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Dear Friends:<br><br>
This is an update on the case of my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has
been<br>
on Pennsylvania's death row for over a quarter of a century.<br><br>
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia: We
continue to<br>
await the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third
Circuit. I<br>
am in contact with the court, and will alert everyone immediately upon
the<br>
issuance of a ruling. Oral argument was on May 17, 2007, thus
people ask<br>
why the court is taking so long. This is a highly complex case
involving<br>
issues of great constitutional significance and a voluminous amount
of<br>
material. In three decades of successfully defending people in
numerous<br>
murder cases involving the death penalty, I have not seen one more<br>
complicated.<br><br>
It is impossible to know how the federal court will rule, but the
briefing<br>
and arguments could not have gone better even though there have been<br>
problems due to mistakes by prior counsel. If the federal court
follows<br>
the mandate of the U.S. Constitution, the decision should be
favorable.<br>
However, Mumia's remains in jeopardy because courts are so
unpredictable.<br><br>
The pending issues, as set out in our federal briefing, are:<br><br>
a. Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied the right to due process of law and
a<br>
fair trial under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments because of
the<br>
prosecutor's "appeal-after-appeal" argument which encouraged
the jury to<br>
disregard the presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt, and err
on<br>
the side of guilt.<br><br>
b. Whether the prosecution's use of peremptory challenges to exclude<br>
African Americans from sitting on the jury violated Mr. Abu-Jamal's
rights<br>
to due process and equal protection of the law under the Sixth and<br>
Fourteenth Amendments, and contravened Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S.
79<br>
(1986).<br><br>
c. Whether the verdict form and jury instructions that resulted in
the<br>
death penalty deprived Mr. Abu-Jamal of rights guaranteed by the Eight
and<br>
Fourteenth Amendments to due process of law, equal protection of the
law,<br>
and not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, and
violated<br>
Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367 (1988), since the judge precluded
the<br>
jurors from considering any mitigating evidence unless they all agreed
on<br>
the existence of a particular circumstance.<br><br>
d. Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied due process and equal protection
of<br>
the law under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments during
post-conviction<br>
hearings as the result of the bias and racism of Judge Albert F.
Sabo<br>
which included the comment that he was "going to help'em fry the
n----r."<br>
There are many scenarios of how the federal court might rule. Among
these<br>
are: (1) grant an entirely new jury trial; (2) order a new jury
trial<br>
limited to the issue of life or death; (3) remand the case back to
the<br>
U.S. District Court for further proceedings; or (4) deny everything,<br>
thereby leaving the death judgment intact.<br><br>
Pennsylvania Supreme Court: For over two years we have been
litigating<br>
issues in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court regarding the prosecution
falsely<br>
manipulating eyewitness testimony and fabricating evidence.
Recently the<br>
court denied relief. (Commonwealth v. Abu-Jamal, ___ A.2d ___, 2008
WL<br>
434567 (Pa. Feb. 19, 2008).) Mumia and I talked just after the
ruling on<br>
February 19, and I then issued the following public statement:<br><br>
"Mumia and I had a long conference this afternoon, shortly after
the<br>
Pennsylvania Supreme Court made its ruling. We were not surprised
since<br>
that court has a history of not addressing the racism and fraud that
has<br>
dominated the prosecution since its inception over a quarter of a
century<br>
ago. By dismissing the appeal on procedural grounds, the court
avoided<br>
dealing with the compelling facts establishing that the prosecution of
my<br>
client was based upon lies, half-truths, and bigotry. It is sad
that the<br>
state court used possible mistakes of the previous lawyers in the case
as<br>
an excuse to dodge the truth.<br><br>
This state ruling has no bearing on the proceedings pending in the
U.S.<br>
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. If the federal decision
is<br>
favorable, then the Pennsylvania Supreme Court judgment will be
moot.<br>
Otherwise, I plan to seek relief in the U.S. Supreme Court. I will
not<br>
rest until Mumia is free."<br><br>
Germany: On January 12, 2008, I spoke on behalf of Mumia at the
annual<br>
Rosa Luxemburg Conference in Berlin. As I concluded, the thousands
in<br>
attendance gave a long and enthusiastic ovation. It was a nice
tribute to<br>
my client who has become a symbol in the international struggle
against<br>
the death penalty and human-rights abuses. Mumia asks that I convey
his<br>
gratitude to the many good people in Germany who work so tirelessly
for<br>
justice. These include especially his longtime German publisher
and<br>
confidant Jurgen Heiser, the human-rights attorney Eberhard Schultz,<br>
Sabine Schubert, Petra Siemering, Victor Grossman, George and Doris<br>
Pumphrey, the distinguished actor Rolf Becker, the renowned Berlin<br>
filmmaker Thomas Giefer, the prominent writer Sabine Kebir, and
German<br>
PEN.<br><br>
France: Professor Claude Guillaumaud-Pujol has written an excellent
book,<br>
Mumia Abu-Jamal, un homme libre dans le couloir de la mort, which
was<br>
published late last year. It has Mumia's endorsement, and has sold
well.<br>
Claude has donated the proceeds from her book to help the defense of
Mumia<br>
in our struggle for his freedom. The author represents the
highest<br>
standard in the movement for she is totally committed to justice and
the<br>
freedom of Mumia, and does not seek to exploit my client. Mumia
expresses<br>
his gratitude to Claude, Jacky Hortaut, Mireille Mendes-France,
Jacques<br>
Lederer, the Collectif Unitaire National de Soutien Mumia
Abu-Jamal,<br>
Senator Nicole Borvo Cohen-Seat, the Paris Bar, and the many others
in<br>
France who have done so much.<br><br>
England: Mumia asked that I also thank Niki Adams, the legendary
Selma<br>
James, and their colleagues at the Legal Action for Women, London,
for<br>
their ongoing work on behalf of justice not only in England but
throughout<br>
the world. I am particularly indebted for their extraordinary
commitment<br>
that has resulted in programs on Mumia in the Inns of Court and
other<br>
British venues, a petition for justice and a new trial signed by over
100<br>
prominent lawyers there, and drawning public attention to the injustice
in<br>
this case. And, of course, the efforts of Ian Mcdonald QC, Garden
Court<br>
North Chambers, an outstanding barrister and friend, have been<br>
significant.<br><br>
In Prison My Whole Life, British film: The new documentary film on
Mumia,<br>
In Prison My Whole Life, has been shown at a number of prestigious
film<br>
festivals, e.g., International Film Festival & Forum on Human
Rights,<br>
Geneva, Switzerland; Sundance Film Festival; Belfast Film Festival;
London<br>
Film Festival; Rome Film Festival; Copenhagen International Film
Festival;<br>
Dublin International Film Festival. It was also recently screened
by<br>
members of the House of Commons, London. Mumia and I are grateful
to<br>
Colin and Livia Firth, and their associates, for having the courage
to<br>
make this extraordinary film. They have my full support and that of
my<br>
client, for this worthwhile film which deals with the larger issues of
the<br>
death penalty, racism and injustice.<br><br>
Donations in the United States for Mumia's Legal Defense:
With Mumia's<br>
authorization, a process exists which guarantees that U.S. donations
go<br>
only to the legal defense, and are tax-deductible. Checks should be
made<br>
payable to the National Lawyers Guild Foundation (indicate
"Mumia" on the<br>
bottom left), and mailed to:<br>
Committee To Save Mumia Abu-Jamal<br>
P.O. Box 2012<br>
New York, NY 10159-2012<br><br>
Conclusion: The issues in this case concern the right to a fair
trial,<br>
the struggle against the death penalty, and the political repression of
a<br>
courageous writer and journalist. My goal is to win a new and fair
trial<br>
for Mumia, and a jury acquittal upon his retrial. I want him to go
home<br>
to his family. Nevertheless, Mumia is in great danger, for if all
is lost<br>
he will be executed. We must never forget that racism, fraud,
and<br>
politics are threads that have run through this case since the
beginning<br>
and continue today.<br><br>
Your interest is appreciated.<br><br>
Cordially yours,<br><br>
Robert R. Bryan<br>
Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan<br>
2088 Union Street, Suite 4<br>
San Francisco, California 94123-4117<br><br>
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal<br><br>
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