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Dear Friends:<br><br>
There are many developments on the legal and other fronts concerning
my<br>
client, Mumia Abu-Jamal. We remain in active litigation before the
U.S.<br>
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and also have issues pending
in<br>
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Mumia has been honored by fellow
writers<br>
through acceptance into a prestigious organization, a Nobel Prize
winner<br>
recently visited him, an excellent new book was released in France,
a<br>
leading British newspaper has published a major article on Mumia, and
a<br>
superb film recently premiered in London and Rome. The following are
the<br>
highlights.<br><br>
PEN membership Mumia has been accepted into the membership of PEN,
the<br>
worldwide human-rights organization of prominent writers. This is a
great<br>
honor. He was thrilled upon learning that the application I filed on
his<br>
behalf last spring was granted. In two decades of knowing each other,
I<br>
have not seen Mumia so happy. The recognition from his peers is well<br>
deserved.<br><br>
In a quarter of a century of being locked up in a small cell on<br>
Pennsylvania's death row, Mumia's literary output has been prodigious.
He<br>
has written five outstanding books that are published in various<br>
languages, and also writes weekly commentaries that are published
and<br>
broadcast internationally.<br><br>
PEN was founded in 1921 to dispel national, ethnic, and racial hatred,
to<br>
promote understanding among all countries, and defend the freedom to<br>
write. PEN American Center, into which Mumia has been accepted, is
the<br>
largest of the 145 centers in 104 countries of International PEN. It<br>
exists to fight for freedom of expression, represent the conscience
of<br>
world literature, and foster friendship and intellectual
co-operation<br>
among writers everywhere. It is the world’s oldest human
rights<br>
organization and also the oldest international literary group.<br><br>
The support provided by Alice Walker, E.L. Doctorow, Bell Chevigny
and<br>
other members of the PEN American Center, New York, was invaluable.
I am<br>
especially grateful to the kindness of Salman Rushdie, former President
of<br>
PEN. Throughout the application process, I was impressed by the
paramount<br>
concern of the PEN membership for human rights and protecting the<br>
independence of writers.<br><br>
Bishop Desmond Tutu On October 23, 2007, Bishop Desmond Tutu met
with<br>
Mumia. It is was a moving experience. Later that afternoon
Mumia<br>
expressed to me how touched and humbled he was by meeting with this<br>
wonderful person, who received the Nobel Peace Price in 1984 and the<br>
Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism in 1986. Mumia is<br>
particularly grateful to Martha Conley, Esq., of Pittsburgh, who
initiated<br>
and arranged the visit, drove Bishop Tutu and his assistant to the
prison,<br>
and joined them in the visit on death row. Last week Bishop Tutu
issued<br>
the following statement concerning Mumia and capital punishment:<br>
"I oppose the death penalty on principle in every case and I support
the<br>
plea for a retrial for Mumia Abu-Jamal."<br><br>
The Most Reverend Desmond M. Tutu, O.M.S.G., D.D., F.K.C.<br>
Anglican Archbishop Emeritus<br>
Cape Town, South Africa<br><br>
5 November 2007<br><br>
Legal developments Last month the prosecution submitted a Notice
of<br>
Supplemental Authority with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third<br>
Circuit, Philadelphia, arguing that a recent ruling and related
decisions<br>
by the U.S. Supreme Court affects the pending issues pertaining to
the<br>
death penalty and racism in jury selection. Consequently on
November 1,<br>
2007, we filed a Reply To Notice of Supplemental Authority,
explaining<br>
with legal analysis that the contentions of opposing counsel should
be<br>
rejected because they are without merit and do not alter the major<br>
constitutional violations that occurred in this case.<br><br>
I remain in contact with the court. It is not known exactly when
there<br>
will be a federal decision. If the court follows the law and the
U.S.<br>
Constitution, we will win. In my experience of successfully
litigating<br>
well over a hundred capital murder cases at trial and on appeal, I
know<br>
that courts are not always just. They can make terribly tragic
mistakes.<br>
Nevertheless, I have not seen a case more riddled with such
significant<br>
constitutional violations, racism, fraud, and unfairness. My goal
remains<br>
to achieve a reversal of the conviction, and at a new jury trial win
a<br>
jury acquittal so that Mumia can go home to his family -- a free
person.<br><br>
In Prison My Whole Life, British film on Mumia On October 25, 2007,
the<br>
new documentary film In Prison My Whole Life premiered simultaneously
at<br>
the London Film Festival and Rome Film Festival. It is a superb
movie<br>
which does much to expose the many wrongs including racism and
politics<br>
that have infected the case from the outset, the American legal
system,<br>
and our society. Amnesty International is officially supporting the
film.<br>
The picture is hard hitting and reveals the death penalty for what
it is:<br>
legalized murder. Mumia and I are indebted to Colin and Livia
Giuggioli<br>
Firth, along with Marc Evans, William Francome, Nick Goodwin Self,
Katie<br>
Green, and the others who had the courage to make this film and tell
the<br>
truth.<br><br>
New French book on Mumia In September an excellent book on Mumia
was<br>
published on September 15, 2007, in France. It is Mumia Abu-Jamal
un<br>
homme libre dans le couloir de la mort, by Claude Guillaumaud-Pujol,
with<br>
a foreword by Robert Meeropol, son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and<br>
Founder, Rosenberg Fund for Children. Claude is deeply involved in
the<br>
Collectif, a group of over 80 French organizations that aggressively<br>
support our campaign for a new and fair trial for Mumia and his
freedom.<br>
She knows Mumia well, and last visited with him on November 11.
Claude<br>
has donated her book to help in the struggle for Mumia's freedom.
Mumia<br>
says "the book is beautiful." It can be purchased though
various<br>
booksellers in France.<br><br>
Guardian (England) article: "I Spend My Days Preparing for Life, Not
for<br>
Death" Recently there was an excellent article in the Guardian
newspaper.<br>
It concerns a fascinating death row interview with Mumia, and can
be<br>
found at:
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2198415,00.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2198415,00.html<br><br>
</a>Tax-Deductible Donations to Mumia's Legal Defense My
office continues to<br>
receive extensive e-mail from people confused as to how and where they
may<br>
send donations for Mumia's legal defense. With Mumia's
authorization, a<br>
process exists which guarantees that all donations in the U.S. go only
to<br>
the legal defense. The contributions are tax-deductible.
Checks should<br>
be made payable to the National Lawyers Guild Foundation (indicate
"Mumia"<br>
on the bottom left), and mailed to:<br><br>
Committee To Save Mumia Abu-Jamal<br>
P.O. Box 2012<br>
New York, NY 10159-2012<br><br>
Your interest is appreciated.<br><br>
With best wishes,<br><br>
Robert R. Bryan<br>
Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan<br>
2088 Union Street, Suite 4<br>
San Francisco, California 94123<br><br>
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal<br><br>
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