New evidence proves Mumia Abu-Jamal's innocence

Death sentence dropped, but struggle to free Mumia continues

Important new evidence in the case of Pennsylvania death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, including a confession from another man, has recently come to light. Since then, the presiding judge has ordered a new sentencing hearing, reversing the death sentence, but Mumia's attorneys continue to present legal arguments for the conviction to be overturned based on the growing evidence of his innocence. The following documents are available (in HTML unless otherwise stated):

Affidavits and statements

Arnold Beverly's affidavit to the court (8 June 1999), in which he confesses to the killing of police officer Daniel Faulkner.

(A video of Beverly reading this statement is available at http://kntv.feedroom.com./)

Affidavit by Mumia Abu-Jamal (3 May 2001) describing the events of 9 December 1981

Affidavit by Mumia's brother William Cook (29 April 2001), who was also present at the crime scene

Affidavit by Linn Washington (3 May 2001), a Philadelphia journalist who describes how he found the crime scene totally unsecured early on the morning of Faulkner's killing

Affidavit by Donald Hersing (10 May 1999), a "confidential source of information" for the FBI, detailing corruption in the Philadelphia police force

Affidavit by Rachel Wolkenstein (7 August 2001) that substantiates in detail from the inside how Mumia's former attorneys Weinglass and Williams sabotaged Mumia's defense during the period she was on the defence team.

Affidavit by Terri Maurer-Carter (21 August 2001), a court reporter, quoting Judge Sabo, who presided at Mumia's original hearing in 1982, saying during the trial "Yeah, and I'm going to help them fry the nigger"

Affidavit by George Michael Newman (25 September 2001), a private investigator hired by Mumia's former attorneys Weinglass and Williams confirming key points of Wolkenstein's account, and asserting that Weinglass prevented him from pursuing certain avenues of investigation leading to the real killers because Weinglass had been threatened.

Affidavit by Yvette Williams (28 January 2002) stating that prosecution witness Cynthia White told her she was pressured by the police into falsly stating that she saw Mumia shoot Faulkner

Affidavit by Kenneth Pate (April 18 2003) stating that his half-sister, Priscilla Durham, in a telephone conversation with Pate in 1983 or 1984, repudiated her testimony against Jamal at his 1982 trial

Legal documents and press releases from Mumia's legal team

Statement by Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal, on Thursday, March 22, 2007

Dear Friends:

Attached is our Legal Update (PDF) regarding the upcoming oral argument in the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia.

Your interest is appreciated.

With best wishes,
Robert

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Robert R. Bryan
Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan
2088 Union Street, Suite 4
San Francisco, California 94123
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

Statement by Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal, on November 16, 2006

Dear Friends:

Recently some Philadelphia politicians contacted officials in France demanding that Paris revoke Mumia Abu-Jamal's honorary citizenship. The letter, sent by a lawyer in France who is not even licensed to practice law in that country, contained misrepresentations and outright lies. It is a fraud.

Attached are letters that Mumia and I, as his lead attorney, sent on November 7 to both the Mayor of Paris and the City Council of Paris (PDF). In three decades of specializing in defending people facing the death penalty, I have not seen a case in which the authorities want so desperately to kill a client. Officials know that as long as Mumia is alive he will continue being outspoken against governmental wrongs. They are trying to silence the pen and voice of this great journalist by killing him. We must not let that happen.

Your concern and support is appreciated.

With best wishes,
Robert

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Robert R. Bryan
Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan
2088 Union Street, Suite 4
San Francisco, California 94123
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

Statement by Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal, on July 23, 2006

Dear Friends:

On July 20, 2006 we filed the Brief of Appellee and Cross Appellant, Mumia Abu-Jamal, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia. (Abu-Jamal v. Horn, U.S. Ct. of Appeals Nos. 01-9014, 02-9001.) It is attached (PDF 5.4mb).

This brief is of great significance concerning my client's right to a fair trial, due process of law, not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, and equal protection of the law, guaranteed by the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The issues the court is hearing are:

Claim 14 Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied the right to due process of law and a fair trial because of the prosecutor’s “appeal-after-appeal” argument which encouraged the jury to disregard the presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt, and err on the side of guilt.

Claim 16 Whether the prosecution’s exclusion of African Americans from sitting on the jury violated Mr. Abu-Jamal’s rights to due process and equal protection of the law , and contravened Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).

Claim 25 Whether the verdict form and jury instructions that resulted in the death penalty deprived Mr. Abu-Jamal of the right to due process of law, equal protection of the law, and not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, and violated Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367 (1988), since the judge precluded the jurors from considering any mitigating evidence unless they all agreed on the existence of a particular circumstance.

Claim 29 Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied due process and equal protection of the law during post-conviction hearings as the result of the bias and racism of Judge Albert F. Sabo which included the comment that he was “going to help'em fry the nigger."

The National Lawyers Guild, and, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., will be filing separate amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs in the near future. This should strengthen our quest to see justice done.

It is a is a remarkable accomplishment that the court is hearing issues that go to the very essence of Mr. Abu-Jamal's right to a fair trial . This is the first time that any court has made a ruling that could lead to a new trial and freedom. Nevertheless, he remains on Pennsylvania's death row and in great danger.

Mr. Abu-Jamal, the "voice of the voiceless," is a powerful symbol in the international campaign against the death penalty and for human rights. The goal of Professor Judith L. Ritter, associate counsel, and I is to see that the many wrongs which have occurred in this case are righted and that this brave man is freed.

Your support and concern is appreciated

With best wishes,
Robert R. Bryan
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Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan
2088 Union Street, Suite 4 San Francisco, California 94123
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

Statement by Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal, on December 6, 2005

Dear Friends and Supporters:

Today the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued the most important decision affecting my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, since the lower federal court ruling in December 2001. An order was issued this morning that the court will accept for review the following issues, all of which are of enormous constitutional significance and go to the very essence of Mumia's right to a fair trial due process of law, and equal protection of the law under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution:

• Claim 14: Whether appellant was denied his constitutional rights due to the prosecution’s trial summation.
• Claim 16: Whether the Commonwealth’s use of peremptory challenges at trial violated appellant’s constitutional rights under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).
• Claim 29: Whether appellant was denied due process during post-conviction proceedings as a result of alleged judicial bias.

Claim 16 concerns the prosecutorial use of racism in jury selection. The record establishes beyond question that racism is a major thread that has run through this case since Mumia's 1981 arrest, and continues to today. Claim 14 relates to the guilt phase. It includes the prosecutor's argument that if convicted Mumia would have "appeal after appeal." That comment effectively lessened the burden of the jurors, and turned the concept of reasonable doubt and presumption of innocence on its head. Claim 29 is about the bias and incredible racism of Judge Albert Sabo, the trial judge. Unfortunately, it is limited to his conduct at the 1995 evidentiary (PCRA) hearing, rather than his monstrous behavior at trial. This restriction is because all of the prior attorneys mistakenly did not attack Sabo's misconduct at trial, an unfortunate oversight and mistake.

The court has also issued a briefing schedule.

The case is now on the fast track, as I have been predicting.

The opening briefs are due to be filed by January 17, 2006.

Please post this e-mail and the attached Order on your web sites, and circulate it.

Today we achieved a great victory in the campaign to win a new trial and the eventual freedom of Mumia.

Your support, and activism, is badly needed and appreciated.

With best wishes, Robert R. Bryan

Statement by Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal, on June 2, 2005.

"Since the relief sought in our Dec. 8, 2003 habeas corpus (PCRA) petition was rejected, I will be filing a reconsideration motion by June 16, 2005. If denied, this will be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Memorandum & Order received by Mumia's legal team on 27 May 2005 from the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas announcing the intention to dismiss the habeas corpus (PCRA) petition of December 2003 (PDF 605k)

Memorandum on the effect of Commonwealth v. Johnson, 863 A.2d 423 (Pa. 2004), 2004 Pa. LEXIS 3118 (Dec. 20, 2004), on the pending PCRA petition. Filed with the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia on February 15, 2005 (PDF 333k)

Habeas corpus (PCRA) petition filed with the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia on December 8, 2003 (PDF 203k)

Press release - "112 Questions for Attorney Leonard Weinglass" (23 May 2003)

"Remand Motion to take testimony from Attorney Leonard Weinglass and Remand Motion with Offer of Proof" filed with Pennsylvania Supreme Court on 23 May 2003 (Word 119k)

Press release - "Yet Another Witness Exposes Police Frame-Up Of Mumia Abu-Jamal." (2 May 2003)

Legal Update by Attorney Eliot Grossman - 30 October 2002.

Amicus brief filed by Attorney Mike Yamamoto in Pennsylvania Supreme Court on 27 August 2002 on behalf of the following trade unions: (Word 52k)

1. International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 (San Francisco Bay Area, U.S.)
2. National Association of Letter Carriers Golden Gate Branch #214 (San Francisco Bay Area, U.S.)
3. National Union of Journalists (U.K.)
4. Independent Local Unions "Zahyst" and "USPIH" (Ukraine)
5. International Longshoremen's Association Local 1422 (Charleston, South Carolina U.S.)

Appeal filed by Mumia's lawyers on 27 August 2002 with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania challenging a ruling by state court judge Pamela Dembe that the accused in a criminal proceeding has no right under the Pennsylvania Constitution or the Fifth or Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution to an impartial judge at a jury trial or in a post-conviction hearing (Word 182k)

"Friend of the court" brief by eminent Californian attorney Michael Yamamoto filed in the federal court of appeals in Philadelphia. Yamamoto's independent review of the evidence reveals that Mumia was "wrongfully convicted based upon the testimony of unreliable witnesses, all of whom were either inherently suspect at the outset or subsequently shown to be testifying falsely." (11 March 2002) (Word 39k)

Mumia's response to the prosecution's opposition to his motion to certify additional issues for appeal in the Federal Court and to be relieved of any page limitations on this response (11 March 2002) (Word 192k)

Press release by Mumia's attorneys (11 March 2002) charging the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office with faking the death of key prosecution witness Cynthia White

Motion For Certification Of Additional Issues For Appeal by Mumia's attorneys (6 February 2002) (Word 141k)

Press release by Mumia's attorneys (8 January 2002) outlining their appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court over the State Judge's refusal to hear the confession by Arnold Beverly.

Judge Yohn's full judgement ordering a new sentencing hearing for Mumia in Word (407k) or zipped (117k) (12 December 2001)

Mumia's response to Judge Demby's ruling (PDF) (10 December 2001)

Judge Demby's ruling to dismiss the instant Post Conviction Relief Act Petition (PDF) (10 December 2001)

Press release by Mumia's attorneys (5 November 2001) comparing his case to that of Sacco and Vanzetti in the 1920s, urging Judge Yohn to "ensure that history does not repeat itself ... with an innovent man being executed while the confession of the real murderer is ignored"

Report by the Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal of two forums it organized in San Francisco and Berkeley on 12 and 13 October 2001 with Eliot Grossman, a member of the new team of lawyers representing Mumia, including the full text of a statement Mumia sent to the forums.

Mumia's attorneys' amended writ of habeus corpus as presented to the court on 6 August 2001 (Zipped Word format (409k - unzipped Word file is 1.48mb)

Press release by Mumia's attorneys (2 August 2001) detailing the filing of the 30 July motion

Motion filed in federal court by Mumia's attorneys asking Yohn to reconsider his denial of their request to take the deposition of Arnold Beverly (30 July 2001) (Word 388k or zipped 108k)

Judge William H. Yohn, Jr.'s ruling denying the request to depose Arnold Beverly (19 July 2001) (300k PDF file of scanned document)

Post Conviction Relief Petition filed in Pensylvania Court of Common Pleas 3 July 2001, revealing a theory of what happened that night at 13th and Locust Streets in Philadelphia and details how Mumia's former attorneys acted as de facto members of the prosecution (3 July 2001). (Word document 637k or zipped word document 181k)

Amicus Brief filed by the For Chicana/Chicano Studies Foundation (June 28, 2000). (PDF 267k)

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