------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Oct. 10, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
U.S. TOPS WORLD IN PRISONERS: WHY MUMIA SYMBOLIZES STRUGGLE VS. JAILS By Gloria Verdieu [From a talk at the Sept. 21-22 Workers World Party conference.] Workers World Party and others have made Mumia Abu-Jamal's case a top priority for many years. The international movements to Free Mumia have been working hard to make his name a household word. Why is Mumia's case so important to us? Because of who he is. Mumia is a true revolutionary who since joining the Black Panthers at age 15 has continued to speak out against war, racism and imperialism. His case has become synonymous with the struggle against police brutality, racist terror and state oppression--all of which have become more profound in our communities. People of color, and poor and working class people generally, are getting a deeper understanding of the reality that Mumia could be any one of us. We believe that if the power of the people is victorious in freeing Mumia, this will open many doors to freeing all of our political prisoners, including Leonard Peltier, Sundiata Acoli, Dr. Mutulu Shakur, Sekou Cinque, Jamil Al-Amin, Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox, Sara Olson, the MOVE 9 and hundreds more. We haven't forgotten the five Cuban prisoners and all the thousands who are being illegally detained because of this so-called war on terrorism. Mumia has been on death row for over 20 years. He is certainly not alone. The total number of death row inmates in the U.S. is 3,718, the overwhelming majority poor and people and color. California is the leader with over 600, followed by Texas with 457, Florida with 388, and Pennsylvania, where Mumia is being held, has 247. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated executions in 1976, Texas has executed 281, Virginia 86 and California 10. In a report by Victor L. Streib, professor of law at Ohio Northern University, there are hundreds of juveniles on U.S. death row--that is, youths who were arrested when under the age of 18 and sentenced to death. Over 200 youths have been sentenced to death since 1973 with Texas, Florida, and Alabama accounting for half of them. Of the 219 death sentences, 81 remain in litigation. One hundred eighteen have been reversed or commuted. Gary Graham, also known as Shaka Sankofa, was one of 21 people executed who were convicted as juveniles. The others included 11 Black males and one Latino male. The majority of countries have signed international agreements prohibiting the execution of juvenile offenders. The U.S. is the only industrialized country that has refused to adhere to these agreements. The U.S. has five percent of the world's population and 25 percent of the world's prison population. Some 80 percent of the inmates are people of color. As of 2002, the U.S. has a prison population rate of 690 per 100,000 people. China's rate is less than one-sixth that of the U.S. In the U.S., there are over 6.6 million adults on probation, in jail or prison, and on parole within the criminal justice system. One in eight black males between the ages of 21 and 34 are in prison in the U.S. on any given day. We will become even more aggressive in our efforts to dismantle the prison-industrial complex. We will fight police brutality along with illuminating why the police exist in a society divided by class. We will abolish the racist, unjust, brutal death penalty. We will work towards these immediate actions, but most importantly, we can link the worldwide struggles together and begin the business of breaking down and tearing apart this whole capitalist system of injustice that is destroying our world. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
