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Happy 60th Birthday Mumia Abu-Jamal

by Free Mumia Now
On April 24, 2014, we celebrate the 60th birthday of former President of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, Mumia Abu-Jamal, the most famous political prisoner in the US, falsely accused of killing a cop in 1981, framed by Democrat district attorney Ed Rendell who later became chair of the national Democratic Party, imprisoned after a racist farce of a trial where all of the many civil rights violations have not convinced the Democrat Obama’s “Justice” Department to overturn the illegal verdict, surviving many years on death row until a worldwide mass movement won a ruling ending his death sentence, but not his prison term, his booming voice and incisive analysis can still be heard on many recordings on KPFA, 94.1 FM and elsewhere.
On April 24, 2014, we celebrate the 60th birthday of former President of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, Mumia Abu-Jamal, the most famous political prisoner in the US, falsely accused of killing a cop in 1981, framed by Democrat district attorney Ed Rendell who later became chair of the national Democratic Party, imprisoned after a racist farce of a trial where all of the many civil rights violations have not convinced the Democrat Obama’s “Justice” Department to overturn the illegal verdict, surviving many years on death row until a worldwide mass movement won a ruling ending his death sentence, but not his prison term, his booming voice and incisive analysis can still be heard on many recordings on KPFA, 94.1 FM, and elsewhere.

His 60th Birthday glorious articulate message can be heard with his usual amazing clarity at
http://prisonradio.org/media/audio/mumia/personal-message-mumia-his-supporters-157

Archives of his prison radio broadcasts are at
http://archive.prisonradio.org/
http://prisonradio.wordpress.com/category/mumia-abu-jamal/

The firings of people who support Mumia are described at
http://www.laboractionmumia.org/

A 60th Birthday dinner will be held in Philadelphia today:
In honor of Mumia Abu Jamal's 60th birthday, The Celebration of Life begins with a dedication to the Baraka family and the Black Arts Movement dinner on Thursday, April 24. The fundraiser will feature a live jazz band and performances by The Last Poets, Marvin X, Ewuare Osayande; as well as a special message from Angela Davis. Special guests will include author, activist and professor Cornel West.
For more, see http://www.freemumia.com/

A celebration of Mumia’s life will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2014 in Philadelphia. For more, see
http://www.millions4mumia.org/

Educations for Mumia are participating in this celebration of Mumia’s life and have more information. See
http://www.emajonline.com/bring-mumia-home-campaign/

In New York City, another celebration of Mumia’s life is being held today. See
http://mumiaabujamal.com/mumia-turns-60/

More information all celebrations may be found at:
http://www.bringmumiahome.com/

Attorney Lynne Stewart’s speaking tour in the San Francisco Bay Area, commencing May 2, 2014, is more fully described at
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/04/17/18754331.php
and here:
Friday, May 2: San Francisco, Host: National Lawyers Guild, 6 pm 518 Valencia St., SF

Saturday, May 3, Palo Alto, Host: Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, 2-4 pm (Location TBA.)

Saturday, May 3, San Jose, Host, San Jose Peace and Justice Center & NLG South Bat, evening


Sunday, May 4, 6 pm reception w/ Lynne Stewart and Pam Africa; 7pm rally
Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street, between Broadway and Telegraph, Oakland
Donation $10

Monday, May 5: Marin, Host: Marin Peace and Justice Coalition, 7:00 pm location TBA)

Tuesday, May 6: Sacramento, evening

Mumia’s life and case is more fully described at:
http://www.sff.net/people/tbisson/mumia.html
http://onamove.com/mumia/
http://www.iacenter.org/prisoners/mumia/maj_factsheet/
http://www.mapiano.com/mumia1.htm

The petition to the “justice” department to release Mumia may be found at:
https://www.change.org/petitions/release-mumia-abu-jamal
It states:
To:
Eric Holder, Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
Tom Corbett, Governor, Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
R. Seth Williams, District Attorney, Office of the District Attorney of Philadelphia
We, the undersigned, call on Attorney General Eric Holder and the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal and recommend that Governor Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania immediately release Abu-Jamal from prison. In 2011, the death sentence of this world-renowned journalist was declared unconstitutional and commuted to life without parole for allegedly murdering Philadelphia...

We, the undersigned, call on Attorney General Eric Holder and the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal and recommend that Governor Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania immediately release Abu-Jamal from prison. In 2011, the death sentence of this world-renowned journalist was declared unconstitutional and commuted to life without parole for allegedly murdering Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. Abu-Jamal is an outstanding citizen, who has been racially profiled and targeted for his political affiliations by a Philadelphia police department with a long history of brutality and corruption. For thirty years, he has been denied basic rights.

Systemic police corruption, judicial and prosecutorial misconduct, and Abu-Jamal’s steadfast assertion of innocence, have all made this case a global symbol of U.S. justice gone wrong. In 2000, Amnesty International found that the case “was irredeemably tainted by politics and race and failed to meet international fair trial standards.”

Because for 28 years Abu-Jamal was wrongly subjected to inhumane conditions on death row, because he has been denied his Fifth Amendment right to a fair trial, and because of the uninterrupted history of police corruption and conspiracy in this case, we call on the Department of Justice to recommend that Governor Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania immediately release Mumia Abu-Jamal from prison.

Judicial and Prosecutorial Misconduct
• The prosecution's case is built on the erroneous assumption that only three people were present at the time of the shooting, but a fourth person – the probable perpetrator – was seen fleeing the scene after Officer Faulkner was shot. The police, prosecutor Joe McGill, and the trial judge suppressed this from both the defense and jury.
• Abu-Jamal was convicted in the absence of material evidence. The bullet that killed Officer Faulkner could not be matched to Abu-Jamal’s gun. The police also failed to perform routine tests on Abu-Jamal’s hands, which would have determined that he had not shot a gun that night.
• A freelance journalist’s photographs of the crime scene – which also disprove key points of the state’s case theory – were never made available to the defense or the jury.
• A court stenographer testified in an affidavit that during the trial she heard the presiding judge, Albert Sabo, say, “I’m going to help them fry the nigger.”

Police Corruption
• In 1979, the Department of Justice filed an unprecedented lawsuit against Philadelphia’s mayor and 21 top city and police officials. Its conclusions? That the police department’s behavior – which included shooting nonviolent suspects, abusing handcuffed prisoners, and tampering with evidence – “shocks the conscience.”
• The officers who arrested and later brutalized Abu-Jamal came from the 6th District, which was under yet another federal investigation for police corruption by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, with the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice under Ronald Reagan.
• As a result, fully a third of the 35 officers involved in this case, including the top officer at the crime scene, Inspector Alfonzo Giordano, were subsequently convicted of rank corruption, extortion and tampering with evidence to obtain convictions.

We call on the Department of Justice to support the release of Mumia Abu-Jamal

** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

More information on Mumia’s case may be found at:
http://journalists4mumia.blogspot.com/

The Campaign to End the Death Penalty has more reasons why you should support Mumia at:
http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/get-the-facts/ten-reasons-why-you-should-support-mumia-abu-jamal

The National Lawyers Guild has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief for Mumia. See http://www.nlg.org/national-campaigns and http://www.nlg.org/publications/amicus-curiae
The case is Abu-Jamal v. Horn (July 26, 2006) 3d Cir., Nos. 01-9014 & 02-9001

Amnesty International’s legal brief on behalf of Mumia is at:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR51/001/2000/en/0987a185-dfd3-11dd-8e17-69926d493233/amr510012000en.pdf

Rachel Wolkenstein, a lawyer for Mumia, has produced a film on his case, Manufacturing Guilt. See
http://www.rachelwolkenstein.net/new-film-on-mumia-manufacturing-guilt.html

Peace & Freedom Party on the California ballot has actively supported Mumia Abu-Jamal. See
http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/downloads/mumia.pdf
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