| OCR Text |
a SPRING VENCEREMOS 2000 5 Justice Still Weighs Heavy on Mumia In the four years since the first death warrant was signed, Mumia's supporters had been busy. In April of 1999, on Mumia's birth“U. Students Protest Modern Lynching” declared the headline of an article by Amber day, huge rallies had taken place in San Heaton in the Fall 95 issue of Venceremos. A Francisco and Philadelphia. sidebar states “Mumia's stay of execution Meanwhile the International Longshoredoes not mean victory. men's Union shut down every port on the There are more than 100 political prisoners west coast of the US for a few hours in solirotting in US prisons right now. We live in a darity. Unions, churches, death penalty society in which political dissent is criminalopponents, Amnesty International and other ized.” human rights groups, and many, many more, And in the photo next to it, a protester's had been convinced of the travesty of justice sign reads “The punishment industry crimihanded out in Mumia's case. nalizes the poor.” Mumia was granted another stay of execuThe stay of execution Mumia Abu-Jamal tion on October 26. His case is in the federal had just received came at the end of a sumcourts now, where about a third of death mer filled with protests and demonstrations penalty cases are overturned, and out of the across the country and around the world. good old boys network of the an Salt Lake City was no exception. court system. Throughout the summer rallies were held A hearing will take place sometime in downtown, films were shown at the universiMarch of 2000. Recent studies and investigaty, prominent lawyers like Ron Yengich, tions into the corruption and racism of the Carol Gnade, and Rocky Anderson spoke out Philadelphia criminal justice system corroboagainst the use of the death penalty. rate the arguments of Mumia's defense that People from Salt Lake and Utah travelled he was not given a fair trial. to San Francisco and elsewhere to participate Even the Philadelphia City Bar Associain marches and help raise awareness. Tens of The evidence was inconsistent, tion and the Pennsylvania State Bar Associathousands of letters, phone calls and emails tion have called for a moratorium on all exeflooded the offices of Judge Albert Sabo and cutions and death penalty cases coming out the prosecutor's version of the Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, who had of Philadelphia because of these studies. signed a death warrant in early July. Mumia may have a better chance of receivfacts would have been impossiOnly a few days from the date set for ing a new trial today than ever before, but it Mumia's execution, Judge Sabo granted is also his last chance. If this appeal is ble, witnesses who had seen Mumia a stay, the first and last ever granted denied, he will have no other avenues left in his career. within US courts. another man fleeing the scene The '95 article goes on to describe the backIn Salt Lake City, the Utah Coalition for ground of Mumia's case. How he was a radiMumia has been formed in the wake of this were intimidated or bribed into cal freelance journalist who had been dubbed - most recent death warrant. Today there are the “Voice of the Voiceless” for his writings nine local community and student organizachanging their stories. about homelessness and racism. But his hard tions participating in the Coalition. hitting reports on police brutality and govThe protests and rallies continue. Most ernment corruption eventually made him a recently, about 30 people demonstrated on support from the Fraternal Order of Police convenient scapegoat for the murder of a the steps of the new Matheson Courthouse in (FOP). The FOP has been conducting a police officer. Mumia was denied the right to nation wide campaign of disinformation in downtown Salt Lake on January 15. Last defend himself, or to have counsel of his November over 100 rallied for justice for this case for years and pushing to see Mumia choice. executed. Mumia, Leonard Peltier and other political He was denied the financial resources One of the seven justices had actually prisoners in Washington Square, on the needed to conduct an investigation, interview worked in the Philadelphia prosecutor's office steps of City Hall. witnesses, or hire ps or a at the time of the original trial, and had The Coalition has also been busy organizexperts. '. >: * helped prepare the case against Mumia. * ing poetry readings, showing videos, and He was triéd befatE: a de Mio had senThe Court did not really state it's own opin- tabling and flyering at events all over Salt. tenced more people to death than any other ion on the case, using the same language Lake. judge in the nation and had previously stated Judge Sabo had used in his decision, and This year dl likely see the end of this that in all his years on the bench he had accepting all of Sabo's findings as valid. controversial case. Either Mumia will be never seen an innocent man brought before On October 13, 1999, Pennsylvania Govergranted a new trial, at which many of his him. nor Tom Ridge signed a second death warsupporters are confident he will be acquitted The evidence was inconsistent, the proserant for Mumia, setting the date for Decemor he will run out of appeals, a new death cutor's version of the facts would have been ber 2, 1999. Mumia's lawyers quickly filed a warrant will be issued, and massive protests impossible, witnesses who had seen another Petition for Habeus Corpus with the federal . may be the only hope left to produce a just man fleeing the scene were intimidated or courts, and a request for a stay of execution. outcome. bribed into changing their stories. But withMeanwhile protests erupted once again. VOZ continued from page 2 la comunidad. Venceremos ya no estaba para dar su voz en el debate de Ingles solamente que continua aplagando nuestra comunidad hasta ahora. Cuando el Generalisimo Ortega trato de delegar poderes a su policia igual a los de los oficiales del INS y poder amenazar a cualquiera que “pareciera” ser un emigrante ilegal (moreno) no estabamos presentes para expresar cuan racista era esa idea. Cuando los heterosexuales y homosexuales pelearon por el derecho de reunirse pacificamente en las escuelas secundarias locales, observabamos con asombro como los que tenian poder los silenciaron y eliminaron todas las organizaciones sociales estudiantiles. ¿Cuantas otras cosas han pasado entre ayer y hoy que no ' se han discutido? Venceremos. We Shall Overcome. Esta edicion es una onto cion de la legacia del espiritu del movimiento Chicana/o - la recontruccion de una publicacion estudiantil que es libre de comunicar sus ideales y noticias a una comunidad que todavia lucha para entenderse a si mismo. Who's The Illegal Alien Pilgrim? Editorial from Volume 2 Number 1994 Who's the illegal alien lean? 1 Fall Earlier this November, California voters passed Proposition 187. 187's passage signals a resurgence in the baseless scapegoating of innocent people by white America, and is sure to become an embarrassment to the nation. This new era of state-sanctioned racism will make 1994 a black year in human history. California has become one of the only societies in history (alongside Nazi Germany) to outlaw state services to an entire class of people. Proposition 187 is a racist law that must be opposed by all persons of faith and social conscience. Proposition 187's supporters have tried admirably to disguise their true motives: a whiter California. But it is not facts that racists like Pete Wilson are interested in. They are only interested in selling neatly packaged lies to Californians that blame Mexico and its people for California's ills (usually by alleging that Mexicans are free-loading off of the welfare system). These lies are without basis in fact. Studies of immigration patterns between the United States and Mexico offer no conclusive evidence that Mexican immigrants flock to states like California to get on welfare. This alleged magnet affect is a racist lie based on the myth of the lazy Mexican. How will history remember these times? Will history remember Propostion 187's passage as the end of human decency in for over a century in our own country! We this country, or worse, as another period of are the victims of racism that no one wants darkness in America? - to call racism. Nothing has changed, and Has the urge to blame and to look to the that's why l'm mad. far right for hate-based solutions become so Of course we're angry; of course we're strong that history will remember these confused. Once California was, like Utah, a times along with the rise of Hitler? part of Mexico. We were conquered by For Latinos Proposition 187 may seem greedy men like Pete Wilson, and made virlike the worst thing that has ever haptual serfs in an uncaring society. The pened. Maybe it is. But this is now the unjust War of the Foreign Invasion is now world we have to live in. 1t our responsibilbut a speck on the pages of the history ity to turn our disadvantage to an advanbooks our youth must read while prisoners tage. of a racist educational system. All this, and Proposition 187 is a call to arms that we still find ourselves called “Illegal” and commands all Chicanos, Latinos, “Hispan“Aliens.” Who's the illegal alien pilgrim! ics”, Latino Americanos, Mexicanos, MexiVictimized again by racists, we must now cans, Puertoriquenos, Cubanos, Cubans, take our anger and use it against the eneCuban Americans, Cholos, Cholas, Koreans, mies of our raza and the Constitution who Korean Americans, Philipinos, Philppine created this racist law. We must take our Americans, ect. anger and use it against those who conspire It is time that we remember our collective with our enemies to oppress our people. values as a society, and use them to fight Fuck you “Hispanics,” you high-ball the valueless claims of hosed-off Klansmen drinking, sellout, coward, no morals, steakmasquerading as “immigration advocates.” eating, brokering mother-fuckers. You did It's time for us to remind the Republican this to us as much as the Klan, as much as party that denying healthcare to children FAIR, as much as anyone. and working families is not a family value. But the jokes on you, you spineless fucks, Someone asked us recently if we were because you're the only ones who you're angry about the vote for Proposition 187. - fooling. To everyone else you're just another Of course we're angry. We're angry that wetback, a greaser, and your Izod shirts California voters did not come to their sensand your fancy offices won't save you. Open es before election day. We're angry that in your fucking eyes and see what kind of a the 1990' political candidates still use world you've left for your children. racism to win elections. The only thing you've got left is for PropoBut what our friend didn't member is sition 187 to become the best thing that has this: We have been here before! Racism is ever happened to us. The only thing left is nothing new to us. Our people have been victims of racism see PILGRIM, page 11 T Y TTM TT out a competent defense attorney, and with Mumia himself barred from the courtroom for most of the trial, there was not sufficient challenge or investigation into the evidence introduced by the city. Mumia was found guilty and sentenced to death. In the sentencing phase of the trial, while arguing for Mumia's execution, the prosecution introduced evidence of Mumia's political involvement, as a teenager, with the Black Panther Party. This was only one of many constitutional and civil rights violations that ran a the entire proceeding o 1995 Mumia's supporters were succesful in gaining a stay of execution, pending a Petition for Post Conviction Relief filed by Mumia in the Pennsylvania courts. Three years later, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied Mumia's Petition. Mumia supporters pointed out that Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices were elected and not appointed, and that every one of the seven judges had received contributions and Fa by Jonathon Hurd y 2 |
