Protest To Abolish The Death Penalty To Be Held This Weekend In Philadelphia
Opponents to government-sanctioned murders will be pushing to abolish the death-penalty during different this weekend Philadelphia on Saturday October 9th & Sunday the 10th.
While this country claims to advocate democracy; and to be a leader in high standards of civilization, in actuality, it is one of the deadliest nations to ever exist.
Over 3000 people are currently on death-row in this country, and in recent years approximately 122 wrongfully convicted individuals have been exonerated.
In 2009, the United Snakes of Amerikkka – supposedly the land of the free and home of the brave – was responsible for executing 52 people nationwide and also sentencing 106 others to be murdered in the near future. Only D.C. and 15 out of the U.S.’ 50 states have no death penalty.
Abolishing capital punishment in the U.S.A. is the main focus of the 8th annual World Day Against the Death Penalty, scheduled to occur this weekend in the City of Brotherly Love. Opponents to the death-penalty state that it is cruel and inhumane, and also causes unnecessary suffering to those being put to death, while proponents argue that it is a necessary crime deterrent.
Those in opposition say that there are a few instances where a defendant’s guilt comes under scrutiny, either due to questionable testimonies, undisciplined errors committed by the defense team or sometimes more deliberate ones by prosecutors, causing a few innocent individuals to be wrongfully executed. A couple of death-penalty cases which have garnered much attention recently are those of Reggie Clemons and Troy Davis.
Additionally, the many inconsistencies in the case of Black Panther and prolific grassroots penman, Mumia Abu-Jamal, has drawn international attention to capital punishment, making him the most high-profiled individual on death-row in the world. Recent finding’s by his defense team further validates that the testimony of two key prosecution witnesses, during Abu-Jamal’s 1982 murder trial, were fabricated.
On the stand, former prostitute Cynthia White and taxi driver Robert Chobert, both claimed to have witnessed Mumia stand over Philadelphia cop Dan Faulkner as he lay prone on the sidewalk of Locust Street near 13th St. – after allegedly being injured in a fire-fight with Abu-Jamal – then shooting at him 4 times at close range, with only one of the 4 bullets striking the cop in the face.
Their testimonies painted Mumia as a cold blooded killer and helped to ensure a guilty verdict would be reached by the jury and that he’d eventually be sentenced to death. White has since recanted her confession, saying that her testimony was coerced by the Philadelphia prosecutors.
Independent forensic tests conducted on similar slabs of concrete, from about the same distance, show that noticeable damage would have been done to the underlying sidewalk by the 3 bullets which missed the cop. Plus, photos of the sidewalk where the shooting took place were presented at the initial trial and did not demonstrate any damages consistent with those of the ones just mentioned. These findings diametrically opposes the prosecutions’ witness accounts as well as the alleged physical evidence provided by them, of what transpired the night the cop was killed.
This, along with the failure by the police to produce the gunpowder residue results, which are always administered to suspects who are arrested at or near the scene in murder cases also bring into question the mishandling of their investigation.
Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal, wrote:
“Dear Friends: There is a major new development regarding my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, the journalist and author who has been on Pennsylvania’s death row for nearly three decades.
My quest for a hearing has been granted.
Oral argument scheduled, United States Court of Appeals: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has just granted oral argument in Mumia’s case. (Abu-Jamal v. Beard, No. 01-9014.) The arguments will be before a three-judge panel on November 9, 2010, 2:00 pm. This will be in the Ceremonial Courtroom, U.S. Courthouse, 6th & Market Streets, Philadelphia.
At stake is whether he will be executed, or granted a new jury trial on the question of the death penalty. We previously won on this issue, but early this year the U.S. Supreme Court vacated that decision and ordered that the case be again reviewed by the federal court.
Yours very truly, Robert R. Bryan”
The most recent petition drive for Mumia, calling for a Civil Rights investigation into his case, has amassed ver 40,000 signatures including those of 3 Nobel Prize winners: Desmond Tutu – South Africa (1984), Gunter Grass – Germany (1999) and Elifriede Jelinek – Austria (2004). Cornell West, Charles Rangel, Henry Louis Gates have also supported the petition.
Letters to Holder should be sent to: FMAJC, PO Box 16, College Station, NY, NY 10030.
Buses leave this Saturday morning from 33rd St. & 8th Ave. at 6:30AM
More info: 212-330-8029 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 212-330-8029 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
For information on how to help, both by signing the Obama petition & donating funds, please go to Mumia’s website (http://www.MumiaLegalDefense.org). & www.freemumia.com.
For More Information To Stop The Death Penalty, Log On To:
World Coalition Against The Death Penalty
