Pittsburgh! Show that Justice Matters this Saturday! Free Mumia!
Free Mumia Free Mumia
PITTSBURGHERS RESPOND WITH ANGER AND DETERMINATION TO
THE U.S. APPEALS COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT DENYING
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL HIS RIGHT TO A NEW, FAIR TRIAL
WHAT: RALLY to continue support for a new, fair trial and freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal.
WHERE: On the grounds of the East Liberty Presbyterian Church Penn Ave. side.
WHEN: Saturday, April 19, 2008, 2:00pm.
WHO: Pittsburgh Committee to Free Mumia, Thomas Merton Center, One Hood, Black
Voices for Peace, Center for Constitutional Rights and other death penalty opponents.
Pittsburghers will rally this Saturday, April 19th at 2pm to protest yet another legal outrage committed against Mumia Abu-Jamal and pledge to continue the struggle for his exoneration and freedom. The local rally will coincide with demonstrations in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Paris and more. Protesters will carry 128 signs each with the name of one of the death row inmates exonerated recently, many due to the same type of prosecutorial misconduct, poor counsel and racial bias flagrantly evident in this case. A 129th sign with Mumia Abu-Jamal's name on it will signify the confidence of supporters that he belongs with these freed exonerees. Speakers will link local issues of discrimination and police-killing of Black youth to the struggle for justice for Abu-Jamal.
Abu-Jamal has been fighting for a new trial from his death row cell in Green County since his 1982 conviction for the killing of a Philadelphia police officer. But once again, supporters say, the judicial system has denied a Black man his constitutional right to a fair trial. The majority of the three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit Appeals Court even violated its own precedents by employing a standard known as the "Mumia exception", says Abu-Jamal's attorney Robert Bryan. "The facts are that the prosecutor did engage in racism during jury selection, and made a false and misleading argument to the jury which turned the concept of reasonable doubt and presumption of innocence on its head." In a letter to supporters Bryan continued, "The trial judge was biased and bigoted, even stating in reference to my client that he was "going to help 'em fry the nigger."
The court left intact another federal court order for a new jury sentencing trial to determine if Abu-Jamal should be executed or sentenced to life without parole. Also, one of the three judges dissented in support of Abu-Jamal's "Batson claim" of racial bias in jury selection at the initial trial. This opens the possibility for the defense to appeal to the full Circuit Court to reconsider this basis for an entirely new trial.
"The chance to prove his innocence is what Mumia has always wanted and always deserved," says Martha Conley, herself an attorney who frequently visits Abu-Jamal and others on death row near Pittsburgh. "Mumia's experience is emblematic of the racist American judicial system that cruelly and brutally victimizes poor people and people of color." On top of this, Conley continues, "We don't have to look to Tibet or Guantanamo to find political prisoners. Mumia is a genuine American political prisoner. This most eloquent and determined African American critic of America's wars and other human rights abuses refuses to be silenced. Silence for us is intolerable too. This judicial system, this democracy is our responsibility. And that is why we will continue to speak out and demonstrate to free Mumia and end Pennsylvania's death penalty."