[Antiracism] The Mumia Emergency - A Call for Student Demonstrations

[Enoch H. Page]

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info at freemumia.com
Sent by Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition (NYC)

The worldwide movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal is in emergency mode.
Since the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia last week
rejected Mumia's appeal for a new trial, his only legal options are
death by lethal injection or life behind the wall without parole.  No
way! * Mumia has always said it will be the power of the people that
will force the courts to release him.  Get yourself and everyone you
know to* *Philly on Saturday, April 19th.  This is the week of the
Presidential Primary and the entire city will be all revved-up
politically and more open to anger over such a blatant disrespect of an
innocent man's rights*.  We will provide group transportation.  Mail
your check made out to FMAJC for $19 per ticket right away to FMAJC,
P.O. Box 16, College Station, New York, NY 10030.  Include your address
(please write clearly and include a good contact phone number) and we
will mail you back your ticket.

*        Mumia's future is in the hands of we, the people!

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*Sent by the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition (NYC)

*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 sentenc*e 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.