Open World Conference of Workers
In Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights
Declaration from the International Committee To Save The Life Of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Nine Days Before Leaving Office, the Clinton Administration Announces
Its Refusal to Conduct a Federal Civil Rights Investigation into the
Violation of Mumia Abu-Jamal's Civil and Constitutional Rights!
On December 11, 2000, an international delegation of trade union and
political leaders met at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington
with Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart Ishimaru. The
delegation was following up on a meeting held on January 12 with Mr.
Ishimaru, at which a demand was made that the Department of Justice
open a federal investigation into 29 documented violations of the
civil and constitutional rights of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a political
prisoner being held on death row in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Ishimaru told the international delegation on December 11 that
the Department of Justice had not yet made a decision regarding
federal government intervention. But, under continued pressure from
the delegation, he made a specific commitment to issue of final
report on the Department of Justice's decision on this matter before
the end of the Clinton Administration.
On January 10, 2001, Ishimaru announced the Department of Justice's
decision in a letter faxed to Baldemar Velasquez, president of the
Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC/AFL-CIO) and chairperson of the
international delegation. The long-awaited response was blunt:
"We [the Department of Justice] have carefully reviewed the
circumstances surrounding Mr. Abu-Jamal's arrest, prosecution and
conviction. As a result of this review, we have determined that a
federal investigation into allegations that Mr. Abu-Jamal's civil
rights were violated as a criminal matter by the Philadelphia Police
Department and other component agencies of the City of Philadelphia
is not warranted at this time."
We, the undersigned who participated in or otherwise supported these
two international delegations to the Department of Justice on behalf
of Abu-Jamal, are outraged by this decision and by the spurious
reasons provided by the Department of Justice for refusing to conduct
an investigation. We cannot accept this decision.
To support its decision, the Department of Justice claims that
"The statute of limitations on filing criminal civil rights charges
has expired in this matter, and the evidence is insufficient to
establish a continuing conspiracy that may overcome the strictures of
that statute."
This claim cannot be sustained. Anticipating such an argument, the
international delegation submitted a memorandum to Mr. Ishimaru on
January 12, 2000, demonstrating that there has been on ongoing
conspiracy against Abu-Jamal. The memo argued that during the last
five years Abu-Jamal's rights in jail have been violated. It also
documented new threats against potential witnesses.
Here is a partial list of these violations:
- In 1995, Abu-Jamal was punished by prison authorities and put in
"the hole" for 90 days for the simple act of writing political
statements while in prison. He was accused on "conducting a business"
from his prison cell. Abu-Jamal appealed this violation of his
constitutional rights in the celebrated "Write-Up For Writing" court
case, which he eventually won.
- Abu-Jamal has been prevented repeatedly from receiving his mail.
His complaints have been filed routinely, to little or no avail.
- In an effort to silence Abu-Jamal, no press, cameras, or
microphones are allowed in Abu-Jamal's prison cell.
- The rights of Abu-Jamal's spiritual advisers have been curtailed
drastically, in violation of his rights.
- Veronica Jones, who had testified in the initial trial against
Abu-Jamal, reversed her story in 1996, stating that she was
threatened with the loss of her children if she did not support the
police story. While on the stand testifying on behalf of Abu-Jamal,
Jones was arrested for a minor discrepancy in her testimony. This was
a scandalous act of intimidation against a witness.
To this partial list, we must add the fact that on 23 separate
occasions in 1996 the Department of Justice itself brought charges
against the Philadelphia Police Department for violating the civil
rights of its citizens, particularly African Americans. This is the
same police department that suppressed, manipulated, and manufactured
evidence against Abu-Jamal.
No. The evidence of ongoing conspiracy is not only sufficient, it is
over-abundant. Did the Department of Justice actually examine these
transgressions of Abu-Jamal's rights during its one-year review?
The Department of Justice also claims that
"Moreover, we note that the credibility of a number of witnesses
supporting Mr. Abu-Jamal's allegations has been questioned by state
courts reviewing the trial records. While we express no opinion as to
the reliability of any witness, such negative credibility
determinations pose significant challenges to the viability of a
criminal civil rights prosecution."
What witnesses is the Department of Justice referring to here? Why is
no one named? Who can accept such a vague reference to "negative
credibility."
The issue of witness credibility is entirely the opposite of what Mr.
Ishimaru would have us believe. As the documents provided by the
international delegation make abundantly clear, witnesses were
harassed into giving false testimony. Veronica Jones was one of them.
Moreover, two prosecution witnesses - Cynthia White and Robert
Chobert - were given special favors by the police in exchange for
their testimony, including exemption from criminal prosecution.
Talk about "negative credibility": First, Cynthia White (the
prostitute who received favorable treatment from law enforcement)
initially told police that the shooter who killed Philadelphia police
officer Daniel Faulkner was "short" (her estimate: shorter than
5'8"), while Abu-Jamal is lean and tall (6'1"). Second, Robert
Chobert (the cab driver on probation and driving without a valid
driver's license who solicited assistance from the trial prosecutor
concerning his livelihood) described the shooter as "heavy" - indeed,
about fifty ponds heavier than Abu-Jamal (his estimate: 225 pounds).
Third, Michael Scanlan (the prosecution's most "reliable" fact
witness) expressed certainty that the shooter had an "Afro" hair
style, while Abu-Jamal's most distinctive physical attribute is that
he wore dreadlocks.
No. We cannot accept such a blatant distortion of the facts.
The Department of Justice further claims that
"In addition, claimed improprieties regarding the conduct of the
police, prosecutors and other officials, and the handling and
presentation of physical evidence, are not sufficiently supported by
the evidence to establish the requisite high level of criminal intent
necessary for a criminal civil rights prosecution."
Not sufficiently supported by the evidence? The Justice Department
was presented with detailed information regarding violations of
Abu-Jamal's civil and constitutional rights with respect to the
suppression and manufacturing of evidence; the inadequacy of counsel
during the guilt phase of the trial; the manner in which the trial
and direct appeal were conducted; the selection of the jury and
improper jury procedures; the penalty phase of the trial; and the
conduct of the post-conviction proceedings.
Any one of these violations, alone, should have warranted a federal
civil rights investigation, as per the statutory obligations of the
Department of Justice. The evidence was compelling; it cried out for
a federal investigation.
The Department of Justice concludes its letter with the claim that
"Finally, we have learned that Mr. Abu-Jamal has filed a petition for
federal habeas corpus relief. This, rather than a federal criminal
prosecution, may be the appropriate forum to address any alleged
improprieties in Mr. Abu-Jamal's trial."
Mr. Ishimaru and the Department of Justice know full well that
Abu-Jamal's attempts to secure relief in the court system have been
denied time and again. In fact, one of the main reasons a federal
investigation is warranted is the entire role of the Pennsylvania
courts in railroading Abu-Jamal.
Abu-Jamal's attorneys have filed a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus in a federal district court. Federal District Judge William
Yohn will soon decide whether Abu-Jamal will receive an evidentiary
hearing, a new trial, a summary judgment in his favor, or whether he
will be denied all relief.
Thus far, Judge Yohn has refused to even examine the four sets of
amicus briefs sent by 22 Members of British Parliament, among others,
on Abu-Jamal's behalf. In response to this unprecedented act,
Abu-Jama's attorneys filed a Writ of Mandamus to demand that these
amicus briefs be admitted into evidence - a writ that was denied the
very day the international delegation was meeting at the Department
of Justice.
This persistent refusal to allow into evidence all the new
documentation of improprieties is precisely why the international
delegation explicitly admonished the Department of Justice to do its
job and not concern itself with what the courts would do or would not
do in the case of Abu-Jamal.
But now a decision has been made.
We, the undersigned, must state things clearly:
By refusing to open an investigation, the Clinton administration
bears direct responsibility for whatever might happen to Mumia under
the next Bush administration. Clinton and Reno had the power and
ability to intervene. They could have opened a federal civil rights
investigation and established the basis for a new trial. But they
refused to do so!
If Mumia is executed, the Clinton Administration will bear direct
responsibility!
But we will not allow this to happen. By mobilizing in greater
numbers the world over, we can - and we will - stop this terrible
injustice!
That is why we, supporters of the International Committee to Save the
Life of Mumia Abu-Jamal, will not relent in this fundamental struggle
for democratic rights.
We call for the broadest possible unity in action. We call upon the
millions of working people and youth the world over for whom
Democracy and Justice are not just empty words. We call upon workers'
organizations and democratic organizations - and particularly upon
the trade unions, many of which have already heeded the call of the
Labor For Mumia campaign in the United States - to step up the fight.
We call upon you to organize delegations and demonstrations at U.S.
embassies and consulates the world over. We call upon you to demand
that all heads of state and government immediately address the
incoming Bush administration in the United States with the following
demands:
- Open a Federal Investigation into the Violations of Mumia
Abu-Jamal's Constitutional Rights!
- New Trial For Mumia Abu-Jamal!
***
Initial Statement Endorsers in the United States:
- Baldemar Velasquez, President, Farm Labor Organizing Committee
(AFL-CIO), with the mandate of the national leadership of the Labor
Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
- Pam Africa, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia
Abu-Jamal and MOVE organization (Philadelphia, PA)
- Nancy Wohlforth, Vice President, California Federation of Labor
(AFL-CIO); national co-chair, Pride at Work; president, OPEIU Local 3
- Dennis O'Neil, Legislative Director, New York Area Metro Postal Union
- Bill Bachmann, Member, New York Area Metro Postal Union
- Alan Benjamin, Continuations Committee, Open World Conference; OPEIU Local 3
- Jerry Gordon, Coordinator, Jan. 12 Delegation to U.S. Department of
Justice on Behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal
- Randy Christensen, Communication Workers (CWA) #9415
- Ed Rosario, Executive Board, San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO)
and Continuations Committee, Open World Conference
- Saladin Muhammad, Chairperson, Black Workers For Justice (BWFJ)
- Jim Lafferty, Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild Los Angeles
- Suzanne Ross, Ph.D., Organizer, New York Coalition to Free Mumia
- Ruth Atkin, Councilmember, City of Emeryville, CA
- Tamera CJ Baggett, Grassroots Alliance to End Poverty (Philadelphia)
- Millie Phillips, Editorial Board, The Organizer newspaper
- Theresa El-Amin, Coordinator, Southern Anti-Racism Network (Durham, NC)
- Tom Lacey, North State Chair, California Peace and Freedom Party
(for id. only)
- Michael Eisenscher, Director of Organizational Development,
University Council of American Federation of Teachers (for id. only)
- Dorothy Gilles, St. Louis Area Organizer, Farm Labor Organizing
Committee, AFL-CIO
- Mike Ferner (Toledo, OH)
- Timothy L. Stinson, The Organizer Newspaper
- Fred Hirsch, Vice President, Plumbers & Fitters Local 393 (San Jose, CA)
- Hal Sutton, Trustee, UAW Local 1268 (for id. only)
- Raymond Giraud, Emeritus Professor of French, Stanford University,
Palo Alto, CA (for id. only)
- Asher Harer, Retiree, ILWU (San Francisco, CA)
- Ruth Harer, Retiree, OPEIU Local 3 (San Francisco, CA)
- Christopher L. Frye, Member, Graphic Communications Internation
Union, Local 4N, Santa Cruz, CA (for id. only)
- Dan Kaplan, Executive Secretary, AFT Local 1493, San Mateo
Federation of Teachers (for id. only)
- Richard Lochner, Steward, American Postal Workers Union (for id. only)
- Jennifer Sullivan, Lancaster Diocesan Faith and Justice Commission
- Larry Duncan, Co-producer, Labor Beat cable-tv show (Chicago, IL)
- Roberto Simeon, Democratic Social Revolutionary Party of Cuba (Miami, FL)
- Lee Harrison Chauser, Teacher (LAUSD)
- Steve Ongerth, IWW (Oakland, Calif.)
- Nicholas Sammond (San Diego, CA)
- Chris Felley, Student (New York, NY)
- Michael O. Nimkoff, (Palm Springs, CA)
- Alexei Folger (San Francisco, CA)
- Rosalyn Fay (Berkeley, Calif.)
- Julia Steinberger, Researcher, MIT (Cambridge, MA)
- Desmond Bailey, Jr. (Boston, MA)
- Duncan McFarland (Somerville, MA)
- Aimee V. Wrin (Boston, MA)
- Amanda Mehlenbacher (Boston, MA).