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Welcome to the Website for the Santa Cruz Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and All Political Prisoners. Although we will have links to some valuable sites for activists throughout the country, we will specifically seek to serve the Santa Cruz, CA community and surrounding areas.
Please understand that this web site uses large font size to facilitate access for all visual abilities and not to piss off the rest of y'all.
voicemail: 831-425-4467
Sign the online petition for Leonard Peltier.
Urgent: Mumia Needs Your Help Now!
It is with great concern that we report to you that Mumia has developed a potentially serious health condition affecting his feet, which have swollen painfully, making him unable to walk. Mumia suspects that it may be due to blood clotting, a situation which can be very dangerous.
Health conditions are serious matters for prisoners, and blood clotting can be fatal.
Please flood the prison's phone lines and demand that Mumia's requests be met: That he be allowed to be examined by an outside doctor of his choice, and that he be given fresh garlic immediately to boost his body's natural defenses.International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu Jamal has been informed by the prison that Mumia can only be examined by a prison doctor, not one of his own choosing, and that his request for fresh garlic can not be granted because they don't have any in the prison.
Remember Merle Africa, who died in prison under very suspicious circumstances following what should have been a mild illness. Merel surely would not have passed on had she not been enduring prison conditions after years of unjust incarceration, making her death little more than murder at the hands of her captors.
Call the SCI Green Prison at (724) 852-2902
Day: 8:00AM to 4:00 PM ask for Superintendent Folino or Sharon Deletto.
Night: 5:00 PM to 8:00 AM ask for Captain Hall. If gone during late night, ask for current Shift Director.
Also send protest messages to Senator Vincent Hughes: hughes@dem.pasen.gov
Representative Harold James http://www.hallwatch.org/profiles/pahouse/hjames/faxbank/writeletter
Congressman Chaka Fattah: Go to e-mail form by going to http://www.house.gov/htbin/wrep_findrep and typing in 4601 Market, Philadelphia, PA 19143-4616 to get e-mail form. We will keep you posted.
Oppose the continuing occupation of Irag.
Call Rep. Sam Farr at 429-1976; Mayor Emily Reilly at 420-5022; the S.C. Board of Sups at 454-2200; and the Capitola City Council at 475-7300.
The Santa Cruz Coalition to Free Mumia Abu Jamal and All Political Prisoners is a member organization of the Progressive Federation of Santa Cruz County.
To learn more about the Progressive Federation, contact 831-425-4467.
The Progressive Federation of Santa Cruz County strives to bridge the gaps between progressive organizations in Santa Cruz County by facilitating informational networking and the sharing of resources between these groups and assisting in the organization of public education and mass action in support of strong peace and justice in our community. We subscribe to the principle that all human beings deserve to live in peace, with equal rights and protections. The following is a summary of our goals:
Creation of Affordable Housing and Rent Control
Implementation of and Enforcement of a County-Wide Living Wage Policy (adjusted annually for cost of living increases)
Elimination of the Sleeping, Camping and Blanket Bans
Elimination of Ordinances Against Vehicular Residences (car-camping)
Establishment of Safe Sleeping and Car-Camping Zones
Return of Clean and Safe Public Restrooms Throughout the Community
Protection of the Environment and Public Spaces
Support for Preference Voting
Elimination of Physical, Emotional, and Economic Violence Against Women, Children and the Disabled
Elimination of Domestic Violence Against Women, Children and Seniors
Support for Women's Rights to Equal Pay, Reproductive Choice, and Equal Access to Opportunity.
Access to Quality Health Care for All.
Creation of a Respectful, Cooperative and Inclusive Community Through Mediation Instead of Police Harrassment and Intimidation.
Support Alternative, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Transportation Throughout the Community
Support for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity, including Youth and Elder Communities
Support for the Ohlone People, the original inhabitants of this area.
Decriminalization of Marijuana Possession, Houselessness, and Poverty (did you know that 1 in 5 children in Santa Cruz County lives in poverty?)
Support for Affirmative Action Practices in Housing, University Admissions, and Business
Thank you for your interest in the Santa Cruz Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and All Political Prisoners.
Who We Are:
The Santa Cruz Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and All Political Prisoners is a progressive organization with a rich (albeit recent) history of action and education in the City of Santa Cruz.
The Coalition was founded in 1998 as a response to the mainstream media's failure to educate the public on the unjust trial, the constitutional violations, and the outrageous imprisonment and sentencing of one of America's finest progressive voices.
A Brief History:
In 1997 the Santa Cruz City Council passed a resolution calling for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal becoming one of the first cities to take such an action. Several activists responsible for this resolution officially formed the Santa Cruz Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and All Political Prisoners shortly thereafter.
In 1998 and 1999, large demonstrations were organized by the Santa Cruz Coalition and the San Francisco Mobilization to Free Mumia, demanding Mumia's freedom, or at the very least, a new trial. The protests numbered up to 500 people in Santa Cruz and several thousand in San Francisco.
In August of 2001, a demonstration in front of the Santa Cruz sentinel led by the Santa Cruz Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and All Political Prisoners resulted in a meeting between activists and Sentinel Editor Tom Honig. As a result of this, the Sentinel now has the fairest coverage of the Mumia case among Bay Area Mainstream Media.
What We Do:
The Santa Cruz Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and All Political Prisoners supports a variety of progressive actions in Santa Cruz and the Bay Area.
We do regular tabling and public education at local events and venues. The latest information on the Mumia and Peltier Cases is available at our table. Books, videos and T-shirts are also available for purchase. You may watch the video-taped confession of Arnold Beverly at many of our public education events.
We organize and participate in progressive and cultural events in Santa Cruz. A recent African-American Artist Print Auction raised hundreds of dollars for Mumia's legal defense. Collaboration with Nastao Nation raised money for the Ohlone people's quest for a cultural center. We also participate in annual Earth Day, May Day and Peace Day events in Santa Cruz. We participate in the annual Multicultural Festival at UCSC, and at some of the Organization of Latin American (OLA) Students events at Cabrillo College.
We organize carpools to progressive events throughout the Bay Area. We have helped provide transportation for people to the post-9-11 IAC Anti-War Demonstrations in San Francisco. We have provided car pools to the People's tribunal in Oakland, the Mumia Demonstrations in San Francisco and Oakland, and a variety of other events.
We help sponsor educational forums in Santa Cruz and at UCSC. Last year we brought some of the leadership of the San Francisco Mobilization to Free Mumia to Santa Cruz. We also brought a member of Mumia's current legal team to Santa Cruz for a free public forum.
We pressure the local media to engage in responsible journalism.
We are an activist organization that supports a variety of action. We were among the first "Friends of Camp Paradise", and have spoken out at City Council on matters of public policy regarding homelessness. Our members have volunteered at the Right to Sleep Summit in Santa Cruz and can be seen regularly at the Peace Fridays on Friday afternoons at 5:30pm at the corner of Ocean and Water.
Our members have attended demonstrations against the prison-industrial complex at Soledad Prison and the State Dept of Corrections. Our members have engaged in civil disobedience and have been arrested for their actions in Santa Cruz and in the Bay Area. We welcome all level of activism, encouraging artists, poets, essayists and other activists to take a stand for Justice in our society today.
Meeting Your Specific Needs:
The Santa Cruz Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and All political Prisoners is committed to serving the educational needs of the community.
If you would like a speaker to come to your dorm, student group, home, or organization to speak on the current status of the Mumia Case, please call 831-425-4467.
For information on meetings or for other details, please contact 831-425-4467.
For more information regarding the case ofMumia Abu-Jamal
andLeonard Peltier,
and for other social justice issues, please click on the hyper links above.
Calendar
Ongoing: Boycott Footlocker for labor violations from one of their suppliers. Labor abuse in China, Cambodia, Indonesia and Central America must be ended.
112 QUESTIONS
The legal team for Mumia Abu Jamal has compiled 112 "questions" for former Mumia attorney Leonard Weinglass. These concerns deal with such issues as, "Why was the confession of Arnold Beverly buried by Weinglass's team?" If you would like to receive information on this, e-mail crowswings@juno.com during June and July 2003 and you will receive a copy e-mailed to you.
THE FRAME-UP UNRAVELS
-- See Beverly's confession on video -- and hear dramatic new evidence which proves conclusively:
Here are some of the key points:
1. The murder for which Mumia was convicted in 1982 was actually carried out by Arnold Beverly (together with an accomplice), on behalf of corrupt police officers who were trying to protect their graft and payoffs in downtown Philadelphia. Arnold Beverly has confessed, made a video, and is willing to testify in court. And proof of police corruption in Philadelphia is abundant.
2. Chief prosecution "eyewitness" Cynthia White's testimony has been completely discredited. White admitted to Yvette Williams that she never saw the shooting, and lied on the stand under intense police pressure. Williams has prepared an affidavit to this effect.
3. The prosecution's second "witness" Robert Chobert, has been similarly discredited. A professional investigator has stated that Chobert confessed to him that he was not on the murder scene, and also fabricated his story under police pressure.
4. A journalist who visited the scene of the shooting a few hours later has stated that the crime scene was left completely unattended, which is more than just odd, in the killing of a police officer. It shows that the police had no need for evidence, since they were making it all up.
5. Physical evidence at the scene proves that at least two gunmen were involved in the shooting, thereby destroying the prosecution "theory" of the case and confirming Arnold Beverly's statement.
6. Philadelphia Court Reporter Terri Maurer-Carter states that presiding Judge Albert Sabo, at the time of Mumia's original trial, said (with reference to Mumia), "Yeah, and I'm gonna help 'em fry the n****r"! Sabo, who was known as a "prosecutor in robes," sent more people to death row than any other sitting US judge. Sabo was completely prejudiced against Abu-Jamal, and excluded him from most of his own trial.
Some Recommended Media Sources
CDs
Angela Davis, The Prison-Industrial Complex
Mumia Abu-Jamal, All Things Censored - Volume 1
Mumia Abu-Jamal, Spoken Word w/ music by Man Is the Bastard
Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United StatesA wonderful variety of political writings and thought is available through AK PRESS, PO Box 40682, San Francisco, CA 94140-0682. Their web site is: www.akpress.org
Books
Death Blossoms, Mumia Abu-Jamal
Live From Death Row, Mumia Abu-Jamal
Leonard Peltier, Prison Writings, St Martin's Press, 1999
Excerpts
PRESS STATEMENT
PARTISAN DEFENSE COMMITTEE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Evidence Smashes Frame-Up to Bits
On May 4, new attorneys for death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, an innocent man framed up for the killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner, dropped a legal bombshell with new papers filed in the federal court where Mumia's appeal is pending. Among these papers is a confession by a man named Arnold Beverly, who states: "I was hired, along with another guy, and paid to shoot and kill Faulkner. I had heard that Faulkner was a problem for the mob and corrupt policemen because he interfered with the graft and payoffs made to allow illegal activity including prostitution, gambling, and drug (sic). without prosecution in the center city area... I shot Faulkner in the face at close range. Jamal was shot shortly after that by a uniformed police officer who arrived on the scene."
... (Philadelphia police) had been gunning for (Mumia Abu-Jamal) since he was a 15-year-old spokesman for the Black Panther Party in 1969. His later defense of and support for the MOVE organization against brutal police terror... only whetted the cops' appetite to get him...
... Mumia's innocence has been evident from the outset... (1) "eyewitness" accounts... were secured through police manipulation, coercion and outright terror... (2) a purported "confession" by Jamal in the hospital... (3) ballistics evidence showing that the bullet that killed Faulkner was fired from Jamal's gun.
... In fact, five different witnesses from five different vantage points told the cops on site that they had seen another man flee the scene of the shooting...
... In fact, the police officer who was assigned to guard Jamal in the hospital the night of the killing wrote in his official report, "During this time, the Negro male made no comments."
... In fact, there has never been any evidence that Jamal's gun was even fired that night, as the cops did not report performing any one of the standard field tests...
... At the time that Faulkner was killed in December 1981, the FBI was engaged in at least three investigations of police corruption... in the Center City district that Faulkner patrolled... Several informants or witnesses in the FBI's investigation were murdered...
Questions to Consider:
If Mumia was shot by Officer Faulkner after Mumia shot Faukner, as the prosecution contends, how is it that Mumia's gunshot wound has a trajectory in through the chest and out through the lower back?
If Mumia confessed, why would it take two months before any of the police could recollect or report the confession?
If Mumia was the suspect at the time of his arrest, why was it that no field tests were done to determine on the scene if Mumia had fired a shot or if the gun found nearby was the weapon which had been fired?
How is it that Judge Sabo presided only over high profile capitol cases, in violation of Pennsylvania State Law?
How is it that the DA at the time provided a training video to prosecutors on how to systematically exclude African American jurors and yet not declare this information when he later sat on a State Supreme Court deciding on matters related to Mumia Abu-Jamal?
Why has the Arnold Beverly Confession not been accepted into evidence by Judge Pamela Dembe?
Hassled By the Police?
Contact Copwatch at 510-548-0425; copwatchberkeley@yahoo.com
or
Barrio Defense Committee at 408-885-9785 (san jose)
