Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

1) EXECUTION STAYED BY JUDGE -- FOR NOW

We are happy to report good news for a change: 13 days following the imposition of a new death warrant, Federal Judge William Yohn yielded to popular pressure and issued a stay of execution for Mumia. Of course one would have expected a stay of execution to be issued for the duration of a hearing at the federal court, but in Mumia's case the stay was not immediately forthcoming. Yohn stated that he would accept letters both for and against him issuing a stay, and you can be sure that the cops were ready to respond with their rabid calls for the rapid execution of Mumia. Fortunately our side also promptly mobilized a letter writing campaign to stop the execution, along with our actions in the streets. Thanks to all of you who conveyed your feelings to the judge; it worked!

But no one should accept this immediate victory as cause for complacency. Mumia's stay could be lifted just as soon as any judge rules against his appeal, and there might be even less time left to save his life. In 1995 Mumia came within 10 days of an execution before the pressure became too great and Judge Sabo issued a stay of execution, the first and only time that "hanging judge" Sabo felt compelled to take that step. There is no doubt that Sabo's hand was forced by the popular movement to save Mumia, and that will always be the case. So we must march on to the next battle...

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2) STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FROM LEONARD PELTIER

The following statement by political prisoner Leonard Peltier was recently made available. The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee can be contacted.

Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
P.O. Box 583
Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone: 785-842-5774
Mailto: PC@Dr.net

October 22, 1999 From Levenworth Federal Penitentiary

Greetings friends and supporters,

I was shocked and disgusted to hear that Governor Ridge once again signed, last October 13, a new death warrant for Mumia Abu Jamal. I know how Mumia must be feeling right now and I would like to personally say to Mumia: "Please hang in there, brother! The people are doing everything and all that they can to save you".

To the people who are fighting for Mumia, as some of you may know, this does not mean the end, because I am sure his attorney, Leonard Weinglass has filed for Habeas Corpus in the Federal Courts. It is you, the people who must put the pressure on to win this case. Speak out! Without your support, the Federal Courts will sweep everything under the rug as usual. With Mumia’s life at stake, you must react very strongly and swiftly yet with intelligence and control. You must show the world that you are prepared and ready to stop Mumia’s execution.

Because of Mumia’s outrageous case and his gifted ability to put into words many of our realities, serious concerns with the justice system, the death penalty, and political prisoners are now on the forefront. We need Mumia to be free so that he can continue to make a difference to change a society, which devalues life, dignity, justice and freedom.

United, we will save Mumia...
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,

/S/ Leonard Peltier

Subscribe to LPDC e-mail list:
To subscribe to the "Leonard Peltier Defense Committee"
email list, send a blank message to lpdc-on@mail-list.com
To unsubscribe, send a blank message to lpdc-off@mail-list.com

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3) CONTINUE PRESSURE ON JUDGE YOHN FOR EVIDENTIARY HEARING

Although the execution is off for now, Mumia's fate could be sealed by decisions made in Judge Yohn's court in the very immediate future. Although Mumia is in court appealing on 29 constitutional and technical issues, it is only by holding a new hearing of evidence that will the actual fallaciousness of the charges against Mumia be exposed. But if Judge Yohn does NOT allow a new hearing of evidence, then future court decisions will be required to be based only on the body of evidence that has already been entered into the court record. That evidence, you will recall, is the subset of evidence that "hanging" Judge Sabo found acceptable, that is, the evidence that supported his foredrawn conclusion regarding Mumia's guilt. When additional evidence was introduced in hearings in 1996, Judge Sabo (who was allowed to take the case appealing the trial verdict he had previously presided over, and rule on the issue of his own bias!) saw fit to rule against the admission of all new evidence produced by the defense. That evidence included statements by witnesses who had testified falsely, under police pressure, at the original trial, as well as additional evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.

Therefore, without a hearing of new evidence by the federal court, Mumia's case will continue to be judged by the perjured testimony (since it had been admitted as evidence) but will not have the benefit of admissions by those same witnesses of their having lied in the original trial! In that way the federal court could uphold Mumia's conviction, conveniently claiming that they "aren't aware" of any evidence that would contradict the court's original verdict! So a decision to deny a hearing of new evidence would be tantamount to a decision to continue the frame-up of Mumia regardless of that evidence! If we are able to force the admission of that new evidence, it would be difficult for the prosecution to effectively argue against a new trial following the introduction of these revelations. That is what is at stake today, in Yohn's court.

IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD BY JUDGE YOHN!!! TELL JUDGE YOHN TO ALLOW A NEW EVIDENTIARY HEARING!

You can make your voice heard by Judge Yohn in one of several ways. You may mail a letter to him via Mumia's attorney Leonard Weinglass who is collecting such messages to publicly deliver to the judge. Address your message to Judge Yohn, and mail it to:

Hon. William H. Yohn, Jr.
c/o Leonard Weinglass
6 West 20th Street, Suite 10A
New York, NY 10011

Now, if you don't feel like dealing with envelopes and stamps, you can have your letter created by either sending an email or using a form on a web page. If you write a letter to Judge Yohn, you can simply email it to: YOHN mgresist@minn.net

Alternatively, you can fill in the form on the following web page (a default letter is included which you can simply send, edit, or replace with your own text). URL: http://www1.minn.net/~meis/yohn.htm

It is also possible to send a fax to Judge Yohn at 215-597-6390. If you do send a fax, please also send a copy to Leonard Weinglass at the above address or email. A website has been setup which will also fax your message to Yohn (again, if you use it be sure to also forward a copy to Weinglass). URL: http://www.bckweb.com/mumia/index2.html

Now, is there anyone out there who doesn't have a way to send their message to Judge Yohn?

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4) STEPPED-UP POLICE INTIMIDATION, VIOLENCE, AGAINST MUMIA SUPPORTERS

As Mumia supporters throughout the nation reacted to Governor Ridge's signing of the new death warrant (now stayed), the police (and their cronies) apparently saw our right to protest as a threat to their plans to kill Mumia. In response, they have reacted wildly in a number of situations, according to reports that have been filtering in.

Here in the Twin Cities, the October 14th emergency demonstration for Mumia was greeted by police on horseback, a tactic reminiscent of the June 1995 demonstration at which the police made a dozen arrests as it was winding up, including the arrests of a couple of passers-by! While that didn't stop us from continuing our demonstration and taking the streets on October 14th, the cops got even meaner for the follow-up action. On Saturday October 16th, our second demonstration to protest the death warrant was again met by cops on horseback who were determined to use their horses as a physical weapon against anyone thinking of stepping off the sidewalk and marching in the streets. At least one person was stomped and injured by a horse. But in addition to the three horses, we counted a total of 23 police cars -- an unprecedented response to a peaceful demonstration! Hoping for the worst, the cops had two paddy wagons on the scene, riot gear and pepper spray, and attack dogs!

Though two people were arrested, ostensibly for stepping off the sidewalk, the full use of their elements of repression had to wait another 6 days, when a demonstration against police brutality (the 4th annual "National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality, Racism and the Criminalization of a Generation," organized locally by an ad hoc coalition, and which included several Mumia activists) presented the cops with a chance to demonstrate exactly what we were protesting against! Pepper spray rained down on the crowd as the police moved in and physically attacked at least three demonstrators, arresting them of course. A press conference last Monday included clear footage of the police misconduct. But true to form, the editors knew that police repression is only to be shown when it occurs in a different country, and only then when it's a country that the U.S. is not on good terms with.

But the police repression in Minneapolis pales in comparison to the violence unleashed by cops in Portland Oregon, as reported by Michael Novick:

After attending a peaceful protest in support of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal Friday, October 15th, 6 people were arrested, at least two of these individuals suffered extreme brutality from the Portland Police. Craig Rosebraugh, locally and nationally known activist with Liberation Collective had his arm seriously broken, was trampled by police horse and was dragged a block and a half by his broken arm to the “Justice Center.” Pain holds were being applied to Rosebraugh’s arm throughout the arrest and transport. He was charged with "disorderly conduct" and "failure to obey a park officer" and was immediately rushed by ambulance to Emanual Hospital. Rosebraugh has been diagnosed with an aggravated spiral fracture to his humorous. Elaine Close, another well known activist with Liberation Collective was forcefully pushed to the ground in the street full of moving vehicles. Both a bus and a car barely missed hitting her. Close was then arrested and dragged into the "Justice Center". Her arm and wrist was severely bruised from pain compliance holds from the Portland Police Department.

Now, in Seattle, Mumia demonstrators who marched through a downtown department store find themselves facing the treat of felony charges based on an email that has conveniently been (mis-) construed as an "extortion threat" by the police who have reportedly brought in a "computer forensics expert" to try to turn a vaguely worded email into a felony charge! The Seattle Mumia Defense Committee, which wasn't even responsible for the email in question, has therefore had to waste their time defending themselves against this fiction!

And in fact that's the pattern in each case. By arresting us, injuring us, and threatening us, the cops haven't stopped us of course, but have taken our energy away from our main goal: getting the word out about Mumia! They can't stop us, so they just slow us down, dealing with the repression that they are able to inflict. Recall that it is police repression and harassment of dissidents that Mumia wrote about extensively, and which caused him to be targeted for a frame-up! We have to protect ourselves as much as we can, but when we ARE subject to violence and intimidation, we must link that to the primary issue: the railroading of Mumia Abu-Jamal. That way the cops' disgusting tactics will not succeed in weakening our impact; it will simply illustrate our message even more!!

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5) MUMIA SUPPORT ACTIVITIES IN THE TWIN CITIES

If you're wondering what YOU can do to help free Mumia, you could start by joining our campaign of weekly neighborhood flyering. On Thursday, October 28 at 4:30 p.m. we will meet at 7th & Hennepin and spread out from there. Each week we will flyer a different neighborhood. Call our hotline at 651-649-4579 to get the location for the week. Or come to organizing meetings, held every Wednesday night at 7 PM at Arise! bookstore.

And if you know someone who needs a little educating about Mumia's case (or if you haven't seen it yourself!) there will be another showing of the dynamite video "Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt" on Thursday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m. in room 151 of Coffman Union, U of M, East Bank Campus. This showing is sponsored by the Africana Student Cultural Center.

But if YOU have a group or venue (or even just a couple of friends) to show that video to, we would happily lend you a copy, and even send a speaker to answer questions. Call our hotline, or reply to this email.

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6) MUMIA'S STATEMENT REGARDING SUPREME COURT DECISION

October 4, 1999

It was not unexpected that the Supreme Court would deny my appeal. The Supreme Court hears only a tiny percent of the cases that are brought before it, roughly 75 out of 7,000 in one semester or a term of the court. I entertained no expectations that mine would be granted. We have to remember that we are working with a conservative court that has worked deciduously in the Bush and Reagan administrations and now in the Clinton administration to narrow the chances of anyone having had their case heard, not just a prisoner on death row. Even the most charitable observer must agree that by virtue of the court taking such a small fraction of the important cases that are filed before it, it is impossible to ignore the fact that many grave injustices are going unresolved. Given the tone and tenor of recent Supreme Court opinions there is even a sense of relief that they didn't grant my third appeal. And the trend is increasingly in favor of the State, the trend is increasingly to disfavor the defendant and the accused. Certainly there are exceptions, but that's the undeniable trend, the expansion of state power and police power in the retractions of prisoners' rights.

The struggle continued, the same old forces are still at work. Look what happened when I called into WBAI. I was literally pulled off the air a few weeks ago. The recent Phillip Block debacle reflects too how desperate the state is and their desperation is really an acknowledgement that none of them believed Phil's confession story to begin with. Still we can't forget the old saying that the truth shall set you free. I still believe that. I'd be a fool not to.

From Death Row,

/S/ Mumia Abu-Jamal