IPS interviews Mumia Abu Jamal

As a media spokesperson for the human rights group Amnesty International, I have called out numerous times in favor of a new trial for Pennsylvania death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted in the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.

Whenever I do so, I get a lot of heat.

Despite the frequent allegations that I am a "Mumia supporter", I do not profess to know whether Mumia is innocent or guilty. And I do not call for Mumia's release.

Rather, I simply call for a new trial, because an extensive investigation by Amnesty International experts has concluded that "numerous aspects of this case clearly failed to meet minimum international standards safeguarding the fairness of legal proceedings."

And I wonder why my critics are so strongly opposed to a new and more fair trial. If Mumia is as guilty as alleged, then it will be confirmed in the new trial and we can rest assured that we are punishing the right person.

What's to lose, other than potentially a false conviction? Don't you want to be sure that you're punishing the right guy?

Why be afraid of shedding more light on the subject? If the light reveals that Mumia is guilty, then punish him accordingly. But not for any other reason.

OK, enough of my letting off steam.

The real purpose for this post: Inter Press Service (IPS) has published a fascinating interview with Mumia, which I felt was worth sharing.

An excerpt:

Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist and black activist who exposed corruption in the Philadelphia police department, is among the best known of America's 3,500 death row inmates. For years, lawyers have been fighting to overturn his 1982 murder conviction. They argue that Abu-Jamal was condemned due to his skin colour and undue influence from the powerful Fraternal Order of Police.

Abu-Jamal and his chief lawyer, Robert Bryan, are currently awaiting a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia on their request for a new trial. If a re-trial is ordered, many believe it will be one of the most sensational in U.S. legal history.

In this rare interview from Pennsylvania’s death row, Abu-Jamal talks about being a journalist on death row with IPS correspondent Adrianne Appel and radio journalist John Grebe. "Writing from a radical and populist, black liberation point of view, never left me," he says, "We do truly live in amazing times, times that are challenging, times that are dangerous -- but also times that are inspiring."

IPS: Through your radio broadcasts and columns about politics, race, black liberation and the death penalty, you have continued to be a leader for those on the left, and I suspect an inspiration to those in prison and on death row. Do you hear from others on death row?

MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: I do actually receive letters from guys literally all around the country and -- truth be told -- around the world. Some express solidarity, many request to correspond, some just ask questions on history because they’ve heard of my history with the black liberation movement.

I know that many people on death row are projected as monsters and really evil people. The fact of the matter is, most of the people I’ve met, I’ve heard about, or know about on death row are on death row because of their poverty. If they were men or women of means and could have afforded a decent defence at their trials, many wouldn’t be in jail. And if they were not in jail, they wouldn’t be on death row.

IPS: You have great support in Europe but not here in the U.S. What accounts for this difference?

MAJ: The [U.S.] media has really been an adversary and not an aide. The struggle waxes and wanes, ebbs and flows.

IPS: Public sentiment here seems to be shifting away from the death penalty, especially in light of the 126 people who have so far been exonerated -- six in Pennsylvania. Have you and your legal team sensed any change in attitude towards your case -- more openness to the idea that you did not receive a fair trial?

MAJ: I can’t say that I have. How do you gauge such a thing? There are many people who -- because of what they read in the paper -- firmly believe I am no longer on death row. I have read articles to that effect. Unfortunately, those articles are misleading. I have never left death row for one day. I am on death row.

IPS: Are you confident you will receive a fair trial this time?

MAJ: I’ve learned not to be in the business of prediction. That’s a risky business. We’re certainly working toward that end and I’m certainly hopeful. But I’m not in the prediction game.

>> Read the full interview.