Mon, 2 Nov 1998 09:03:25 -0800 (PST) Mon, 2 Nov 1998 08:55:48 -0800 (PST) Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 08:55:48 -0800 (PST) To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Michael Eisenscher Subject: Mobilize for Mumia NOW!; Mumia:Statement From Death Row From: Lisa MOBILIZE NOW FOR MUMIA! =================== Afrikan.net News Service www.mumia.org ================ LETS GET BUSY FOR MUMIA! On Oct. 29 the PA Supreme Court did what was expected and signed away Mumia's life with a vicious 71-page decision denying Our Brother's righteous quest for a new trial. Despite the new evidence pointing to Mumia's innocence, despite the deluge of letters and faxes, despite the fact that these same justices forcibly retired Judge Albert Sabo because of his arrogance, incompetence and embarrassing prejudice towards Mumia during the original trial and during his last statewide appeal, the PA Supreme Court now wants you to believe that they have fairly considered the evidence, and cannot overrule the ILLEGAL JUDGEMENTS of Judge Sabo. We are now mobilizing for the battle we must fight on the streets of Philadelphia, beginning right now! We are calling everyone who has ever heard of the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal vs. The System to come to Philadelphia and meet us at CITY HALL at 12 noon TODAY, and every day next week, because we must let this government know that WE WILL NOT LET MUMIA DIE! That's right! Kill Crazy Governor Ridge has promised to sign another Death Warrant for Mumia now that the PA Supreme Court's politically motivated decision has been made public. Because of his political ambition, this government will surely give Mumia that LETHAL INJECTION unless we mobilize our forces on the streets to FIGHT against Ridge's system of death! The International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal intends to make it plain that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has committed political AND economic suicide because of their plans to SILENCE and KILL the peoples communicator, Mumia Abu-Jamal! It's clear that we cannot rely on the state courts to right the wrongful conviction of Mumia. And, if you think the federal courts will provide relief, remember these same courts said it was "OK" for the government to bomb Osage Avenue in 1985, "lawful" for 11 babies and their mothers and fathers to be incinerated, "reasonable" force to serve faulty, illegal misdemeanor warrants by vaporizing six city blocks! Join us as we build for a MASSIVE DEMONSTRATION on Saturday, November 7th at the State Office Campus at Broad and Spring Garden Sts. at 12 noon. If our numbers block traffic on Broad St., TOO BAD! If we inconvenience what little tourism is left in Phila., TOO BAD! There will be international observers and media on hand to make sure that the WORLD sees that Philadelphia, the self proclaimed CAPITAL OF DEATH, is exposed for the blatant hypocrisy of it's DEATH MACHINE! We call on all Asians, Blacks, Caucasians, Drivers, Elected, Faculty, Gays, Homeless, Indigenous, Jobseekers, Kids, Latins, Men, Naturalists, Orientals, Preachers, Quakers, Reporters, Students, Trades, Unionists, Volunteers, Women, X-Offenders, Youth, AND everyone who gets this message to join us in righteous battle against this system for the sake of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Bring your banners, posters, flyers, wheat paste, sound systems, caravans, and your creative talents because Mumia needs them now MORE THAN EVER! MOBILIZE AND BUILD FOR THE NOVEMBER 7 DEMONSTRATION IN PHILADELPHIA! _______________________________________________________ "Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future. Faith is the courage to dance to it today." ________________________________________________________ A Statement From Death Row by Mumia Abu-Jamal, SCI-Greene, Waynesburg,PA October 31st, 1998 Once again, Pennsylvania's highest court has shown us the best justice that FOP money can buy. Ignoring right reason, their own precedent, and fundamental justice, they have returned to the stranglehold of death. In their echoes of the tortured logic of Judge Albert Sabo, they have reflected a striking fidelity to the DA's office. If it is fair to have a tribunal who are in part admittedly paid by the FOP-and at least one justice who can double as DA one day and a judge the next in the same case--then fairness is just as empty a word as "justice." To paraphrase Judge Sabo, it is "just an emotional feeling." In recent months the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld death sentences in cases where an impartial reading of transcripts or pleadings would make an honest affirmation all but impossible. They have ignored all evidence of innocence, overlooked clear instances of jury taint, and cast a dead eye on defense attorneys' ineffectiveness. What they have done in my case is par for the course. This is a political decision, paid for by the FOP on the eve of the election. It is a Mischief Night gift from a court that has a talent for the macabre. I am sorry that this court did not rule on the right side of history. But I am not surprised. Every time our nation has come to a fork in the road with regard to race, it has chosen to take the path of compromise and betrayal. On October 29th, 1998, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court committed a collective crime: it damned due process, strangled the fair trial, and raped justice. Even after this legal legerdemain [sleight of hand] I remain innocent. A court cannot make an innocent man guilty. Any ruling founded on injustice is not justice. The righteous fight for life, liberty, and for justice can only continue. Mumia Abu-Jamal [Note: FOP = Fraternal Order of Police or something similar] ***** "Messages sent on the IWW-news mailing list are the opinions of the individual senders; they do not necessarily represent the views of the IWW. 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