> * News Release Issued by the
> International Secretariat of Amnesty International *
>
> News Service: 025/00
> AI INDEX: AMR 51/20/00
>
> 17 FEBRUARY 2000
>
> USA
>
> Mumia Abu-Jamal -- Amnesty International calls for retrial
>
> A Life in the Balance - The case of Mumia Abu-Jamal (AI
> Index: AMR 51/001/2000), a new Amnesty International report,
> highlights inadequate legal representation, legal proceedings
> that fail to reach minimum international standards for fair
> trials, and possible bias of the appeal courts
>
> New York City -- Amnesty International today called for a
> new trial in the case of Mumia Abu Jamal on the basis that
> his original trial was deeply flawed.
>
> "This is not about an issue affecting the life of just one
> man. This is about justice -- which affects us all. And
> justice, in this case, can only be served by a new trial,"
> Amnesty International said.
>
> After many years of monitoring the case and an exhaustive
> review of the original documents, Amnesty International has
> concluded that the proceedings under which Mumia Abu-Jamal
> was tried, convicted and sentenced to death fail to reach
> the minimum international standards for fair trials.
>
> "Amnesty International has chosen this moment to publish
> the results of their painstaking review of the case because
> Abu-Jamal's life and the fairness of the judicial system are
> now, more than ever, in the balance," the organization said.
>
> Without a new trial, the federal courts are Mumia Abu-Jamal's
> final opportunity to have many of the troubling issues in
> his case addressed. However, the 1996 Anti-terrorism and
> Effective Death Penalty Act severely limit the federal
> courts' ability to guarantee a defendants' rights.
>
> Amnesty International fears the act has increased the number
> of executions that were in violation of international laws
> and standards governing the use of the death penalty.
>
> The organization is also alarmed that the Philadelphia
> Fraternal Order of Police Officers is actively campaigning
> for the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
>
> "Police officers and their representatives should be
> impartial enforcers of the law. Amnesty International
> understands the anguish officers must feel when a fellow
> officer dies in the line of duty but their attempt to
> pressure the judicial system to execute Mumia Abu-Jamal
> is inappropriate," the organization stressed.
>
> Abu-Jamal's case illustrates broader problems in the
> judicial system, particularly those that involve the
> administration of the death penalty.
>
> "Given the contradictory and incomplete evidence in the
> trial transcript, Amnesty International cannot take a
> position on Abu-Jamal's guilt or innocence," Amnesty
> International said. "In calling for a new trial we are not
> ignoring the pain of the relatives and colleagues of Officer
> Daniel Faulkner, for whom we have the greatest sympathy."
>
> "Nevertheless, Mumia Abu-Jamal's inadequate legal
> representation at his 1982 trial, the fact that the judge
> appeared more concerned with expediting the trial than with
> ensuring justice, the politisation of the judicial process,
> and the possible bias of the appeal courts has lead Amnesty
> International to conclude that only a new and fair trial
> could prevent the execution of a man who has not been proved
> guilty in a fair trial," Amnesty International stressed.
>
> The prosecution of Mumia Abu-Jamal was built upon three pillars:
>
> the testimony of eyewitnesses;
>
> ballistics evidence;
>
> and an alleged confession by the accused.
>
> After a thorough study of original trial documents, Amnesty
> International has determined that the veracity of each of
> these three pillars is in sufficient doubt to make a new
> trail essential.
>
> Key concerns
>
> o The three prosecution eyewitnesses substantively altered
> their description of what they saw between their original
> statements to police and their trial testimony.
>
> o The witnesses were confused and unclear about the height
> of the shooter, what clothes he was wearing, in which hand
> he held the gun, and whether he ran away from the scene.
>
> o The alleged confession, reportedly crucial to the jury's
> decision and sentencing, was first reported more than two
> months after the shooting.
>
> o The alleged confession directly contradicted the
> contemporaneous notes of one of the alleged witnesses to
> the confession (a police officer) that "the negro male made
> no comments." This evidence was not put before the jury.
>
> o There is also evidence that witnesses were offered
> inducements to alter their testimony in favour of the
> prosecution's version of events. This evidence was not
> put before the jury.
>
> o Lack of adequate ballistic tests to determine whether
> Abu-Jamal's gun had recently been fired. It was not
> determined, for instance, whether there was residue on
> his hands from firing a gun.
>
> Additional information and background
>
> Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases
> as a violation of human rights. The organization is therefore
> calling for a new trial in which should preclude the re-
> imposition of a death sentence.
>
> Mumia Abu-Jamal, black, was convicted and sentenced to death
> in July 1982 for the murder of white police officer Daniel
> Faulkner on 9 December 1981. He has consistently maintained
> his innocence.
>
> Amnesty International can take no position on the guilt or
> innocence of Mumia Abu-Jamal. The organization has expressed
> concern however, over the activities of a government counter-
> intelligence programme which appeared to list Abu Jamal among
> its targets. Amnesty International is also concerned that
> political statements attributed to him as a teenager were
> improperly used by the prosecution in its efforts to obtain
> a death sentence against him.
>
> ENDS.../
>
> Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton
> Street, WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
>
> ****************************************************************
> You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main
> text is not altered in any way and both the header crediting
> Amnesty International and this footer remain intact.
> ****************************************************************
>
> Past and current Amnesty news services can be found at
> <http://www.amnesty.org/news/>.
>
> Visit <http://www.amnesty.org> for information about Amnesty
> International and for other AI publications.
>
> Contact [log in to unmask] if you need to get in touch
> with the International Secretariat of Amnesty International.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
