Countdown mod Mumia Abu-Jamal igang

Mandag d. 6. april 09 afviste USAs højesteret, Supreme Court, Mumia Abu-Jamals ansøgning om en ny retsproces. Samtidigt behandler den samme domstolsinstans en ansøgning fra Pennsylvanias statsadvokatur, der kræver genoptagelse af henrettelsesordren mod Mumia. Denne ansøgning er endnu ikke blevet afgjort.

• Hør Mumias aktuelle kommentar hertil i Prison Radio
• Underskriv kravet om en ny og fair proces for Mumia!

 

Mumia Abu-Jamal

Mumia Abu-Jamals ansøgning om en ny proces på grund af dokumenterede racistiske kriterier i domsmandsudvalget ifm. hans (døds-)dom i 1982 er nu endegyldigt blevet afvist af landets højeste juridiske instans, Supreme Court (1).   Den 20. marts 2009 indledte et dommerpanel ved Supreme Court behandlingen af en anmodning fra statsadvokaturet om fastsættelse af henrettelsesdatoen for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Der er endnu ikke faldet afgørelse i denne sag.  

 "Aldrig før var faren så stor som i øjeblikket"

I en første stillingtagen udtalte en talskvinde fra Mumias solidaritetskomité: " Mumia Abu-Jamal sagde for nyligt, at fanger som laver juridisk rådgivningsarbejde for andre fanger , såkaldte "jailhouse lawyers", i amerikanske fængsler som regel rammes af den hårdeste repression og aldrig vinder deres egne sager, selv når retsgrundlaget entydigt taler for dem...

Med denne afgørelse har USAs højeste domstol tydeliggjort, hvad den har tænkt sig at gøre imod det amerikanske justitsvæsens racistiske praksis - intet. Er det forunderligt? Nej, absolut ikke. For indtil nu har samtlige juridiske instanser ignoreret Mumias ret til en ny proces. Alle involverede er klar over, at der ikke findes nogen holdbare beviser mod Mumia, hvilket en neutral jury ville bekræfte. Men for domstolene er dette uden betydning.

Vi har i årevis sagt, at det afgørende er den offentlige påvirkning af sagen. Uden den ville Mumia være blevet henrettet i 90'erne. Nu vil det vise sig, hvormeget vi i 2009 kan mobilisere for at redde hans liv. En ting er klar: Aldrig før var faren så stor som i øjeblikket.

I 1995 og 1999 eksisterede der trods konkrete henrettelsesdatoer stadig væk en del juridiske ankemuligheder. Sådanne er p.t. ikke i syne. Men afgørelsen om henrettelse eller livsvarigt i fængsel er i det mindste udestående.......En planlagt henrettelse er med denne domsafgørelse rykket et gevaldigt stykke nærmere."

Interview med Mumia Abu-Jamal i Prison Radio

• - optaget umiddelbart efter domstolens afgørelse, den 6.april 2009: http://www.prisonradio.org/mumia_interview_4_6_09.htm

_________________________

Udskrift af interviewet:

 Noelle Hanrahan, Prison Radio:  Mumia, what's your reaction?
 
Mumia Abu-Jamal: Well all I know is, you know, what Christina told me. So there's nothing. There's nothing to read. There is no order, other than my name is on a list of Cert denied.

- That's right.

Mumia Abu-Jamal: So we don't know anything.  And you know, if it is the Batson issue, then it just shows you that precedent means nothing, that the law is politics by other means and that the constitution means nothing. That a fair jury means nothing.

- You said when I just first talked to you something about that it's another day and how many days?

Mumia Abu-Jamal: Another day? Three decades.

- When did you stop being surprised?

Mumia Abu-Jamal: When I was at pretrial hearing before Judge Sabo,and he denied the motion. I knew then that he wasn't working with the constitution. It did surprise me, and it really shocked me because, I'd read the cases. I knew what the law was. I knew what the law books said the law was. I learned then that they're not going by that kind of law, and apparently they're not going by that kind of law now. If you read Batson and you read my case then it's almost as if you're in two different universes. And in fact you are. You are.

- Are there different rules for what type of people?  

Mumia Abu-Jamal: Well there's always been different rules for Black people, you know. If you read Batson, what will surprise people who have never done so, it has nothing to do with the accused, the defendant, the person on trial. Batson, in its own terms, says it protects the rights of those people who are allegedly American citizens, who are denied the right to serve as jurors. That's what it says, that's what it says. But in fact, how does it do that when it allows people to be removed, after Batson became law, for spurious reasons? Batson can be bested and beaten by exactly the way the DA's office said it could be beaten: by lying, and by getting up and saying, "Well no, we didn't have any racist reasons, and ah we just ah, we're not..." Listen, listen to the video tape. YOU HAVE SIXTY SECONDS REMAINING Listen to the video tape and if that doesn't tell you all you need to know then you are deaf dumb or blind.

- Whose video tape?

 Mumia Abu-Jamal: The video tape of the DA, the training videotape of Jack McMahon of the Philadelphia's DA office from 1986.

________________________________________________

Breve og smukke postkort kan sendes til Mumia via:
Mumia Abu-Jamal
AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370 USA

 

Trods domsafgørelsen, støt kravet om en ny og fair proces for Mumia:

• Sign The PETITION: NEW & FAIR TRIAL for Mumia Abu-Jamal! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/148169316
• Please contact the White House to protest this unjust ruling:  202/456-1111 http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

 Note

1. Originaldokument fra US-Supreme Court http://www.supremecourtus.gov/orders/courtorders/040609zor.pdf
2. Ang. Mumias fængselsforhold: South Africa's Bishop Tutu visited Abu-Jamal on death row at SCI Greene in October 08. When Bishop Tutu arrived, he was told he could not visit. Mumia explained: "He was treated like any Black man visiting, with very little respect. That is until a black guard happened by and recognized him, and then the guards found the ‘right paperwork.'"  Bishop Tutu remained dignified while experiencing the humiliation that millions of prisoners and their families endure. Bishop Tutu was uncomfortable with Mumia's conditions: his hands were shackled, and he was kept behind plexiglass for the non-contact visit. Mumia's humanity did shine through, though, and Bishop Tutu, inspired by his visit, made this statement: "I oppose the death penalty on principle in every case and I support the pleas for a retrial for Mumia Abu-Jamal."(kilde: http://www.prisonradio.org/links.htm).

Solidaritetslinks & løbende INFOS

• http://www.abu-jamal-news.com/
• http://www.freemumia.org/
• http://www.mumia.org//freedom.now/
• http://www.emajonline.com/
• http://www.partisandefense.org/
• Philadelphia Indymedia Center http://www.phillyimc.org/en/us-supreme-court-rejects-mumia-abu-jamals-appeal-new-guilt-phase-trial
  

Relaterede artikler

Dystre udsigter for Mumia Abu-Jamal http://indymedia.dk/articles/479

Mumia Abu-Jamal udsat for grov chikane i fængslet http://indymedia.dk/articles/762

En fængslet indianeraktivists brev til Mumia Abu-Jamal http://indymedia.dk/articles/82

Kampen for Mumias liv fortsætter http://indymedia.dk/articles/230