Crashing the Party at the Executioners' Ball! The Republican National Convention, July 31-August 3, 2000 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

August 1: A Day of Resistance to the Death Penalty and the Execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal

We call on all people of conscience and resistance to join us in Philadelphia to confront the executioners at their gala Executioners' Ball -- the Republican Convention 2000.  The previous decade has witnessed a resurgence in the use of executions, spearheaded by leading Republicans such as presidential candidate Gov. George W. Bush (more than 130 executions), including the unconscionable execution of Shaka Sankofa (Gary Graham). The convention host is Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (over 200 execution warrants signed in five years), and delegates include numerous others who are intent on using body counts as stepping stones to positions of greater power.

In solidarity with the many progressive forces who will be expressing their outrage on many issues during this whole convention, we are dedicating August 1, 2000, as a special day to expose these executioners. When the national spotlight is on Philadelphia, let us also expose this city -- with a death row larger than 37 states and nearly 90% people of color -- as the "Capital of Capital Punishment," presided over by "America's Deadliest D.A." Lynne Abraham.

The death penalty is the spearhead of a bi-partisan agenda that has led to an explosion in prison building and the incarceration of 2 million people in the U.S. The death penalty has always been the special friend of inordinate wealth and power, and is used overwhelmingly against people of color, almost exclusively on the poor, frequently executing people who are innocent, and in targeting political dissidents. The executioners view any limitations on their power and any demands for due process and fairness as obstacles to be eliminated.

These Republican executioners have been highly successful in pursuing this violent agenda with the cooperation of their Democratic Party colleagues, most notably in the implementation of the Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 which ties the hands of the Federal Courts in reversing death sentence cases on appeal.  It is under these severe new limitations that the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, sentenced to death in a Philadelphia court by a judge who has presided over more death sentences than any other sitting judge, heads into Federal Court in Philadelphia this summer.

When this Executioner's Ball is at the center of the international stage, join us in crashing the party and denouncing the deadly deeds of the hosts and the guests of honor!

Join with us in Philadelphia, in our unity and diversity, to make Tuesday, August 1, a day of city-wide communication, outreach, protest, audacity and action against the death penalty in the United States and against the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal!

Conveners: [list in formation] Academics for Mumia Abu-Jamal; American Friends Service Committee; Campaign to End the Death Penalty; Herman Ferguson; Jack Heyman (International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 Executive Board member); INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER; International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal; Jericho Amnesty Movement; Bob Mandel (Executive Board, Oakland Education Association); Robert Meeropol; Mothers Against Police Terrorism; MOVE; National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; National Lawyers Guild; National Writers Union (UAW, Local 1981); Pennsylvania Abolitionists; Philadelphia Direct Action Group; Refuse & Resist!; Solidarity; Western PA Committee to Free Mumia; Women for Peace & Justice For Vieques (NYC); Wooden Shoe Bookstore (Philadelphia); Writers for Mumia; Rev. S. Michael Yasutake (Executive Director, Interfaith Prisoners of Conscience Project) [Organizations listed with individuals may be for identification only]

For information on public protest events or to sign this call contact: Pennsylvania Abolitionists, 215-724-6120 or PAUADP@aol.com 

For information on direct action events at the RNC contact: (212) 629-1775 - aug1directaction@onebox.com  

For information on joining the International Action Center contingents in protests during the RNC, contact iacenter@iacenter.org  in NYC, or philnpc@op.net   in Philadelphia.