Statement of the Board of the American Friends Service Committee on the Case of Mumia Abu Jamal

 June 24, 2000

 The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) joins millions of  individuals and organizations around the world in calling for a new trial  for Mumia Abu Jamal.  AFSC is a Quaker organization that is committed to  social justice, peace, and humanitarian service. Our work in communities  throughout the United States and internationally is based in the Quaker  belief in the infinite dignity and worth of every person, as well as our  faith in the power of love and nonviolent struggle to bring about  positive social change.  We oppose the death penalty in all cases, because of our belief in the value  of human life.  We do not believe that either justice or healing can be  found by reacting to violence with violence.

 We respect the memory of Daniel Faulkner, and we honor the pain of his widow  and the other survivors who grieve his loss.  AFSC stands firmly with murder  victim family members just as it does those on death row.  Every death  through violence is a rupture in the fabric of the community, a rupture that  cries out for healing.  Such healing cannot come, however, through a  search for vengeance or through casting aside legal and constitutional  protections in order to obtain a conviction at any cost, regardless of   the facts of a particular case.

 AFSC's fifty years of work to rid the criminal justice system of systemic  injustice has made us aware of the many systemic imperfections and   injustices in the criminal justice system.   We are also aware of the massive  increase in the rate of incarceration in the United States that has   accompanied the re-instatement of the death penalty.   Until the 1970s,  the rate of incarceration in the United States remained essentially  stable for nearly fifty years, at about 110 per 100,000.  At the present  time, the rate  of incarceration is over six times higher than it was prior to the 1970s.

 The execution of innocent people is inescapable and likely to increase if   the calls for swift executions, reduced resources for defense of the  accused, and the inclusion of more crimes that may result in the  imposition of the death penalty continue. The pace at which innocent  people have been released over the last several years is at least double  the rate from 1973-93, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.   Our justice system is far from mistake free.  No matter how careful the  courts are, the possibility of perjured testimony, mistaken honest  testimony, and human error remain too real.

 We believe that the case of Mumia Abu Jamal illustrates systemic problems in  the U.S. criminal justice system and society as a whole. We deplore the  demonization of death row inmates whose voices are censored and shunned  by the larger community. For all the reasons set forth in this statement,  we believe that our participation in the movement for justice for Mumia  Abu Jamal as an individual strengthens our call for an end to the death  penalty and for fairness for all people involved in the criminal justice   system of the United States.

 We applaud those public officials who, in response to the mounting  evidence of wrongful conviction of innocent people, have been willing to  consider abolition of the death penalty or to approve moratoriums on its  use.  We urge them to recognize that only the abolition of the death  penalty will guarantee protection against taking the life of an innocent  person.

 Across the United States, AFSC works with communities of racial and cultural   diversity: communities that carry great burdens of poverty and  disenfranchisement.

 Since the reinstatement of the federal death penalty, seventy-six (76)  percent of the defendants approved for capital punishment are members of  minority groups. The imposition of the death penalty by states reflects  the same racial skewing.  Since 1900, prison officials, police, or lynch  mobs have executed thousands of African-Americans.  In the past century,  only a handful of whites have been executed for either the murder of a  black person  or the rape of a black woman.  The dire impact of our criminal justice  system on the poor, people of color, and the most disadvantaged demands that  more of the nation's resources be devoted to improving the well being of our  people and to eliminating racial stereotyping and institutional racism  from our criminal justice system.

 Before his incarceration, Abu Jamal was a prominent radio journalist,   serving as president of the Association of Black Journalists in  Philadelphia. A one-time member of the Black Panther Party, he was a  target of police harassment from a young age. As a reporter, he spoke out   vigorously against police violence, particularly in confrontations with  the MOVE organization.

 In 1981, when Abu Jamal attempted to intervene in a street incident in which   his brother was being beaten by a police officer, he was shot and  severely wounded.   Police officer Daniel Faulkner was also shot and  killed.  Abu Jamal was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in   Faulkner's killing. After nearly 20 years on death row, he has almost  exhausted his appeals.

 In appealing his original conviction, Abu Jamal has introduced evidence that   police fabricated a confession he never made; that witnesses were  harassed and coerced into changing their stories; that critical  exculpatory evidence was withheld from the defense; and that African  Americans were deliberately excluded from the jury. For years, Abu   Jamal's case was overseen by a judge who consistently demonstrated a bias  in favor of the prosecution and used every opportunity to prevent Abu  Jamal from introducing new evidence that might cast doubt on his guilt.   Higher courts in Pennsylvania have declined to review the lower court's  rulings, thereby failing to scrutinize the extensive evidence of police   and prosecutorial misconduct that Abu Jamal's defenders have amassed.

 Abu Jamal's case is now at its most critical stage.  He has petitioned  the federal court to order a new trial in which he can present evidence  of his innocence that has been excluded throughout his long quest for a  fair trial.  If his petition is rejected, it will be extremely difficult for him to  win further federal appeals and an execution date could be set before the  end of  the year.

 Despite all the international concern expressed on his behalf, Abu Jamal   remains in jeopardy.  There is reason to believe that he has been  targeted because of his criticism of police practices, especially in   communities of color.  Attempts to stifle democratic debate regarding  this case and to suppress Abu Jamal's voice are increasing in   Philadelphia and around the country.  For the AFSC, saving Mumia Abu  Jamal from the death penalty and supporting him to gain the opportunity   to demonstrate his innocence is only one step in our steadfast effort to  end capital punishment and to rid our criminal justice system of its many  flaws.