Category Archives: Statements and Articles

Cops and Fascists: KKKolleagues?

This following article by Mumia was originally published at:

Cops and Fascists: KKKolleagues?

Cops survey a scene of conflict in California’s capital, a struggle between fascists and antifascists. Blood is on the ground, and webcam recordings show images of members of the Ku Klux Klan and related groups, not only armed with knives but actually showing some men stabbing downward at writhing bodies beneath. One side has knives. One side has signs. Guess which side received charges of violating the law? Guess which side had been surveilled by state and federal agents long before the events of the day? I’ll give you a hint: it wasn’t the Ku Klux Klan. According to published reports in The Guardian (London), police accounts concentrated on two major groups: Antifascists and members of Black Lives Matter.

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Mumia Abu-Jamal : Remarks to the RebLaw Conference

Mumia Abu-Jamal made a speech to the Rebellious Lawyering Conference at Yale Law School on February 15, 2019. Audio of the speech is available at Prison Radio.

A transcript of Mumia’s remarks is below.

Click here for a PDF of the transcript

Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Speech to the RebLaw Conference – “Rebel Lawyers”
February 15, 2019

Dear friends at Yale Law School, dear Rebel Lawyers – On a Move!

I greet you all, as I attempt to address the issue of Rebel Lawyers. When I think of the term, the first thing that comes to mind are jailhouse lawyers. They are, by definition, rebels who oppose the prison-industrial complex, especially in the courts. Jailhouse lawyers fight for freedom, for themselves and others, and sometimes they prevail. Some jailhouse lawyers, like John and Mo Africa of the MOVE Organization, defended themselves at trial, and won acquittals. Because such men and women aren’t trained in the law, and do their work using logic and sheer will, they fall under the description of Rebel Lawyers, I think.

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LAC Letter to the Rebellious Lawyering Conference

The Rebellious Lawyering (“RebLaw”) Conference at Yale Law School recently rescinded its offer to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to serve as keynote speaker, after pressure brought from a group of Harvard University students opposed to the exclusion of Mumia from the conference.

The LAC has written a letter to RebLaw, which is reproduced below.

Click here for a PDF of the letter to RebLaw

February 11, 2019

The Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal congratulates the Rebellious Lawyering (“RebLaw”) Conference on making the principled decision to disinvite Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner from making the 2019 RebLaw keynote address.

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The Excuses of Larry Krasner

[The following article is posted for informational purposes only.]

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/02/the-excuses-of-larry-krasner

THE EXCUSES OF LARRY KRASNER

We can’t blindly trust people in power when they refuse to explain themselves…

Larry Krasner was elected district attorney of Philadelphia in 2018 with a radically progressive mandate. As a former public defender and civil rights lawyer, he has been long critical of the criminal punishment system. He’s perhaps the most “progressive prosecutor” in the country, and has already effectively decriminalized marijuana, sued Big Pharma companies, and required his deputies to consider the costs of mass incarceration in their sentencing recommendations. Activist Shaun King has said Krasner was “exceeding expectations” and that his sentencing memorandum was a “dream come true.” But recently, Krasner has received criticism from fellow reformers, after announcing that his office would challenge a judge’s decision in favor of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the former Black Panther controversially imprisoned for the 1981 murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner.

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Krasner: Mumia’s Appeal is “Nuanced”

[The following article is posted for informational purposes only. Mumia’s appeal is not “nuanced”. The evidence makes out a clear case of factual innocence. Any “nuance” in the situation likely derives from Justice Ron Castille’s presence on Krasner’s transition team when Krasner became Philadelphia District Attorney.]

https://theintercept.com/2019/02/09/larry-krasner-mumia-abu-jamal/

LARRY KRASNER RESPONDS TO PROGRESSIVE CRITICS: MUMIA ABU-JAMAL APPEAL IS “INCREDIBLY COMPLEX AND NUANCED”


February 9 2019, 5:22 a.m.

IN HIS FIRST public comments about his office’s January decision to fight a new appeal from incarcerated activist Mumia Abu-Jamal, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner asked for patience from critics.

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