Justice is overdue for Mumia

By SIDDIQUE ABDULLAH HASAN
SocialistWorker.org
http://socialistworker.org/2008/05/16/justice-overdue-for-mumia

May 16, 2008

Siddique Abdullah Hasan is one of the Lucasville Five, a group of men
railroaded onto death row in Ohio after a 1993 prison rebellion in which
inmates at the Lucasville prison rose up against the abuses and arbitrary
rules of prison guards and officials. Here, he looks at the recent court
ruling rejecting Mumia Abu-Jamal's appeal for a new trial.


IN LIGHT of the adverse ruling by a three-judge panel for the 3rd U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in denying Mumia Abu-Jamal a new trial and an
evidentiary hearing, many of his supporters are outraged and weighing the
pros and cons of what must be done to create the circumstances for his
speedy release from captivity.

At a press conference outside the Federal Court building in Philadelphia,
Sister Pam Africa of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia
Abu-Jamal hit the nail on the head when she so forcefully said, "The power
of the people has to be unleashed, because what the court did was wrong!"
Being an activist and a revolutionary thinker, I'm totally convinced that
what she was conveying to the people--actually to the world--is that the
gloves must come off and the people must be turned loose to fight fire with
fire via the principle of "by any means necessary."

While there are many ways to unleash the power of the people, I think one
way it should be unleashed is by calling for an international economic
boycott against Hershey's and other major businesses in the state of
Pennsylvania. In order to make this boycott successful, the help of the
European Union and other countries interested in the quality of justice
should be sought.

When other countries or governments are guilty of civil, constitutional and
human rights violations against their citizens, the United States government
either selectively speaks out against these types of violations or
selectively imposes economic sanctions against the perpetrators. As the
leader of the "free world," when the United States does this, it sends a
clear and powerful message to the world that the United States will not sit
idle and allow these violations to go unchecked.

It's time for the world to stand up to the state of Pennsylvania--that is,
to Gov. Ed Rendell, to Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham, to the
Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police and to the appellate courts--and say
with a unified voice: "Free Mumia Abu-Jamal now! We want justice for him,
and we won't sit idle and allow you to execute this innocent man!"
Such a stand and economic boycott will serve as a supplement to the work
Mumia's lawyers and supporters are vigorously engaged in to save his life.

In a capitalistic society that prides itself on its superpower status,
economic power and military might are the only languages this imperialistic
government seems to respect and understand. Therefore, the heat must be
turned up if we are ever going to acquire justice for Mumia. Justice demands
that he be granted a new trial, or at least an evidentiary hearing to gather
and present enough evidence to prove he did not murder Philadelphia Police
Officer Daniel Faulkner on December 9, 1981.

The appellate courts have never heard the newly discovered evidence of his
actual innocence. They have always found some flimsy excuse to repress it.
In a case of actual innocence, the courts are under obligation to hear newly
discovered evidence--but such has never happened in Mumia's case. In the
absence of hearing it, the state's theory that Mumia murdered Officer
Faulkner seems very convincing to someone who doesn't know the particulars
of his case or the circumstances surrounding why the government framed Mumia
and wants him dead.

Be that as it may, justice in Mumia's case is long, long overdue. How long?
Too long! It's been 26 years, and it's now time for the world to become
morally courageous by stepping up to the plate and demanding justice for our
elder, Mumia Abu-Jamal.