Mumia ad

[Michael Eisenscher]

At 07:53 PM 8/14/1998 -0400, james withrow wrote:
>     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

James,

1)  Even Mumia is entitled to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt.  If his trial was a sham, his guilt was not
proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

2)  Mumia is a prisoner of the State and target of continuing harassment and
repression by the prison system which holds him.  Any notion that he is in a
position to "defend himself against all charges" would be laughable if the
consequences of his inability to do so were not so tragic.

3)  Mumia is not required to say anything about his guilt or innocence.  It
is the State that is required to establish his guilt.  He is not supposed to
have to establish his innocence.  That is the meaning of "presumption of
innocence."

4)  On what basis have you determined the evidence points to his guilt
preponderantly so?  Have you been privy to evidence that was presented at
his admittedly faulty trial?  Have you read the record of his trial?  Are
you aware of evidence that was not put into evidence at the trial that
establishes his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt?  Have you interviewed the
jurors?  Or could it be that you are relying on depictions of his guilt
provided conveniently by the Philly mass media based on information provided
by the same characters and institutions that railroaded him in the first place?

5)  I only wish that your passion for justice were as strong as your passion
for retail trade.

6)  There are many examples of the ineptitude of the criminal injustice
system and why capital punishment is wrong.  Mumia happens to be a leading
example whose life is on the line NOW.  If you cannot bring yourself to rise
to his defense, which of the other victims of this system are you rising to
defend?  Or is it a case of rejecting every case you confront until you find
one that makes you comfortable enough to get past your own biases and warped
sense of justice?

In solidarity,
Michael