Ramona and Pam Africa of MOVE, with a former Pennsylvania death row inmate, on April 27 during a brief stopover at Detroit Metropolitan Airport enroute to Paris to commemorate street named after Mumia Abu-Jamal. (Photo: Abayomi Azikiwe).
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
THE DEMONSTRATION IN PHILADELPHIA WILL BE ON APRIL 19! (NOT ON APRIL 26, AS WAS ORGINALLY ANNOUNCED)
--The reason we moved it is to maximize on the publicity in Philadelphia leading up to the PA democratic primaries. The primaries will be the following week, so by holding our demonstration on the 19th we may be able to make use of the press. Thank you for your understanding, and please help us clarify this matter by spreading the word.
STATEMENT FROM PAM AFRICA, Coordinator of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (March 29, 2008):
Last week’s court decision was not a victory. While we obviously prefer to have Mumia alive, instead of executed, life in prison without parole is an unacceptable sentence for an innocent man that was convicted with a blatantly unfair trial.
Further, there is still no guarantee that he will not be executed. Also, even if the overturning of the death penalty is eventually finalized, there is no guarantee that he will be moved into the general prison population, because the government has always found ways to make “exceptions” for political prisoners like Mumia.
Once again the courts have held Mumia’s case to different standards than other cases. At the 1982 trial Prosecutor McGill used 10 of his 15 peremptory strikes to remove otherwise acceptable black jurors, yet the court ruled that there was not even the appearance of discrimination against just one of these black jurors!
Judge Thomas Ambro has noted this blatant double-standard with the court’s rejection of the “Batson” claim regarding racist jury selection, and he states in his dissenting opinion that the court’s ruling “goes against the grain of our prior actions…I see no reason why we should not afford Abu-Jamal the courtesy of our precedents."
We have absolutely no faith in the judicial system, but if Mumia does have a court proceeding, we will continue to mobilize to pack the courtroom and the streets in support of Mumia, just like we have always done whenever there was a courtroom proceeding for Mumia, whether he was present or not.
However, we know that if Mumia gets justice, it will not come from the courts, but only from the pressure generated by the people.
Therefore, we will take to the streets with a mass-demonstration in Philadelphia on April 19 demanding Mumia’s release based on the evidence of both innocence and judicial misconduct from the City of Philadelphia all the way up to the federal level.
In response to the recent court decision, numerous demonstrations have already been organized internationally and inside the US. On April 19, with the media spotlight on Pennsylvania’s Presidential Primary Election, supporters from around the world will gather in Philadelphia to take a constitutional stand and show our outrage with this unjust court decision.
(end of quote)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT THE MANY DIFFERENT WEBSITES SUPPORTING MUMIA, INCLUDING:
http://www.FreeMumia.com
http://www.FreeMumia.org
http://www.Abu-Jamal-News.com
http://www.EmajOnline.com
http://www.Mumia2000.org
http://www.PartisanDefense.org
The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia!
PLEASE CONTACT:
International Concerned Family & Friends of MAJ
P.O. Box 19709
Philadelphia, PA 19143
Phone - 215-476-8812/ Fax - 215-476-6180
E-mail - icffmaj@aol.com
Web - http://www.freemumia.com
AND OFFER YOUR SERVICES!
Send our brotha some LOVE and LIGHT at:
Mumia Abu-Jamal
AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370
WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM CAN *NOT* REST!!
[Check out Mumia's latest: *WE WANT FREEDOM:
A Life in the Black Panther Party*, from South
End Press (http://www.southendpress.org); Ph.
#1-800-533-8478.]
Go to http://partisandefense.org for the PDC's excellent summary of the facts in Mumia's case, complete with citations. It directly refutes the lies in the Faulkner/Smerconish book and underscores why Mumia should have never spent a single minute behind bars. Free Mumia Now! Abolish the Racist Death Penalty!
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