vision2020
Re: Do the Right Thing
Last year, there was an international day of demonstrations demanding a new
trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Some Moscow citizens joined this movement by
organizing a local protest.
Phil Cooper had some errors/oversights/etc. in his posting. Although
Vision 2020 is not designed for this debate, Phil opened the door, so:
"Convict Abu-Jamal has written a book, "Live from Death Row," and
attempted to place himself in a celebrity status as a result of his
criminal behavior. " Mumia already had celebrity status before his
conviction. He was (is) an award-winning journalist. Many people think he
was falsely accused and convicted because of his already existing celebrity
status as someone who spoke out against racism and police brutality.
Mumia's recorded statement at Evergreen State College: The previous
posting omitted that recorded statements from Mumia have been aired at the
Kent State University May 4th Remembrance ceremony, on the Pacifica Radio
Network, and numerous other forums. Support in Mumia is not incidental; it
is very widespread.
"spitting in the face of Officer Faulkner": It is curious that attempts to
appeal a conviction should be viewed as spitting in someone's face. All
action in support of Mumia is premised on the belief that he did not
receive a fair trial, and that he may very well be innocent. If the
Fraternal Order of Police doesn't believe in the right of appeal, and
doesn't believe that people should help raise money for legal appeals,
perhaps they should relocate to a country where sentences are final, and
executions are swiftly implemented. Otherwise, people sworn to uphold the
law should not hypocritically object to legal organizing.
"the killers 3 minute diatribe of hate." [sic] By comparing Mumia's many
recorded statements with Phil Cooper's posting, it would be easier to apply
this phrase to the latter rather than the former.
The list of people to be boycotted:
The FOC apparently omitted Amnesty International, which says "Amnesty
International has concluded that the proceedings used to convict and
sentence Mumia Abu-Jamal to death were in violation of minimum
international standards that govern fair trial procedures and the use of
the death penalty. Amnesty International believes that the interests of
justice would best be served by the granting of a new trial to Mumia
Abu-Jamal." It is in this spirit that people around the world have
organized to support Mumia, financially and otherwise. If the FOC is
opposed to such efforts, it is de facto opposed to fair trials.
For more details, please see the following Web sites:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/reports/mumia/
http://www.mumia.org/index3.html
http://mojo.calyx.net/~refuse/mumia/
http://www.freemumia.org/
I thank Phil Cooper for raising this very important issue.
Bob Hoffmann
229 East C St., Suite B
Moscow, ID 83843 USA
Phone: (208) 883-0642
Fax: 1-800-683-3799
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