Since 1981, Mumia Abu-Jamal has been incarcerated for a crime in which he is factually innocent. But because the crime he was convicted of resulted in the death of someone who just happened to be wearing a uniform issued by the Philadelphia Police Department, the State is more than satisfied if Mumia does not breathe another breath of free air.
There has always been a large amount of reasonable doubt surrounding Mumia's trial and conviction, at least enough to have his original death sentence changed to life imprisonment. That was all before there were six boxes of evidence found in a storage room, in the Philadelphia courthouse, that had never been examined. Some of that evidence includes statements from prosecution witnesses asking about payments they were promised in exchange for their testimony.
There was enough judicial, prosecutorial and police misconduct involved with Mumia's case that even if his innocence were a question, the original conviction should have been thrown out as soon as it was handed down. For whatever reason, there is a mindset in this country that the “Justice System” is infallible and makes no mistakes.
And the State definitely wouldn't convict someone for the sake of closing a case, would they? And they wouldn't lie through their teeth for a conviction, would they? The West Memphis Three found that out the hard way when they were convicted of murder due to witchcraft, listening to heavy metal and some other silly bullshit. So the State upholding Mumia's conviction out of stubbornness and vengeance is not surprising. It is in no way right but it's not surprising.
Philadelphia District Attorney, Larry Krasner, whose office found the six boxes of evidence, has said there is nothing he can do about Mumia's case and refuses to allow this new evidence to be entered into the record. Even though he has done this with other cases where new evidence was discovered.
The Pennsylvania Governor's office has said that Abu-Jamal's case is out of their hands and refuses to take action. That's kind of hard to believe since pardons and clemency fall under the purview of the Governor's office. So if the District Attorney and the Governor both say they can't do anything, then whose hands is the case in?
I would have thought that Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman would be all over this since he claims to be all about commuting sentences and restorative justice. I guess he's too busy cosplaying as the working man's leftist to actually do the work. It feels like he only wants to legalize marijuana so he can court the Joe R*gan demographic when he runs for the U.S. Senate in 2022.
I'm not certain why the obvious issues surrounding Mumia's case are of no interest to the Governor's office. According to a former intern, there are data filters set up on the office email system that redirect any emails with Mumia's name in them to a file that goes unread. Aides also put letters and faxes about the case into the garbage.
Heading into the later parts of his second term, Governor Wolf should have nothing to fear about upsetting the Fraternal Order Of Police or the majority Republican legislature. He has nothing left to run for so he doesn't need a bullshit endorsement from law enforcement and the Republican Party refuses to work with him on anything meaningful for the people of Pennsylvania. The only thing that I can think of is that Wolf is afraid of any boycotts that the FOP might organize against his personal businesses after he leaves office. It seems that any time someone comes out in support of Mumia, the FOP suddenly pretends to have hurt feelings and tries to drum up negative press against whoever spoke out.
Mumia was one of the few journalists that would take the Philly PD to task for their myriad civil rights abuses and mafia like acts of thuggery. Add that to Abu-Jamal's associations with the Black Panther Party and the MOVE organization, he put a fairly large target on his back by pointing out that the Philadelphia police department were (and still are) a bunch of corrupt, racist goons. From the first raid on MOVE in 1978, the firebombing of a city block in 1985 to teargassing protestors that were pinned down on the side of highway in the summer of 2020, the police in Philadelphia have always been quick to commit war crimes on a local level. They do these things because they know they will get away with them and never face consequences.
Kurt Vonnegut said something along the lines of Swedes having long memories but short dicks. The same principle can be applied to the Philly PD and the police “union” in this instance. They will never get over that Mumia was tangentially involved when they lost one of their own so fuck him and his life regardless of the facts of the case. He had the temerity to point out the obvious and the Philly PD will make him pay for that with his life. And if you don't think the police have a hard time getting over things involving the Black Panthers go ask H. Rap Brown and then take a look at Fred Hampton's bullet riddled headstone.
This can be added to the ever growing mountain of evidence that the police and their fraternal organizations are no longer intended to protect and serve. They have become an occupying force on the streets of America that have pulled off a coup with the support of white suburbanites who fear the “other.” This is one of the many reasons why qualified immunity should be eliminated and that law enforcement “unions” should be expelled from the AFL-CIO. Every time I was ever on a picket line, my “union” brothers were always on the other side of the line to protect the bosses and their property. If that's not the behavior of a Scab, I don't know what is.
Abu-Jamal's death sentence may have been overturned on paper but the State is more than willing to try killing him through medical neglect so they never have to answer for his conviction and unjust imprisonment. Mumia has contracted several life threatening medical conditions due to his incarceration. Heart disease (for which he recently had surgery), renal failure, a skin condition which has been described as organ failure of the skin and he has survived COVID-19. The man's physical and mental resilience through all of these years is astounding to me.
The surviving members of MOVE and their children are still working tirelessly for Mumia's freedom. Even in the face of the recent passing of MOVE elders and the news involving the mistreatment of the remains of children that were murdered in the 1985 bombing by medical examiners and universities, they keep pressing on to bring Mumia home.
Time is of the essence and unless there is someone in a position of power with a sympathetic ear that doesn't fear the retribution of the police, I can't help but see that clock running out.
For more information, and resources to lend a hand, go to: https://letmumiaout.com/. Where there's people, there's power.
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