Mumia Abu-Jamal

Von: <RobertRBryan>

Betreff: Mumia Abu-Jamal -

Legal Update

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Von: "MUMIA ABU-JAMAL" <>

Betreff: !*Mumia Legal Update!

Datum: Montag, 17. März 2008 00:24

 

 

Dear Friends:

 

This is an update on the case of my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been

on Pennsylvania's death row for over a quarter of a century.

 

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia: We continue to

await the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. I

am in contact with the court, and will alert everyone immediately upon the

issuance of a ruling. Oral argument was on May 17, 2007, thus people ask

why the court is taking so long. This is a highly complex case involving

issues of great constitutional significance and a voluminous amount of

material. In three decades of successfully defending people in numerous

murder cases involving the death penalty, I have not seen one more

complicated.

 

It is impossible to know how the federal court will rule, but the briefing

and arguments could not have gone better even though there have been

problems due to mistakes by prior counsel. If the federal court follows

the mandate of the U.S. Constitution, the decision should be favorable.

However, Mumia's remains in jeopardy because courts are so unpredictable.

 

The pending issues, as set out in our federal briefing, are:

 

a. Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied the right to due process of law and a

fair trial under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments because of the

prosecutor's "appeal-after-appeal" argument which encouraged the jury to

disregard the presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt, and err on

the side of guilt.

 

b. Whether the prosecution's use of peremptory challenges to exclude

African Americans from sitting on the jury violated Mr. Abu-Jamal's rights

to due process and equal protection of the law under the Sixth and

Fourteenth Amendments, and contravened Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79

(1986).

 

c. Whether the verdict form and jury instructions that resulted in the

death penalty deprived Mr. Abu-Jamal of rights guaranteed by the Eight and

Fourteenth Amendments to due process of law, equal protection of the law,

and not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, and violated

Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367 (1988), since the judge precluded the

jurors from considering any mitigating evidence unless they all agreed on

the existence of a particular circumstance.

 

d. Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied due process and equal protection of

the law under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments during post-conviction

hearings as the result of the bias and racism of Judge Albert F. Sabo

which included the comment that he was "going to help'em fry the n----r."

There are many scenarios of how the federal court might rule. Among these

are: (1) grant an entirely new jury trial; (2) order a new jury trial

limited to the issue of life or death; (3) remand the case back to the

U.S. District Court for further proceedings; or (4) deny everything,

thereby leaving the death judgment intact.

 

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: For over two years we have been litigating

issues in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court regarding the prosecution falsely

manipulating eyewitness testimony and fabricating evidence. Recently the

court denied relief. (Commonwealth v. Abu-Jamal, ___ A.2d ___, 2008 WL

434567 (Pa. Feb. 19, 2008).) Mumia and I talked just after the ruling on

February 19, and I then issued the following public statement:

 

"Mumia and I had a long conference this afternoon, shortly after the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court made its ruling. We were not surprised since

that court has a history of not addressing the racism and fraud that has

dominated the prosecution since its inception over a quarter of a century

ago. By dismissing the appeal on procedural grounds, the court avoided

dealing with the compelling facts establishing that the prosecution of my

client was based upon lies, half-truths, and bigotry. It is sad that the

state court used possible mistakes of the previous lawyers in the case as

an excuse to dodge the truth.

 

This state ruling has no bearing on the proceedings pending in the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. If the federal decision is

favorable, then the Pennsylvania Supreme Court judgment will be moot.

Otherwise, I plan to seek relief in the U.S. Supreme Court. I will not

rest until Mumia is free."

 

Germany: On January 12, 2008, I spoke on behalf of Mumia at the annual

Rosa Luxemburg Conference in Berlin. As I concluded, the thousands in

attendance gave a long and enthusiastic ovation. It was a nice tribute to

my client who has become a symbol in the international struggle against

the death penalty and human-rights abuses. Mumia asks that I convey his

gratitude to the many good people in Germany who work so tirelessly for

justice. These include especially his longtime German publisher and

confidant Jurgen Heiser, the human-rights attorney Eberhard Schultz,

Sabine Schubert, Petra Siemering, Victor Grossman, George and Doris

Pumphrey, the distinguished actor Rolf Becker, the renowned Berlin

filmmaker Thomas Giefer, the prominent writer Sabine Kebir, and German

PEN.

 

France: Professor Claude Guillaumaud-Pujol has written an excellent book,

Mumia Abu-Jamal, un homme libre dans le couloir de la mort, which was

published late last year. It has Mumia's endorsement, and has sold well.

Claude has donated the proceeds from her book to help the defense of Mumia

in our struggle for his freedom. The author represents the highest

standard in the movement for she is totally committed to justice and the

freedom of Mumia, and does not seek to exploit my client. Mumia expresses

his gratitude to Claude, Jacky Hortaut, Mireille Mendes-France, Jacques

Lederer, the Collectif Unitaire National de Soutien à Mumia Abu-Jamal,

Senator Nicole Borvo Cohen-Seat, the Paris Bar, and the many others in

France who have done so much.

 

England: Mumia asked that I also thank Niki Adams, the legendary Selma

James, and their colleagues at the Legal Action for Women, London, for

their ongoing work on behalf of justice not only in England but throughout

the world. I am particularly indebted for their extraordinary commitment

that has resulted in programs on Mumia in the Inns of Court and other

British venues, a petition for justice and a new trial signed by over 100

prominent lawyers there, and drawning public attention to the injustice in

this case. And, of course, the efforts of Ian Mcdonald QC, Garden Court

North Chambers, an outstanding barrister and friend, have been

significant.

 

In Prison My Whole Life, British film: The new documentary film on Mumia,

In Prison My Whole Life, has been shown at a number of prestigious film

festivals, e.g., International Film Festival & Forum on Human Rights,

Geneva, Switzerland; Sundance Film Festival; Belfast Film Festival; London

Film Festival; Rome Film Festival; Copenhagen International Film Festival;

Dublin International Film Festival. It was also recently screened by

members of the House of Commons, London. Mumia and I are grateful to

Colin and Livia Firth, and their associates, for having the courage to

make this extraordinary film. They have my full support and that of my

client, for this worthwhile film which deals with the larger issues of the

death penalty, racism and injustice.

 

Donations in the United States for Mumia's Legal Defense: With Mumia's

authorization, a process exists which guarantees that U.S. donations go

only to the legal defense, and are tax-deductible. Checks should be made

payable to the National Lawyers Guild Foundation (indicate "Mumia" on the

bottom left), and mailed to:

Committee To Save Mumia Abu-Jamal

P.O. Box 2012

New York, NY 10159-2012

 

Conclusion: The issues in this case concern the right to a fair trial,

the struggle against the death penalty, and the political repression of a

courageous writer and journalist. My goal is to win a new and fair trial

for Mumia, and a jury acquittal upon his retrial. I want him to go home

to his family. Nevertheless, Mumia is in great danger, for if all is lost

he will be executed. We must never forget that racism, fraud, and

politics are threads that have run through this case since the beginning

and continue today.

 

Your interest is appreciated.

 

Cordially yours,

 

Robert R. Bryan

Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan

2088 Union Street, Suite 4

San Francisco, California 94123-4117

 

Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

 

 

 

Freedom Archives

522 Valencia Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

 

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org

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