the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Mar 15, 2021
The life of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a political prisoner who was framed and falsely convicted of killing a Philadelphia cop in 1981, is in serious danger. He has Covid-19, is diabetic, suffers from congestive heart failure, and is facing organ failure of the skin. He has many sores on his skin, yet is kept in solitary confinement in a prison infirmary, without access to healing salves and ointments he had in his cell. Prison officials deny him access to a phone or tablet he could use to send emails.
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a former Black Panther and a radio journalist. In his radio broadcasts, he exposed police brutality by Philadelphia cops in their attacks on MOVE, a black nationalist organization whose members lived together in a commune in Philadelphia.
In 1981, while driving a taxi, Abu-Jamal intervened when he saw cops had stopped his brother. During an ensuing shootout, Abu-Jamal was shot and police officer Daniel Faulkner was killed. Abu-Jamal was charged and later convicted of Faulkner’s murder and originally sentenced to death.
Evidence later showed statements by witnesses against Abu-Jamal to be false. The judge in the case, Albert Sabo, was overheard making racist comments showing he had a vendetta against Abu-Jamal. Yet Sabo refused to recuse himself from later appeals.
An appeals court later overturned Abu-Jamal’s death sentence due to problems with jury instructions during the penalty phase of his trial. The judge changed his sentence to life without parole.
Demonstrations have taken place around the world in support of Abu-Jamal since his conviction, calling for his release. Keeping him in prison IS, now, a death sentence. Yet he remains in prison, despite all his health problems. No president, Democrat or Republican, has seen fit to offer him a pardon or even commutation of his sentence, while they have found reasons to pardon rich friends and corrupt politicians.
Abu-Jamal’s supporters are calling for people to “call, write, tweet, post and fax to demand ‘freedom, treatment, diagnosis, and access to his lawyers, doctors, and family for Mumia Abu-Jamal at SCI Mahanoy” where he is imprisoned in Pennsylvania. They list the following contact information for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections:
Phone number: 717–728–2573
Email address: ra-contactdoc@pa.gov
Twitter page: @CorrectionsPA
Facebook: @CorrectionsPA