as competitors, but as fellow travelers on the same red road of life. No matter what the world says of you, see the best in each other, and radiate love to each other. Be your best self. If you are blessed to have family, send your love to them all—no matter what. If you have a spiritual family or faith, practice it fully and deeply, for this links you to something greater than yourself. No matter what, Christian, Muslim, Judaism, Hindu, Krishna Consciousness, Buddhism, or Santería (or Move). This broadens you and deepens you.
I have been blessed to have many of you as my teachers, and my students. Some have been my sons; some have been my brothers. Yet I see all of you as part of my family. Take heart, for the death penalty itself is dying. States and counties simply can't afford it, and politicians who run on it are finding fewer and fewer buyers. Juries (especially in places like Philly) are increasingly reluctant to vote for death, even in cases where it appears imminent. Sisters on the Row, while we have never met, my heart has felt your tears as you are forcibly separated from your children, unable to hold or kiss them. In many ways, as women, your anguish has been the worst, as your loves and sensitivities are deepest. My words to my brothers are yours as well: keep mind alive. Keep hearts alive. Live. Love. Learn. Laugh! I know you all as few outsiders do. I've met artists, musicians, mathematicians, managers, jailhouse lawyers, and stockbrokers. I've seen guys who couldn't draw a straight line, emerge as master painters (Cush, Young Buck); I've seen guys come from near illiteracy to become fluent in foreign languages; I've met teachers who've created works of surpassing beauty and craftsmanship (Big Tony). You are all far more than others say of you, for the spark of the infinite glows within each of you. You are on Death Row, but what is finest in you is greater than Death Row.
So, care for each other. Not in words, but in the heart.
Think good vibes on each other.
Lastly, don't rat. (If ratting was so cool, they would've beat me off the Row).
Keep rumblin', `cause your day is coming.
—Mumia Abu-Jamal, M.A.
Death Row (1983–2011)
TO MY BRETHREN & SISTAS ON THE 'ROW
It has been barely a week since I departed Death Row, yet I cannot help but look back, for many of you are in my heart. I may no longer be on Death Row, but because of you Death Row is still with me. How could that not be so, when I've spent more years of my life on Death Row, than in `Freedom?' Or, more time spent on Death Row, than with my family? I write to tell you all—even those I've never met—that I love you, for we have shared something exceedingly rare. I have shared tears and laughter with you, that the world will neither know nor see. I have shared your anguish when some judge shattered your hopes and spit disappointment; or when some politician sought to use you to climb to higher office. We have seen time and disease take some of our people off the Row. We have seen several choose their own date to die, cheating the hangman via suicide (William "Billy" Tilley, Jose "June" Pagan). But, Brothers and Sisters of the Row, I write not of death, but of life. If I can walk off, so can you. Keep rumblin'; keep fightin'; keep rockin'. Check out your Mills issue. But, there is more. Live each day, each hour, as if it is the only time there is. Love fiercely. Learn a new thing. A language. An art. A science. Keep your mind alive. Keep your heart alive. Laugh! Look at each other not as competitors, but as fellow travelers on the same red road of life. No matter what the world says of you, see the best in each other, and radiate love to each other. Be your best self. If you are blessed to have family, send your love to them all—no matter what. If you have a spiritual family or faith, practice it fully and deeply, for this links you to something greater than yourself. No matter what, Christian, Muslim, Judaism, Hindu, Krishna Consciousness, Buddhism, or Santería (or Move). This broadens you and deepens you.
I have been blessed to have many of you as my teachers, and my students. Some have been my sons; some have been my brothers. Yet I see all of you as part of my family. Take heart, for the death penalty itself is dying. States and counties simply can't afford it, and politicians who run on it are finding fewer and fewer buyers. Juries (especially in places like Philly) are increasingly reluctant to vote for death, even in cases where it appears imminent. Sisters on the Row, while we have never met, my heart has felt your tears as you are forcibly separated from your children, unable to hold or kiss them. In many ways, as women, your anguish has been the worst, as your loves and sensitivities are deepest. My words to my brothers are yours as well: keep mind alive. Keep hearts alive. Live. Love. Learn. Laugh! I know you all as few outsiders do. I've met artists, musicians, mathematicians, managers, jailhouse lawyers, and stockbrokers. I've seen guys who couldn't draw a straight line, emerge as master painters (Cush, Young Buck); I've seen guys come from near illiteracy to become fluent in foreign languages; I've met teachers who've created works of surpassing beauty and craftsmanship (Big Tony). You are all far more than others say of you, for the spark of the infinite glows within each of you. You are on Death Row, but what is finest in you is greater than Death Row.
So, care for each other. Not in words, but in the heart.
Think good vibes on each other.
Lastly, don't rat. (If ratting was so cool, they would've beat me off the Row).
Keep rumblin', `cause your day is coming.
—Mumia Abu-Jamal, M.A.
Death Row (1983–2011)
Mumia transfered to general prison population.
Press release
(09-12-2011)
For immediate release
Headline: On the 30th anniversary of his arrest and imprisonment, campaigners call for immediate release of Mumia Abu Jamal
Source: Free Mumia Abu Jamal Defense Campaign (UK)
Contact: For further information or to arrange interviews please contact:
Tongogara: 020 8801 4731 or 07597078221
Sarah: 07962 561 529
E-mail: free2mumia@gmail.com
Between 5.00 – 7.00 pm on Friday 9th December 2011 campaigners will assemble at Speakers Corner and make their way via Marble Arch and Oxford Street to the US Embassy London. They will be there to demand the unconditional and immediate release of Mumia Abu Jamal.
This date marks 30 years since Mumia Abu Jamal was arrested and imprisoned in Philadelphia, USA. Accused of murdering a police officer, the journalist and former Black Panther Abu-Jamal has always stated his innocence. Following his conviction he languished on death row under a sentence which has now been ruled unconstitutional.
Earlier this year US Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, Philadelphia, USA set aside Abu-Jamal's death sentence because of procedural irregularities during his trial. This decision has since been upheld by the Supreme Court, automatically reverting the sentence to life imprisonment.
In order to reinstate the death penalty at this point, the District Attorney would have to call for a new penalty-phase trial, with a new jury having to decide on whether to reinstate the death sentence. Otherwise, the sentence of life in prison (without parole) remains.
UK campaigners are joining others in France, Africa, US and internationally who are actively calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
Notes for Editors:
Mumia was arrested during the early morning hours of 9 December 1981, in Philadelphia for the alleged murder of a police officer. A former member of the Black Panther Party and award winning journalist outspoken in his condemnation of police corruption and brutality, Mumia had attracted hostile attention of police and city authorities before his arrest.
Despite a plea of ‘Not Guilty’, Mumia was tried in 1982 and sentenced to death the following year. The trial was a tragic example of everything that can go wrong in a capital case. The proceedings were marked by racism, inept legal representation, and a bigoted and prejudiced judge. The defendant was too poor to hire a good lawyer, investigator, or essential forensic experts in such fields as ballistics and pathology. Amnesty International stated proceedings did not meet international standards for a fair trial.
Earlier this year US Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, Philadelphia, USA set aside Abu-Jamal's death sentence over procedural irregularities during his trial. On Tuesday, October 11th the US Supreme Court decided to deny the appeal of the Philadelphia District Attorney (Seth Williams) which attempted to permanently re-instate the death penalty in Mumia’s case. The District Attorney has yet to make a statement as to whether or not he will seek a new sentencing hearing.
At the time of his arrest, Mumia was already known as the "Voice of the Voiceless" for speaking on behalf of the dispossessed and against government misconduct and speaking out against racism and police corruption. He was President of the Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Black Journalists. Today his weekly writings and radio commentaries from prison reach people in many countries.
Mumia Abu Jamal has always said his is not a special case. His case brings our attention to injustices faced by thousands of others. There are more than 20,000 people facing the death penalty worldwide. Internationally political opponents to the state face wrongful imprisonment, disappearances and extra-judicial killing. Poverty and race are real contributory factors in the imprisonment and inhuman treatment of prisoners in goals here and in the US.
The campaign to free Mumia Abu Jamal takes place in the context of deaths in police custody. Recent examples include Ian Tomlinson, Smiley Culture and Mark Duggan.
Other information:
An online petition for President Barack Obama ‘Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Global Abolition of the Death Penalty’, was signed by over 22,000 people from around the globe. Signatories include Bishop Desmond Tutu, South Africa (Nobel Peace Prize); Günter Grass, Germany (Nobel Prize in Literature); Danielle Mitterrand, Paris (former First Lady of France); Fatima Bhutto, Pakistan (writer); Colin Firth (Academy Award Best-Actor nominee), Noam Chomsky, MIT (philosopher and author); Ed Asner (actor); Elliott Gould (actor); Mike Farrell (actor); and Michael Radford (director of the Oscar winning film Il Postino); Robert Meeropol (son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, executed in 1953); members of the European Parliament; members of the German parliament.
Mumia is now being defended by Judy Ritter Esq. in association with the NAACP Legal Defence and Educational Fund. Judy Ritter Esq. has represented Mumia Abu Jamal since 2003.