Death Penalty

The crime that was never committed

Hi, my name is Mumia Abu-Jamal. People call me a convict while others just believe that I was a victim of biasness and racism that usually happened to black people like me living in America. It was not my choice to be black, I was already born this way. If only people would embrace the mindset that I have, I would not be on the death row for almost 20 years. Yes, I’m still stuck here facing the cold four walls that surrounded me everyday 24/7. However, I manage to get “comfortable” with my surroundings and to just bear with it. Anyway it has been 20 years. Well, during the period here I wrote books so as to kill the time that I have.

How in the first place I got into this mess you may wonder? Well, living in the world full of racism it’s hard for the minority black people like me to live. But still this is life. Just have to get on with it. It was late at night at that time. I still remembered that I saw a cop beating my brother. Anyone in the right mind would just help and fought back especially when the person getting beaten is your own flesh and blood. However, I was the one that got shot by the cop himself. At that time I was carrying a gun but it was not me that shot him to death. It was a stranger or a passer by that did the crime that had cost my freedom and life. It was dark and it is just hard to see the face and to focus when you are in pain.

In 1982 trial was marked by repeated and flagrant examples of prosecutorial misconduct aimed at punishing me for my political views. A witness who had been coerced later recanted her testimony, and another whom the prosecution had refused to call came forward to tell his version, which pointed to another shooter. The medical examiner's report indicated that my gun that was a 0.38 and could not possibly have fired the bullet that killed the officer that was a 0.45 gun. However, Judge Sabo sentenced me to death. In August 1995 I was granted a stay of execution. In October 1998 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court refused to grant me a new trial. Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Ridge has vowed to sign a new death warrant for my execution. There is just no way that I will escape from the gallows of death. Maybe this is just fate.

Well I know that even a new piece of evidence will do nothing but only lengthen my time here. I can only pray and hope that this injustice will never befall to anyone regardless of the race or skin colour. But for now, I shall wait for that day to come where He will open His arms to embrace me back home.

Faranursheila, Catherine, Cerlyn, Kaining