Throughout his imprisonment he has continued to speak out against the system, bringing revolutionary truth to millions of people through his writings, in spite of attempts by prison authorities and others to censor him and break his spirit. Mumia's case has become the spearhead of a campaign to restore the death penalty in Pennsylvania where no one has been executed since 1962. The attempt by the state to kill Mumia is a major escalation in the use of state violence against the people. And it is a move by the power structure to establish the death penalty as an accepted weapon against the revolutionary movement. As a journalist, he became the spokesperson of all the people that the state wanted to keep silent. The fight to prevent the execution of Mumia is now even more urgent with the election of the new American president, George W. Bush who truly believes in the death penalty.
The governor of Pennsylvania had recently signed Mumia's death warrant by lethal injection, setting the date for December 2nd 1999. Like in 1995 though, the mobilization in the United States and throughout the world forced the judge to push back the execution date. It's a first victory! But it's even more delicate today than it was six years ago because Mumia is only covered for a period of time which doesn't allow him to go further than a federal appeal. The "Effective Death Penalty Act" signed by Bill Clinton in 1996 deprives prisoners of their rights to fight in order of getting their death sentences overturned. On top of everything, considering that death row inmates don't receive proper medical attention, Mumia's health is deteriorating.
Now more than ever, every minute counts to save the life of the one they call "the voice of the voiceless". Whatever the opinions that we may have on the political activities of Mumia Abu-Jamal, this American citizen deserves to have a chance at a fair trial. What do the United States, who claim to be so into the defense of Human Rights, have to lose in allowing him to have a new trial? Money? It's not like it's free to keep someone imprisoned anyway!
The rage directed against Mumia is based on the fact that he devoted his life to denonciate the corruption that we find in the police force; the pact of power between politicians and judges; as well as the fact that in the United States, the right to a fair trial is not a human right, it's a privilege that rich people possess.
Since his incarceration, Mumia has written two books: Live From Death Row (which has been translated into 7 languages), as well as Death Blossoms. A third book, Race for Justice, which talks about his trials & tribulations with the court of law, was written by his lawyers and it won a prize in the American Bookseller's Association for being the best political book of 1996.
