Here in Philadelphia there are a large number of leftists who are bewildered by the national Mumia campaign. There are three reasons for this: 1) The evidence points to Mumia's guilt and preponderantly so. 2) Mumia seems quite capable of defending himelf against all charges, including this murder rap. And, 3) Mumia has chosen not to say anything about his guilt or innocence in this matter.
True enough, his trial was substandard and there's plenty to quibble about with the process leading to his conviction. And, as one who's against the death penalty, I don't want to see him electrocuted. But it's practically certain that he killed a police officer about 8 blocks from where I live. And as someone who's spent most of my adult life in retail, I'm less than eager to see Mumia released back on the streets after he's murdered someone at work.
Certainly, there are far better examples of the ineptitude of our criminal justice system and of why capital punishment is wrong. Those examples, however, probably won't be found broadcasting on NPR.
James in Philly
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