Click here to go to home page

Mumia Abu-Jamal

On Dec. 9, 1981, Abu-Jamal was driving a taxi when he saw that police had stopped his brother. He got out of the car to make sure police were not violating his brother's civil rights.In the altercation that followed, Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner was shot and killed. Witnesses saw a man flee the scene who did not look like Abu-Jamal. But when police arrived, they arrested Mumia Abu-Jamal, who had also been shot....
...
Learn about what's happening with Mumia now and the reason to go to Philly on Wed., April 24th --and more...
...
The death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has brought out the malicious and carnal glee of the corporate press, who report breathlessly, not only on his mortal passing, but an end to the Bolivarian Revolution.

They are the voices of their vampire, Wall Street bosses, who delight in owning more of the earth, no matter how much misery they may cause for millions....

He came from humble beginnings from among the teeming millions in Venezuelan poverty and joined the army as much to make a living as to serve the people.  He and a group of mid-level military officers staged an unsuccessful coup in February, 1992 against the corrupt regime of President Carlos Andrés Pérez. Within eight years, the man that led the coup would be elected president and Hugo Chávez would proclaim Venezuela as home of the revolutionary liberator, Simón Bolívar, who fought and prevailed against Spanish colonialists for Latin American independence early in the 19th century....
...
...
An important film documentary about the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal premiered in New York City on Feb. 1. “Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal” explores through prison interviews, archival footage and narrations, the life of a political prisoner known as “the voice of the voiceless.” It was written and directed by Stephen Vittoria and co-produced by Noelle Hanrahan from Prison Radio....
You know Mumia. You know his words, you know his voice, you know his struggle. And you know that his life's story has been obscured by the controversy of his case, by the vindictive and fallacious narrative told about him by media outlets, both mainstream and right-wing. This new documentary film is here to recast that narrative, to tell the true story of Mumia from his childhood, to the dawn of his political consciousness (as you know at a very young age), to his early career as a journalist, to his incredible output of books and commentaries from Death Row and beyond....
Philadelphia — United around the goal “Mumia, Free in 4!” — meaning his release in four years — dedicated activists from several U.S. cities, France and Germany gathered at Temple University on Jan. 26 for a conference organized by Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal....
Tickets are now on sale ahead of the official date. Please buy tickets now and/or reach out to ALL OF YOUR CONTACTS to buy pre-sale tickets for the opening weekend, February 1-2-3. The greater the presale, the greater chance the film has of opening in the largest screen at Cinema Village, the greater chance Mumia has of making waves in NYC. We MUST PACK THE HOUSE for Mumia. This may be a film out in the marketplace but it is not our moment, it is his moment and we must make the most of it. Now is the time. ...
...
It is fitting that we gather today. As icy winds whip against the walls of Riverside Church, we celebrate the work and life of Ramsey Clark and the International Action Center — Ramsey’s 85th year and the IAC’s 20....
It is a political creation – made by Congress itself, as a self- made rule to force agreement (but really to blackmail political opponents), or else massive cuts will be automatically made in defense, social services and other government programs....
A step forward toward building people’s power was taken in Philadelphia when activists met on Sept. 26 in the western part of the city. The People’s Power Assembly had been preceded by a series of speakouts during the summer where community residents addressed the issues that concerned them....
As activists gear up for a Sept. 14 event in New York promoting the struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal, the state of Philadelphia has lodged another attack against him. On Aug. 15, this internationally revered political prisoner was illegally sentenced to life imprisonment....
On Aug. 13, 2012, without any notice and in violation of his constitutional rights and state law, Mumia Abu-Jamal was formally sentenced by Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Pamela Dembe to life imprisonment without parole. The impact of this illegal sentencing is to prevent a possible challenge to the slow death of life imprisonment. All sentences, including "mandatory" sentences, require a formal proceeding allowing the person to be sentenced the right to be heard and to challenge his sentence....
For a brief moment in time, the name and fate of Trayvon Martin broke through the daily media fog and touched the lives of tens of thousands of people, motivating them, mobilizing them and moving them to take direct action against the gross inaction of the state. ...
...
In Chicago, long known as “the Windy City,” people are witnessing mega gales of wind as NATO comes to town....
Larry Holmes and I have been visiting political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal for 16 years. We started visiting him when he was on death row at State Correctional Institution-Greene in Waynesburg, Pa., which is near the West Virginia border. Our trips there by car from New York City would take at least seven hours, and even longer by bus....
Close to 1,000 people from around the U.S. protested in front of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. on April 24, the 58th birthday of political prisoner – Mumia Abu-Jamal – to demand his release. ...
On December 9, 2011 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, over 1,100 people gathered to mark the 30th anniversary of Mumia Abu-Jamal's incarceration. Archbishop Desmond Tutu asked our nation to "rise to the challenge of reconciliation, human rights, and justice" and called for Mumia's "immediate release." And when Frances Goldin--Mumia's literary agent--called on the audience to OCCUPY the Justice Department, the call was met with a roar of excitement....
A youngster goes out for a snack, simply something to munch on and a sweet drink to wash it down with. A man nearby sees him and suspicion arises. In a matter of moments, the unarmed teenager is dead and the shooter calmly claims self-defense. The cops come, called by people who witnessed the transaction. They chat with the shooter, perhaps exchange information in the way usually done at a traffic accident, put in a call to the court and leave. Imagine the dialogue:...
Activists from around the world will gather in Washington, D.C., on April 24 to occupy the Justice Department and demand the full release of radical journalist and political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. Their motivation stems from the historic peoples’ victory that removed Abu-Jamal from death row and stopped the state’s repeated efforts to kill him. ...
Congratulations on being part of the historic victory which got Mumia off death row! The amazing 30-year-old international movement to free Mumia did it. Despite great efforts to kill Mumia by the state of Pennsylvania and all its backers -- the courts, the police, the corporate institutions and the politicians who hate him for telling the truth about who runs America -- we stopped them from killing our brother....
On December 9, 2011 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, over 1,100 people gathered to mark the 30th anniversary of Mumia Abu-Jamal's incarceration. Archbishop Desmond Tutu asked our nation to "rise to the challenge of reconciliation, human rights, and justice" and called for Mumia's "immediate release." And when Frances Goldin--Mumia's literary agent--called on the audience to OCCUPY the Justice Department, the call was met with a roar of excitement. ...
...
“Pam Africa, Our Revolutionary Daughter of the Dust, Her Life and Work” was celebrated in her home city of Philadelphia on March 30-31 in commemoration of International Women’s Day. The tribute began March 30 with a reception at the Charles L. Blockson Collection at Temple University. Speakers featured fellow activists in MOVE and the International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, two representatives of the Black Panther Party, as well as family members, including her mother, Bessie Knighton....
Five Days to Free the Cuban Five begins April 17 and continues through a demonstration on April 21 at the White House. The theme will be “Obama, give me Five,” referring to the five Cubans held in the U.S. against their will....
The People’s Power tour was launched in New York on March 11. The tour seeks to bring working, poor and oppressed people into a nationwide discussion to help develop a unifying fightback program of action. Its literature points to the life-and-death social issues that are intensified by the current global capitalist economic crisis, such as “unemployment, low wages, foreclosures, police and ICE terror, racist incarcerations, hunger and homelessness.”...
On that day we will say that we are all Mumia, we are all immigrants, we are all prisoners, we are all Bradley Manning, we are all poor, we are all Palestinian, we are all Troy Davis, we are all political prisoners, we are all occupiers!!! ...
...
Political prisoner and revolutionary journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal was transferred Jan. 27 to general population in SCI-Mahanoy in Frackville, Pa. He had spent almost 30 years on Pennsylvania death row since he was convicted of first degree murder July 3, 1982, for the 1981 killing of a white police officer in Philadelphia. Mumia has proclaimed his innocence since his arrest on Dec. 9, 1981, which was followed by a sham of a trial. His state and federal appeals for a new trial to prove his innocence have been systematically denied by the courts. While on death row, none of his visitors could physically touch him, an unimaginable form of torture....
Educators for Mumia, Millions for Mumia, the International Action Center and other grassroots organizations joined Concerned Family and Friends at the Calvary Church in Philadelphia to discuss the next steps to win Abu-Jamal’s release from prison. Major initiatives have been established for local, national and international actions around the Free Mumia Campaign....
Since December 14, Mumia has been kept in solitary in SCI Mahanoy's dungeon. Its restrictions and conditions belie its modern construction. On January 6 Mumia told us that he wants all of his supporters to broaden this call, to not just focus on his case, but to understand that all torture units must be shut down....
Mumia is being kept in solitary in SCI Mahanoy's dungeon. Its restrictions and conditions belie its modern construction. Mumia just told us on Friday [Jan. 6] that he wants all of his supporters to broaden this call, to not just focus on his case, but to understand that all torture units must be shut down....
Although Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams dropped the death sentence on Dec. 7, Mumia Abu-Jamal remains in administrative custody since being transferred from SCI Greene to SCI Mahanoy on Dec. 14. He has been kept isolated from the general population, with limited phone access and visits with family still conducted behind glass walls....
I visited Mumia Dec. 15, in the new prison that houses him, SCI Mahanoy. Even though he has been released from death row, he remains in Administrative Custody while he awaits transfer to general population. Because he is still in Administrative Custody and not yet in general population, visits still take place behind the plexiglas barrier characteristic of the no-contact visits to prisoners on death row....
After nearly three decades on Pennsylvania’s death row, former Black Panther Party member and world-renowned journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal, was moved into transitional area at SCI Greene maximum security prison on Dec. 11, following an announcement by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams earlier in the week that he would no longer seek Abu-Jamal’s execution....
"Now that it is clear that Mumia should never have been on death row in the first place, justice will not be served by relegating him to prison for the rest of his life"yet another form of death sentence. Based on even a minimal following of international human rights standards, Mumia must now be released. I therefore join the call, and ask others to follow, asking District Attorney Seth Williams to rise to the challenge of reconciliation, human rights, and justice: drop this case now, and allow Mumia Abu-Jamal to be immediately released, with full time served."...
Having survived two execution orders and 30 years on death row in solitary confinement, never being able to touch his dying mother or sister, his spouse, children or grandchildren (let alone anyone else, other than the prison guards who handcuff and shackle him), Mumia Abu-Jamal, an innocent man, now faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison....
ALL OUT FOR MUMIA ON FRIDAY, DEC. 9, THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS INCARCERATION AND FRAMEUP...
We’re sure you were relieved on October 11, 2011, as were we, when the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed several lower court rulings since 2001 that Mumia should never have been sentenced to death. That decision is a tribute to the amazing international movement that has fought all these years for justice for Mumia. But wae write to you now calling on you to help in this critical next stage of the struggle to gain Mumia’s final release from prison....
...
...
Here's a prediction: Seth Williams, the district attorney of Philadelphia, will decide not to seek to reimpose the death penalty on Mumia Abu-Jamal, the world-famous journalist, former Black Panther and condemned prisoner who has spent the last almost 30 years of his life on Pennsylvania's overcrowded death row....
Today the United States Supreme Court rejected a request from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office to overturn the most recent federal appeals court decision declaring Mumia Abu-Jamal’s death sentence unconstitutional. The Court’s decision brings to an end nearly thirty years of litigation over the fairness of the sentencing hearing that resulted in Mr. Abu-Jamal’s being condemned to death. Mr. Abu-Jamal will be automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole unless the District Attorney elects to seek another death sentence from a new jury....
On April 26 the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia unanimously issued a ruling upholding its earlier decision calling for a new sentencing hearing for Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1982. On Pennsylvania’s death row for almost 29 years, Abu-Jamal — a world-renowned political prisoner and former Black Panther Party member — has consistently maintained his innocence....
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has unanimously declared that Mumia Abu-Jamal's death sentence is unconstitutional. In today's decision, the Court of Appeals reaffirmed its 2008 finding that Mr. Abu-Jamal's sentencing jury was misled about the process for considering evidence supporting a life sentence. The Court found that, in violation of the United States Supreme Court's 1988 decision in Mills v. Maryland, the jury was improperly led to believe that that it could only consider unanimously agreed upon evidence favoring a life verdict. This mistake rendered Mr. Abu-Jamal's death sentence fundamentally unfair. ...
In the USA we hope we are experiencing that groundswell of a time when events and history come together; that the protest against what is happening to civil service workers will result in such a wave of people power that change will start breaking out for all of us....
It is with great excitement that we announce the formation of Mumia's new legal team. Both Christina Swarns and Judith Ritter have argued before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals for Mumia. They are now formal co-counsel representing him in the ongoing appeal of his murder conviction and death sentence. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), as the premier legal organization in this country fighting for racial justice, has committed itself to "sweep the grave injustices embodied in this case into the dustbin of history." ...
On Jan. 28, Mumia Abu-Jamal retained the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. to represent him in the ongoing appeal of his capital murder conviction and death sentence. LDF will serve as co-counsel in the case with Judy Ritter, Esq., of Widener Law School in Wilmington, Del., who has represented Mr. Abu-Jamal since 2003....
On January 28, 2011, Mumia Abu-Jamal retained the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) to represent him in the ongoing appeal of his capital murder conviction and death sentence.  LDF will serve as co-counsel in the case with Judy Ritter, Esq., of Widener Law School in Wilmington, Delaware, who has represented Mr. Abu-Jamal since 2003....
The only legal options that were considered by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, a federal court immediately below the US Supreme Court, at the November 9 hearing were whether Mumia Abu-Jamal is to be executed or get life in prison without parole. The question of Mumia's guilt or innocence and the opportunity of a new trial was not part of this hearing. The Third Circuit decided that issue in March 2008 in a decision made by the same three judges who conducted this hearing....
More than 500 people, mostly African Americans and youth, mobilized for a noontime outdoor rally Nov. 9 in support of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. The rally lasted through a hearing of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that argued on whether the death sentence would be reinstated against Mumia, who has maintained his innocence since being railroaded to death row in 1982. The court’s ruling will be announced at a later date. Supporters for Mumia included a delegation from the Transport Workers Union Local 100; Charles Barron, the New York gubernatorial candidate for the Freedom Party; Free Mumia Coalition (NYC), International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal and the International Action Center. Activists traveled from as far away as California, Texas, Arizona, Germany and France to stand with Mumia....
On November 9, 2010, Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia Will Consider Reinstating Death Sentence on Internationally Renowned Death Row Political Prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal...
Mumia Abu-Jamal is innocent. He’s spent over 28 years on death row after being unjustly convicted. Mumia was framed because he exposed police brutality as a radio journalist and for helping to found the Philadelphia chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1969.The real criminals are the FBI and cops, who bombed the MOVE house on May 13, 1985, burning to death six adults and five children. The MOVE 9 are innocent political prisoners who must be released. A “Tea Party” majority on the U.S. Supreme Court has virtually ordered the Federal Appeals Court to reinstate Mumia’s death sentence. Don’t let the bigots lynch Mumia Abu-Jamal. Show the Federal Appeals Court that we demand justice. Mumia must not die! RALLY in Philadelphia Nov 9. For more information: Free Mumia Coalition (NYC) 212.330.8029 www.freemumia.com...
The International Action Center announces two important NYC showings of a new and exciting film, “Justice on Trial”, on the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal at Riverside Church and Baruch College, Oct. 31 and Nov. 2. All out for Mumia, Nov. 9, Philadelphia!!...
A critical hearing is scheduled Nov. 9 in the nearly three-decade-old case of journalist and activist Mumia Abu-Jamal, who sits on death row in Pennsylvania. Mumia was severely wounded and arrested on Dec. 9, 1981, in Philadelphia and was later charged, tried and convicted of the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner....
The World Day Against the Death Penalty was commemorated on Oct. 10 with a major emphasis on the United States, where more executions take place than any other industrialized country. Since the death penalty was reinstituted by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976, 1,229 executions have taken place, with 41 in 2010 alone and counting. (Death Penalty Information Center, Oct. 6)...
The nearly 29-year struggle to free political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal faces a critical juncture with the announcement that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit will review Abu-Jamal’s death sentence on Nov. 9. It is imperative that all who stand for justice and against racism and state repression pack the courtroom in Philadelphia....
For nearly 30 long, tortuous years, Marilyn Buck was a political prisoner of the state; a captive in the federal prison system for her role in the liberation of former Black Panther Assata Shakur....
Activists supporting African-American political prisoner and revolutionary journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal held a lively street meeting on the corner of Sixth and Market near the Liberty Bell monument in Philadelphia on July 4....
July 3rd is the day that political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death for a killing he did not commit. This year’s July 4 theme is “ancestral uprising!” featuring dramatic presentations through performances of heroic anti-slavery fighters. The protest will also include a special presentation on the year-long struggle to demand a civil rights investigation for Mumia on the part of the U.S. Justice Department...
Ten years ago, the International Action Center initiated a major demonstration focused on the prison industrial complex. It was held on in front of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. The march was called to take place on April 15, the day before militant actions to oppose the criminal policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which were meeting in that city; thousands of youth took part in those protests....
This is a critical moment in the long battle to save the life of world-renown African-American political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been on Pennsylvania’s death row for almost 28 years. Millions of people worldwide know that he has never had a fair trial or appeals process before a jury of his peers—that he has been denied his basic legal and constitutional rights....
...
April 3 was “Call to Action Day” at Columbia University — a day to inform, mobilize and organize to save the life of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. The theme was “Live from Death Row: Mumia at the Crossroads in the Age of Obama.” It was organized by Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal....
Writers for Mumia, an afternoon of readings and testimonials by poets, playwrights, journalists, book authors, wordsmiths and activists, will be held April 24 from 2:30 to 6 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church, 512 W. 126th St. in Harlem. The New York Chapter of the National Writers Union and the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition of New York City are co-sponsoring the event, which precedes a rally in front of the Justice Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 26....
The events of recent weeks in Haiti and Chile have had impacts far beyond the borders of these countries. These impacts have been global....
Activists from the U.S. and worldwide organized a day-long teach-in in Philadelphia and online to demand: No death penalty; No life sentence and for a Civil Rights Investigation in support of the award-winning journalist and political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal. The following videos will help to summarize the legal and political issues connected to Mumia's case along with action proposals to build a broad fightback movement to win his freedom....
In light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opened the door for reinstatement of the death penalty for political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, activists from the Philadelphia region, across the U.S. and around the globe will take part in an important teach-in in Philadelphia on Feb. 13, to take up the next stage in the struggle to free Mumia....
Activists from Philadelphia, across the U.S. and around the globe will take part in an important video streaming, video conferencing and live teach-in to take up the next stage in the struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal....
The plight of Mumia Abu-Jamal is included in this Black History Month forum because what’s happening to him is part of the history of Black people in the U.S. and throughout the African Diaspora. This includes a history of oppression, repression, enslavement, apartheid, domestic terrorism, exploitation, racial discrimination, marginalization, resistance, and a continuing struggle for liberation, civil and human rights, social justice and equal protection under the law....
On Jan. 19 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that has opened the way for the reinstatement of the death sentence for Mumia Abu-Jamal. The federal court’s ruling, which moved away from earlier rulings regarding sentencing phase regulations, was the latest in a long history of state, local and federal courts changing or even reversing their own legal precedents in the case of this world-renowned journalist and political prisoner....
On April 6, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal asking for a new trial for death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, based on evidence of racist prosecutorial misconduct during his original 1982 trial in Philadelphia. An important aspect of this misconduct is based on the 1986 Batson issue=97a legal decision that says that prospective jurors cannot be selected or unselected based on their race....
The Supreme Court has tossed out a lower court ruling that nullified the death sentence for former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal. He has been an outspoken activist from behind bars, claiming there were procedural errors during his capital sentencing, and that too few blacks were on the jury....
All the same, Mumia is still on death row because the prosecution filed an appeal wit the Supreme Court in order to push through his execution. Mumia is now in the greatest danger to be executed since his arrest on December 9, 1981....
The International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (ICFFMAJ) coalition convened an urgent meeting here on Oct. 17. Mumia supporters from Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C., were in attendance. It was a fightback strategy meeting of critical importance. Mumia, who has been on death row for over 27 years, is now, more than ever, faced with having his life snuffed out by the political powers that be....
New York—On Aug. 21 the Solidarity Center here was filled with five hours of inspiring sounds: music and spoken word from talented artists (photo right) brought together to support the case of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, known worldwide as the “voice of the voiceless.”...
Celebrate the release of On the Move – Sounds Inspired by Mumia Abu Jamal and to celebrate the voices that have come together to demand through words and song that Mumia Abu Jamal be set free!...
In 2004, the NAACP voted unanimously (with one "nay" vote) to "reiterate its support of the international movement for a new and fair trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal." Yet the organization has done nothing since that time to ensure justice for Mumia....
The struggle to free death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is heating up in New York City. On May 8, an emergency, militant street meeting took place in front of Harlem’s Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building to demand that elected officials call upon U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department to conduct a civil rights investigation into constitutional rights violations against Mumia. Congressperson Charles Rangel, who represents the Harlem community, has come out in support of the call for the investigation....
Following are excerpts from an e-mail campaign launched on April 15 by the New York Free Mumia Coalition, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Millions for Mumia and the International Action Center. To date hundreds of thousands of emails have been sent to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, President Barack Obama, congressional leaders, and the media to demand that the Justice Department initiate a civil rights investigation addressing a 27-year history of prosecutorial and judicial violations of Mumia's constitutional rights....
Political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal will be 55 on April 24. His family, friends and supporters are observing the day with a worldwide "Honk for Mumia" and other displays of resistance to demand freedom for this world-famous African-American journalist held on Pennsylvania's death row....
While May Day has historically been a day of workers solidarity and a celebration of labor power, this is not a day or year like any other....
On April 6, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Mumia Abu-Jamal's appeal for a new guilt-phase trial. The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to consider the Philadelphia DA's separate appeal, which is attempting to execute Abu-Jamal WITHOUT a new sentencing hearing. In response to yesterday's rejection, Abu-Jamal's lead attorney, Robert R. Bryan, will be filing a "petition for re-hearing" in the U.S. Supreme Court....
The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on as few as 100 cases per year, although thousands are submitted. The briefs submitted support a full examination of the legal issues in both cases....
The central issue in this case is racism in jury selection. The prosecution systematically removed people from sitting on the trial jury purely because of the color of their skin, that is, being black. The bigotry that killed Martin Luther King, Jr., so many years ago, has been rampant in the case of my client and is a central part of the state's quest to murder him in the name of the law....
Mumia Abu-Jamal remains on Pennsylvania’s death row. Last week marked the 27th anniversary of his unjust imprisonment. Racism, fraud and politics have been threads that have run through the case since its inception, and continue today....
Dec. 6 will be a day of international solidarity to free Mumia Abu-Jamal. It is sorely needed. Lynne Abraham, the Philadelphia district attorney known as “the deadliest D.A. in the U.S.,” is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate Abu-Jamal's death sentence despite mounds of evidence showing his innocence....
There are new developments in the case of my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is on Pennsylvania's death row, that are the most significant and deadly since his 1981 arrest....
There has been extensive news attention to the ongoing federal proceedings concerning my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, on the hotly contested issue of racism in jury selection and the ordering of a new jury trial on the question of life or death. (Abu-Jamal v. Horn, 520 F.3d 272 (3rd Cir. 2008).) The massive issue of racism will be presented to the U.S. Supreme Court later this year. However, few are aware that we have been actively litigating separate issues concerning fraud and the subornation of perjury by the Philadelphia Police Department and the District Attorney of Philadelphia. We are now before the Supreme Court regarding this governmental misconduct which resulted in Mumia being convicted and sentenced to death. ...
Today our Petition for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc, submitted on behalf of my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, was denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Simply put, we did not receive the needed majority vote from the nine sitting judges; at least five votes for a rehearing were necessary. However, Justice Thomas L. Ambro continues to urge the granting of relief on the issue of racism in jury selection. ...
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia On June 27, 2008, I submitted on behalf of my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, a Petition for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Yesterday it was deemed "filed" by the court following rulings on related motions. The focus of the Petition is the issue of racism in jury selection. If unsuccessful, we will proceed to the United States Supreme Court...
With the attainment of the required delegates to claim the Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. president, Sen. Barack H. Obama (D-IL) has written a new page in American history....
There apparently is still confusion regarding the March 27 federal decision. A new jury trial was ordered on the question of whether the penalty should be life or death. The court did not rule that Mumia should receive a life sentence as some have stated. The penalty-phase was reversed because the trial judge gave misleading and unconstitutional jury instructions. Nonetheless, I expect far greater gains. ...
Over a thousand people voiced their collective outrage here April 19 that political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal was once again denied the right to a fair hearing by an injustice system determined to keep this innocent man imprisoned for life if it can&'t silence him outright through execution....
Rainbow Flags for Mumia is a coalition of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people and organizations that came together in 1999 to demand a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. The following are excerpts from a call issued by RF4M organizers Imani Henry and LeiLani Dowell to help raise awareness and solidarity with the Free Mumia rally in Philadelphia on April 19....
In his new book, O'Connor argues that Abu-Jamal was clearly framed by police, and that the actual shooter was a man named Kenneth Freeman. O'Connor criticizes the local media, who, he says, "bought into the prosecution's story line early on and has never been able to see this case for what it is: a framing of an innocent and peace-loving man."...
This Legal Update is made on behalf of my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who remains on Pennsylvania’s death row. Many people have inquired as to our reaction and position concerning recent legal developments, and what will happen now. This should answer many of those questions and alleviate some of the confusion....
There is considerable documentation of the extremely "irregular" decision making by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. See the...minority position in the Third Circuit ruling. We must expose the conspiracy to convict Mumia, to deny him a new trial, and to have him either executed or imprisoned for life. We will not accept their decision. Into the streets for our brother, Mumia, and for ourselves!!!...
The following statement was issued on March 29 by Pam Africa, coordinator of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, on the March 28, 2008 court ruling by the three-judge panel of the Third Circuit of Appeals....
Emergency protests took place in a number of cities March 28, 2008, the day after a 2 to 1 court ruling March 27 made by the 3rd Circuit of Appeals that upheld the guilty verdict in the case of death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal and called for a resentencing hearing due to flawed jury instructions in the original trial....
A ruling by the three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejecting Mumia Abu-Jama's appeals has left supporters outraged and convinced that, for this internationally known political prisoner, there is no chance for a "fair trial" within the U.S. injustice system....
THE THIRD CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS HAS RULED AGAINST A NEW TRIAL FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL. THEY HAVE CALLED FOR A SENTENCING HEARING WHICH CAN RESULT IN EITHER AN EXECUTION OR LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE.DAY AFTER PLANS ARE IN EFFECT ...
As news flashed of the formal resignation of Cuba's Fidel Castro from the office of the President, morbid celebrations broke out in "Little Havana"(Miami), Florida, the U.S. capital of the Cuban exiled, anti-Castro movement. Just as they rejoiced at his illness in 2006, they reveled at his resignation....
The issues in this case concern the right to a fair trial, the struggle against the death penalty, and the political repression of a courageous writer and ournalist. My goal is to win a new and fair trial for Mumia, and a jury acquittal upon his retrial. I want him to go home to his family. Nevertheless, Mumia is in great danger, for if all is lost he will be executed. We must never forget that racism, fraud, and politics are threads that have run through this case since the beginning and continue today....
Mumia Abu-Jamal has been on Pennsylvania's death row for over a quarter of a century. His 1982 conviction for the shooting death of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner, has been contested by jurists, human rights organizations, and peoples of conscience the world over. Even though he is arguably the most famous political prisoner in the United States, his case and struggle for justice distills many of the issues that racially stigmatized groups and others have faced in the United States for decades: police brutality and violence, racist applications of the death penalty, prosecutorial misconduct, suborning of witnesses, and the use of wealth and political privilege in criminal justice systems to service the ideological interests of groups and classes in power. ...
It is mind-boggling for us to be here, now, at this late hour, with Leonard Peltier still in chains. Books have been written; documentaries have been produced; congresspeople have joined his freedom campaign -- all for naught. For Leonard Peltier, a former leader of the American Indian Movement (AIM), is still not free! That, to anyone with a soul, is a damned shame. ...
There are many developments on the legal and other fronts concerning my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal. We remain in active litigation before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and also have issues pending in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Mumia has been honored by fellow writers through acceptance into a prestigious organization, a Nobel Prize winner recently visited him, an excellent new book was released in France, a leading British newspaper has published a major article on Mumia, and a superb film recently premiered in London and Rome. The following are the highlights....
We continue to await a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia, concerning my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal. This complex case was orally argued before a three-judge panel on May 17, 2007, following extensive litigation which included voluminous briefing and motions. In my experience of successfully defending a large number of murder cases involving the death penalty, it was a great day....
Loading

UPDATED Dec 25, 2011 12:00 PM
International Action Center • Solidarity Center • 147 W. 24th St., FL 2 • New York, NY 10011
Phone 212.633.6646 • E-mail: iacenter@iacenter.org • En Español: iac-cai@iacenter.org