>Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
>
>>Hi Steve:
>>
>>>Thanks Yoshie. Yeah, i see where it mentions Graham's bragging, but it
>>>isn't the author stating that, it's the victim of his rape stating that he
>>>had bragged about it to her. The article seemed to give pretty fair play
>>>to the supporters of a new trial.
>>
>>Yes, fairer than Wojtek, Kelley, Marc Cooper, etc.!
>
>Speaking of fairness, Cooper believes no one, guilty or innocent,
>should be executed, and that Mumia deserves a new trial - though we
>may be dealing with The Higher Truth (the one beyond factchecking)
>here. Quotes from his NY Press article:
>
>>It's madness because the death penalty and its copious application
>>in modern America is a barbaric outrage. It's also one of the
>>toughest political nuts to crack, given its approval by about 80
>>percent of the population.
>>
>>Let's be clear. When it comes to Mumia there are three separate
>>issues at play. Is he innocent? Did he get a fair trial? Is the
>>death penalty ever appropriate? If you answer the third question in
>>the negative-as I do-the first two questions become irrelevant. We
>>oppose the death penalty. Even for the guilty. Period.
>>
>>As to the second question-did Mumia get a fair trial?-the answer
>>seems to be probably no. Mumia should get another trial. As Debra
>>Dickerson-no admirer of Mumia-recently pointed out in Salon,
>>Mumia's supporters have a good case to make when they argue that
>>his trial was tainted by concocted confessions, unreliable
>>eyewitnesses and a biased judge.
>
>[...]
>
>>The tragic element in the Mumia craze is that while his supporters
>>swoon over his dredlocks and his empty political posturing, some
>>3500 other nameless souls are wasting away on America's death
>>rows-forgotten and abandoned. And while Mumia is being ably
>>represented by the admirable legal talents of Leonard Weinglass, a
>>staggering number of these other condemned men and women have no
>>legal counsel whatsoever. Here in California, almost a full third
>>of the 556 death row inmates are lawyer-less.
I wish you paid more attention to the language. As Steve put it, "The article seemed to give pretty fair play to the *supporters* of a new trial" (emphasis added). In other words, whether *supporters* of Mumia and other prisoners are *fairly* portrayed is what I was referring to. At least, CNN didn't portray such leftists as if we were fans who would "swoon over" only high-profile prisoners with "dredlocks," "empty political posturing," or "funny names" but do nothing for "nameless souls" who are "wasting away on America's death rows -- forgotten and abandoned." I hope that's not the way you look at Justin Schwartz, John Mage, Steve Philion, Michael Perelman, Carrol Cox, etc.
Yoshie