- Von: RobertRBryan
Betreff: Mumia Abu-Jamal – Legal Update
[PLEASE CIRCULATE]
- 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