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International Freedom of Expression eXchange Clearing House
________________________________________________________________
Date: 7 July 1995

UNITED STATES: Journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal to be executed after
unfair trial

ORIGINATOR: Federacion Internacional de Periodistas (FIP), Caracas

Source: Equal Justice U.S.A., International Concerned Family and
Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal

Journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal is to be executed on 17 August 1995
in a North American jail for a crime that he says he did not
commit. Abu-Jamal has already spent 13 years in prison. His trial
proceedings were full of irregularities. The judge who sentenced
him, Judge Albert Sabo, has condemned 31 people to death, and
except for two, all have been Black, Latino, or Asian. No other
judge in the United States has as many executions on his resume.

Mumia Abu-Jamal is a journalist with an extensive history in the
fight for civil rights. When he was in high school, he was the
editor of the Black Panther Party newspaper. He later worked in
community radio, hosting his own programme on WUHY-FM in
Philadelphia and at the age of 26 he was elected the head of the
Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Black Journalists.

BACKGROUND: On the night of 9 December 1981, Abu-Jamal was
driving a taxi when he saw a man being brutally beaten by the
police. It turned out to be his brother and he stopped to
intervene. In the ensuing altercation with the police, Abu-Jamal
was shot in the stomach and a police officer was killed. The gun
that fired the fatal shot was never recovered. Abu-Jamal was
charged with the murder of the police officer after undergoing
surgery at a local hospital. On 3 July 1982, he was convicted of
the crime of murder.

At the hearing, the prosecutor emphasized Abu-Jamal's membership
in the Black Panther Party, despite the fact that it was 10 years
previous, in order to secure the death penalty. It is significant
that in another case the Supreme Court reversed the death penalty
against a member of a white supremacist group, The Aryan
Brotherhood, saying that the affiliation was used as grounds to
obtain the death penalty. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court denied
Abu-Jamal's petition for an appeal in October 1990, even though
it was launched for the same reasons as the aforementioned case.

The are numerous questionable aspects of Abu-Jamal's legal
proceedings:
- 11 potential Black jurors were excluded by the prosecution, as
well as one white juror who admitted uncertainty as to whether or
not he could impose the death penalty. In contrast, the defense
was denied the right to challenge a juror who stated with
certainty that he already knew the accused was guilty.
- Abu-Jamal was denied the right to choose his own lawyer, and
then to represent himself. Throughout the trial, his court-
appointed lawyer operated most of the time over the protest of
his own client.
- The defense was not allowed to call a witness who said he had
seen another man fleeing the scene of the crime, nor to expose
contradictions in police testimony.
- In his instructions to the jury at the death penalty hearing,
Judge Albert Sabo failed to state that Abu-Jamal had no previous
criminal record.

Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Ridge signed Abu-Jamal's death
warrant on 1 June 1995, despite the fact that his Post-Conviction
Review Appeal (PCRA) would be filed on 5 June. The execution date
is set for 17 August 1995.

Equal Justice USA and International Concerned Family and Friends
of Mumia Abu-Jamal have launched an international campaign to
keep Judge Sabo off the case, using a Motion for Recusal. Judge
Sabo could decide to hear Abu-Jamal's PCRA, the one which would
decide that he had exercised a biased influence in the case.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Send appeals to authorities:
- pressuring the Philadelphia courts to prevent judge Sabo from
hearing Mumia Abu-Jamal's appeal;
- asking the Governor of Pennsylvania to grant a reprieve;
- expressing concern over this case to the United States Embassy
in your country.

APPEALS TO:
Judge Albert Sabo
1286 Wanamaker
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Tel: +1 215-686-5100
Fax: +1 215-563-1623

Judge Legrome Davis, Supervising Judge of the Criminal Section,
Chair of PCRA Committee
1408 One East Pennsylvania Square
Philadelphia, PA 19107
U.S.A.
Tel: +1 215-686-9534
Fax: +1 215-686-2865

Judge Alex Bonavitacola, Administrative Judge
516 City Hall,
Philadelphia, PA 19107
U.S.A.
Tel: +1 215-686-3770
Fax: +1 215-567-7328

Governor Thomas Ridge
Main Capitol Building, Room 225
Harrisburg, PA 17120
U.S.A.
Tel: +1 717-787-2500
Fax: +1 717-783-3369

Please copy appeals to the originator and to members of the media
if possible. Also, please contact local authorities, such as
parliaments, judges, human rights commissions, etc.

For further information, contact FIP, Av. Luis Roche Altamira,
Oficina 501, Caracas, Venezuela, tel:+582 285 6850, fax:+582 285
2794, e-mail: kgil@igc.apc.org. Equal Justice U.S.A./Quixote
Center, P.O. Box 5206, Hyattsville, MD 20782, tel: +1 301-699-
0042, fax: +1 301-864-2182, e-mail: quixote@igc.apc.org.
International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal,
P.O. Box 19709, Philadelphia, PA 19143, U.S.A., tel:+1 215-476-
8812.

The information contained in this alert is the sole
responsibility of its originator.
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      World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters
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