MUMIA court case

The legal documents that have been flying back and forth between the Philadelphia DA and Mumia Abu-Jamal’s legal team all summer reveal a disorganized and untrustworthy prosecutorial bureaucracy,  shrouding a decades old Penn Square cover-up. At stake is the reinstatement of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s appeals which challenge his life without parole sentence. This is big! If he wins these motions to reopen his Post Conviction Relief Application in the Common Pleas Court, it is game on. His case will be back in court challenging decades of adverse rulings overturned.

Mumia Abu-Jamal and his brother Keith Cook

The Hearing is 9am Thursday Aug. 30th in Judge Leon Tucker’s Courtoom at the Criminal Justice Center 1301 Filbert St, Philadelphia

If the Common Pleas Court rules in Mumia Abu-Jamal’s favor, his attorneys will have to wade through a  labyrinth of appeals and procedures but they stand a chance of securing a new trial.  There is key evidence that was not given a fair hearing the first time around, that will be back in play.      So what is the story leading up to the August 30th hearing?  Common Pleas Court Judge Leon Tucker ordered the Philadelphia DA’s office to search for any record of former DA and PA Supreme Court Justice Ronald Castille’s “personal involvement” in the most high profile case in Philadelphia- Mumia Abu-Jamal’s conviction and sentence to death.  The U.S. Supreme court admonished Castille and others for not recusing themselves from sitting in judgement on the PA Supreme Court on cases they handled “personally” as the prosecutors.  This precedent applies to Mumia’s criminal conviction and appeals. Evidence is key.  Judge Tucker, unimpressed by the efforts of the now former DA’s office in 2017, ordered the entire case record delivered to his chambers so he could look himself.  During his review he found a cover note to a now missing, potential smoking gun letter written by Castille.  The new DA’s office (as of January 2018) under Larry Krasner has been searching under pressure from Judge Tucker and Mumia’s lawyers Judith Ritter and Sam Spital (NAACP LDF) for this memo and other evidence of Castille’s involvement.  Judge Tucker expanded the order to include additional files on other death penalty cases pending during Castille’s tenure.  The DA’s office was unable to find “ANYTHING” in its own files relevant to Ronald Castille’s involvement in this case.  Yet,  Mumia’s attorney’s this summer discovered evidence, a newsprint reference, to an additional letter from Castille to then Governor Casey regarding death penalty cases.  Proof that this additional letter existed was brought to light by the defense, not the DA. This new revelation, this summer, prompted the DA to admit that  “approximately an additional 193 boxes had been overlooked in its prior search—9 of which it still cannot find” and remained unexamined.    “In its failure to recognize that Ronald Castille played an active role in pursuing the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the new District Attorney’s office, headed by Larry Krasner, is failing to do what justice requires. It is continuing the position of his predecessors, to the satisfaction of the Fraternal Order of Police.”—Bret Grote, Esq. Abolitionist Law Center Legal Director   SOURCE :  Seth Nosanchuk Prison Radio

International solidarity week For Anarchist Prisoners

 

 

 on International solidarity week for anarchist prisoners 23rd to 30th August

  Anarchist Black Cross Melbourne  conducted a practical letter writing workshop with some good insites from one of our members at IRL INFO SHOP  https://www.facebook.com/IRLinfoshop/  in naarm Melbourne on the land of the Wurundjeri & Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. we show solidarity with youth in prisons  Western Australian government must stop breaching international laws and standards by locking children in solitary confinement and Solidarity with those detained (children, women, and men) by immigration and Customs Enforcement and the families you are forcibly kept from. You are held in those for profit gulags, whose aims are to maintain a rotten nationalist- racist- capitalistic social order. The August 21st National Prison Strike called for strikes and boycotts in and against those so called immigration detentions for a reason, to acknowledge for the world that our struggles are not separate.

Anarchist prisoners are not often well-known people, even though they might be long term activists. Their ways to fight back oppressors and wrongdoings are not necessarily following the current laws of their location, which is judged by some authoritarian organizations. The vast amount and diversity of cases of anarchist prisoners is surprising to many.

related links

https://incarceratedworkers.org

https://www.facebook.com/shutyouthprisonsmparntwe/

http://irlinfoshop.com/

https://network23.org/londonabc/prisoners/

Ramona Africa needs you help

“The Move org. is informing our supporters, sympathizers and all those in solidarity with the cause of revolution, that Ramona Africa, Move’s Minister of Communication, survivor of the May 13, 1985, holocaust, has been hospitalized as a result of health complications coming from a condition called PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). A direct result of the ongoing war waged on our Move Family by this government (we’ve lost 24 members to date). Two died in prison under suspicious circumstances termed ‘cancer.’ Now Ramona is diagnosed with ‘cancer’ and she’s again battling to be a survivor.”

And today, from the Move family in Philadelphia:

“To give people an update on Ramona’s situation. Today the hospital informed Ramona that her insurance co. would no longer be responsible for paying her hospital and therapy bills and that she’s being released from both hospital and therapy unless she can pay the bills herself. The problem is Ramona can’t stand without assistance and she can’t walk, she’s not good to go and she hasn’t had enough therapy to safely release her into the world. The other problem is the burden of costs; therapy sessions are extremely urgent and immediate or Ramona will regress leaving any progress she’s made to date undone and she’ll have to start all over from the beginning. These therapy sessions are necessary but at the same time they create a financial burden on the family; without the medical insurance, that we will not be able to handle, it’ll be more than we can afford, we need help. Ramona cannot afford to come out of the hospital; she is not physically ready and her home plan is not ready. Certain things she will require have to be met, like a hospital bed and special bedding, and bathroom facilities that need a contractor and plumber. The family is doing what we can, but we do need help. We are establishing a “go fund me” account to accommodate any monetary donations that are sent for Ramona; the family appreciates the help you can give and thanks you in advance for your support. Ona Move”

 You can copy and past it into  your browser.

https://www.gofundme.com/helpsaveramonaafrica

Prisoner Letter Writing Workshop

Saturday  25 august  2pm   IRL info shop 28d Ashley st west footscray

Prisoner letter writing workshop at IRL on the 25th August.

Interested in writing letters to people who are incarcerated, but need some guidance and encouragement?

Join us for the Practical Prison Letter Writing Workshop, hosted by Anarchist Black Cross Melbourne.

Suggested donation of 5-10 dollars with all proceeds going to Anarchist Black Cross.

This workshop is Braille friendly and there will be an Auslan interpreter. IRL is wheelchair accessible and 550 meters from Tottenham station and 84 metres from the 220 bus stop.

Contact us at irlinfoshop@gmail.com or find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @irlinfoshop.

On the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri & Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation.