OpEdNews - Diary: FROM GERMANY: Controversy about possible execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal

In recent weeks a group of neo-con journalists surrounding Mike Smerconish from Philaldephia launched a media campaign to warm up the american public to the idea of an execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Fully aware that this won't go down well they wrote various articles all over the US and in Europe, too.

At the same time Anti-Death Penalty activists and Mumia supporters start mobilizing against the pending death threat that Mumia is under. A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court could come any day now.

The lynch mob swings into action

In Germany e.g., the weekly DER SPIEGEL fell to their propaganda and published Smerconish influenced lies on almost 5 pages this summer. This article was widely discussed within the german movement to support Mumia. Some of the letters and forum contributions can be found here:
http://mumia-hoerbuch.de/mumiadeutsch.htm#spiegelhetze

Mike Smerconish is involved in media bias against Mumia Abu-Jamal for the last 20 years. He published various articles and a book together with Maureen Faulkner to increase the pressure for an execution of Mumia. The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) - by some described as the legal wing of the Clu Clux Clan - paid several million US-$ in the past to support this campaign.

Now Smerconish paid a filmmaker, Tigre Hill to produce a new vicious attack on reality. They will publish a film about Mumia Abu-Jamal and Daniel Faulkner in December 2009. The german author Michael Schiffmann had a look at various press releases and wrote the following article with the title "The Fantasies of Joe McGill":
http://againstthecrimeofsilence.de/material/News/The%20Fantasies%20of%20Joe%20McGill%20Final.pdf/view

Since the FOP is very aware of the international solidarity for Mumia Abu-Jamal they concentrate on public opinion in France and Germany, too. Everyone interested could have a look on upcoming press releases in Europe and counteract the attempt of distorting the truth in regard to the injust incarceration of Mumia. He has set on Pennsylvanian death row for more than 27 years. In April 2009 the U.S. Supreme Court denied his last possible attempt to get a new trial without any explanation. For this, again, they had to break their own constitution. The latest example of the "Mumia exception" is the neglection of ten jurors, who were simply excluded from the jury in Mumias initial trial in 1981 because they were black. Since 1986 racist exclusion of jurors always led to completely new trials. But for Mumia no court seems to be bound to the US constitution.

Now a decision by the same court is still pending on whether or not to re-instate the death penalty against Mumia, as the District Attourney of Philadephia demands. This decision could come any day now.

Resistance is growing - preparations are in progress

Supporters of Mumia in many countries call for action on the 3rd day after the court's decision, if they decide to re-instate the death penalty. In addition, in Germany many organizations call for a central demonstration in Berlin towards the US embassy on the last Saturday before a possible execution date:
http://mumia-soli-muenchen.tk/

Anti-Death Penalty activists noticed that authorities are likely to speed up execution procedures if they expect protests. This could be seen with the protests around Troy Davis last autumn. By now the global Anti-Death Penalty movement saved Toy Davis' life for three times already. Recently the US Supreme Court gave in and ordered a new trial with clear instructions to listen to all the surpressed evidence indicating his innocence.

Therefor supporters of Mumia Abu-Jamal started mobilizing and preparations against a possible death penalty re-installment already.

In the USA many concentrate on the Obama government. The NAACP and others demand a civil rights investigation into the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. They want the Government and "...Attorney General Eric Holder to immediately initiate a civil rights investigation addressing a 27-year history of prosecutorial and judicial violations of Mumia Abu-Jamal's constitutional and international rights..." (qoute from the petition itself). To sign this petition online everything can be found here:

http://www.iacenter.org/mumiapetition/
A german version of this petition can be found here:
http://mumia-hoerbuch.de/mumiadeutsch.htm#petitionholder

In Greece, Germany and Mexico public actions of civil disobediance against US Government institutions are anounced already with new calls to action joinning in on a daily basis.

Mumia's life is in great danger. Unlike 1995 and 1999, when hundreds of thousands protested against the execution - then set by the Pennsylvanian Governor - this time there wouldn't be any legal avenues to counter a valid death penalty verdict. It is down to the movement to find a political solution to the pending death threat. But as with Troy Davis, who was in a similar situation almost a year ago, it is possible to save Mumia Abu-Jamal's life yet again.