The Voice of the Voiceless

It is better to risk saving a guilty person
than to condemn an innocent one.
–Voltaire

The ongoing case of Mumia Abu-Jamal has attracted media attention for almost three decades now. Often called the “voice of the voiceless” Mumia is one of the world’s most popular political prisoners, and has become a rallying point of sort for activists across the globe. Death row inmate Mumia continues his activism from behind bars and has become an honorary citizen in 25 cities around the world.  But, the validity of his incarceration is in question as he continues to wait on death row.

Activist, radio journalist, respected political activist, and father of six, Mumia Abu-Jamal was found guilty and sentenced to death for the murder of the Pennsylvania cop, Daniel Faulkner in 1981. With the allegations of inaccurate evidence and biased testimony, the controversy surrounding Mumia’s case seems to only grow, as he remains on death row.

On December 19th, 1981 in Philadelphia, African-American journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal was driving a cab for supplementary income, when he witnessed a violent altercation between a police officer and a black male – who later proved to be Mumia’s younger brother William.

The officer was beating William with a flashlight.

Upon identifying his brother, Mumia exited his car to intervene. During the ensuing confrontation officer Daniel Faulkner was shot and killed, and Mumia sustained a nonfatal gunshot to the chest.

What happened that night still remains unclear, as the only source of information for the chain of events is a series of strung together eyewitness testimonies – many of which have since been recanted. Yet, despite this uncertainty, Mumia was found guilty in the murder of Daniel Faulker and sentenced to death after a 15-day trial. Several appeals have been made since due to the wide speculation that Mumia did not receive a fair trial; however, Mumia remains incarcerated to this day.

Public support for Mumia has grown over the years, with many people convinced that he is innocent, and with good reason too, the evidence contradicting his sentence is outstanding:

• The prosecutor’s star witness was a taxi driver with a prior drunk driving conviction. His testimony against Mumia was likely in exchange for lessening these convictions.
• There was evidence of racism exhibited by both the Judge and jury; Judge Sabo was witnessed using discriminatory language and referring to Mumia with racial slurs.
• The testimonies are also now in question, as most of the witnesses have recanted since the initial trial.

It is also important to note that Judge Albert Sabo has sent more people to death row than any other judge in Philadelphia. Over the course of his 15-year career, 31 cases that he has presided over have resulted in the death penalty – earning him the nickname “the prosecutor’s friend”. Mumia was also prevented from speaking numerous times in court, and was also forced to be absent for much of his own trial, as the judge accused him of disrupting court proceedings.

Mumia’s infamous case has become the basis for civil right movements and has won support from Amnesty International, and several independent organisations.

Unfortunately cases like Mumia’s are not unique in the United States. Since 1976, of the total 486 cases sentenced with the death penalty in the USA, one prisoner on death row has been found innocent for every 7 executions.

There is also the similar case of Troy Davis, a Georgia death row inmate, who was also denied appeal for a new trial. Davis, like Mumia, received a conjectural trial filled with racism, and inadequate evidence. The entire basis for of Davis’ prosecution was made upon 9 witnesses’ testimonies – 7 of the witnesses have now recanted their testimonies.

These cases like Mumia’s and Davis raise many questions about the existing Justice system and the roles race plays within it.

These cases also force us to come head to head with one of the most infamous arguments about the validity of Capital Punishment. The death penalty was abolished in Canada in the year 1976, and currently 15 US states are without this law. Amnesty International estimates that about two thirds of the world has “abolished the death penalty in law or in practice.”

Capital Punishment violates the Universal Declaration of Human rights on many accounts, such as article 5: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” It is an inhuman punishment that leaves no room for error and should never be used on any person, least of all an innocent one.

The “Voice of the voiceless”, Mumia Abu- Jamal has spent the past 30 years on death row in Pennsylvania. He has maintained his innocence since his arrest, and has made several appeals for a new, unbiased trial. The most recent appeal in 2008 was denied.

Mumia’s conviction was based on flimsy evidence, and so his guilt remains in question. It disgusts many that racism was a key contributor to Mumia’s conviction, and his death sentence is contradictory to the Human Rights that we are all entitled to.

The unfortunate legacy of this unresolved case is the remaining problems in the justice system. The very fact that a man convicted and sentenced to death on such contradictory evidence remains behind bars illustrates these shortcomings. For Mumia, his legacy will be his own activist work and the global civil rights, but for now he remains known first and foremost as the “most famous death row inmate in the world”.