Mumia Abu-Jamal
1.28.99

Wow, this Mumia Abu-Jamal thing has BLOWN UP. Tonight's the concert at the Meadowlands with Rage Against the Machine and the Beastie Boys to raise money in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal's defense fund. For those of you NOT paying attention to the news/radio stations/MTV lately, this guy was convicted of killing a police officer at pointblank range. The story, as far as I know is as follows:

In 1981, a white Philadelphia police officer was shot and killed by a man who emptied a clip of exploding head bullets into the officer's chest, and one bullet between the eyes.

Mumia Abu-Jamal, a black activist and founding member of the Black Panthers, was found at the scene shot with one bullet, four feet from the slain police officer who was arresting Abu-Jamal's brother.

Abu-Jamal was arrested, tried, and convicted of murder. He was sentenced to death.

Today, groups around the world are demanding a retrial and stay of execution on the grounds that evidence was suppressed and witnesses coerced resulting in an extremely unfair trial. Several appeals have been made and denied, all the way up to the US Supreme Court.

Those are the facts as I know them. From there, the story gets sketchy. According to the trial, Abu-Jamal shot the police officer from behind form the shadows while he was arresting Abu-Jamal's brother. The officer turned and fired one shot into the chest of Abu-Jamal before going down. Abu-Jamal then fired all rounds from his gun into the officer, killing him. He was arrested and convicted based on the testimony of three unrelated witnesses on the scene, and two more who heard Abu-Jamal say at the hospital, "I shot the motherfucker, I hope he dies."

According to Abu-Jamal's supporters, of course, he's innocent being prosecuted for his political beliefs. They say that police beat the shit out of Abu-Jamal when they got there. They say there was another man who fled from the scene, that police never bothered to track down. They say that witnesses were run out of town and frightened into not testifying. Amnesty International is one of many local, national, and international groups in support of Abu-Jamal.

NOW... what do I think? I think all these people should shut the fuck up. Honestly, maybe... MAYBE... there was someone else there. But the bullets in the body of the slain police officer matched the bullets in the gun Abu-Jamal was holding. The witnesses, coerced or not, testified to the shooting. MAYBE this is all a setup to convict this man for reasons other than justice. But even if it is, it will NEVER come to light. The reason no court would allow an appeal trial is because no new evidence had surfaced since the original trial. So I say to all those screaming for a retrial... shut the fuck up. Tried and convicted, and denied appeal. This is our legal system, this is how it works. Even when it's wrong, this is how it works. And now there are bands raising money for his defense...

Now, I believe that people shouldn't confuse the politics of a band with their music. But in the case of Rage Against the Machine... their music IS their politics... and vice-versa. And they're raising money for the defense fund, not only of a man that was convicted of killing a police officer... but a killer that has had two successful books, a CD-ROM, and a radio show since being convicted. The fucker is in jail and making more money than I am... and he needs to have money raised for him??? Fuck that.

At first, I was thinking that I'd go to the show anyway. I almost bought tickets to the show tonight, and could've gotten them up until tonight probably... but I don't want to be there. As much as I like the bands, I don't want my money going to this asshole's defense fund. I may not have all the information, but I don't think he's innocent, and I hope they fry the fucker.

I'm done.