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mumia conference planned for february
Below is the call for the Emergency National Conference 2001: Stop the Execution of the Wrongfully Convicted Mumia Abu-Jamal! It will take place on February 24, 2001 in Washington DC
The year 2001 will prove to be decisive in the 19-year struggle for justice for death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. In 1982 Jamal was falsely convicted of the murder of a police officer.
Sentenced to execution by the notorious “hanging” Judge Albert Sabo, there were more than 30 constitutional violations in his case including coercion of witnesses, exclusion of Blacks from the jury and the denial of the right to self-representation.
The movement demanding a new trial for one of the world’s most noted political prisoners, award-winning journalist, and fighter for social justice, Mumia Abu-Jamal, has registered unprecedented gains.
Mass protests for a new trial have circled the globe with prominent organizations and government officials in 73 nations expressing their outrage at the violations of Mumia’s fundamental democratic and constitutional rights, at the threat of his execution and against the barbaric use of the irrevocable punishment of death in the United States.
Indeed, after a decade of hard work, opponents of the death sentence have won majority status in U.S. society as countless millions have learned from tragic experience that race and class prejudice are an inherent component of the so-called criminal justice system.
During the past year we have witnessed a growing unity between the forces demanding a national moratorium on the death penalty and those who fight for Mumia’s life.
We have won a temporary stay of Governor Thomas Ridge’s second warrant ordering Mumia’s execution. Now Federal District Judge William H. Yohn Jr. must decide whether evidence barred by a Pennsylvania court will ever be heard, determining the record in all future appeals. If Judge Sabo’s record is allowed to stand, then there is no such thing as justice.
Critical to this effort is our challenge to recent decisions of Judge Yohn and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, to refuse consideration of amicus briefs and a writ of mandamus that for the first time provide indisputable evidence of collusion to deny Mumia the right to self-representation.
At “five minutes to midnight” our movement stands poised to mobilize the largest political and social force in the past half century.
But we have not yet reached the point where our power can make the price of Mumia’s murder too high to pay in regard to a fundamental loss of credibility in the criminal “justice” system. This is the central task before us.
We will assemble in the nation’s capital and join forces to give broad and visible expression to our unity, solidarity, and commitment. We will lay plans for concerted activities on every front in the coming year.
Everyone is welcome! Abolitionists, trade unionists, faith-based activists, human rights organizers, people of every color, faith, and sexual preference, youth and political organizations will assemble to make this year a resounding victory for our common endeavor for human dignity, justice, and fairplay.
We invite you to attend this momentous national gathering for a day of plenary sessions, keynote addresses, activist workshops and the launching of a campaign for justice that will not be denied.
Signed,
National Coordinators of Mumia’s Defense:
Pam Africa of the International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia;
Safiya Bukhari of the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (New York);
Jeff Mackler of the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (northern California);
Robert Meeropol of the Rosenberg Fund for Children;
Monica Moorehead of the International Action Center;
Joan Parkin of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty;
Marcus Redicker of the Western Pennsylvania Committee to Free Mumia;
Clark Kissinger of Refuse & Resist;
Mark Taylor of Academics for Mumia;
Stan Willis, Chicago attorney;
Steve Wiser of the Bruderhof Communities;
Julia Wright of the International Concerned Family & Friends (Paris)
For more information call (215) 476-8812.
