Huntsville, TX – On Jan. 22 at 6:00 p.m., the State of Texas is planning to execute Mexican national Edgar Tamayo by lethal injection. The planned execution has sparked intense controversy and a broad international movement demanding that Texas halt the execution. Texas has executed far more people than any other state in the U.S., a disproportionate number of them Black and Latino.

Edgar Tamayo, a laborer from Morelos, México living in Texas, was convicted of killing a Houston police officer in 1994. But Tamayo was not informed of his right as guaranteed in an international treaty known as the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to contact the Mexican consulate and request their assistance. In 2004, the United Nations' International Court of Justice ordered the U.S. to reconsider the convictions of 51 Mexicans, including Tamayo, who had been sent to death row without being informed of their consular rights. Nine of those 51 are on death row in Texas. So far, two of that group has been executed; Tamayo would be the third.

Tamayo’s lawyer Sandra Babcock said that if Tamayo would have been notified of his right to contact the Mexican consulate he could have received consular protection and thereby would have had lawyers and investigators that likely could have prevented him from getting sentenced to death, even if he were still found guilty.

Babcock noted that Texas Governor Rick Perry could still commute the death sentence, saying on Univisión, “We still haven’t received a response to our petition for executive clemency, which would commute the death sentence.” But observers note that based on Texas’ general practice, a commutation of the sentence is highly unlikely without massive pressure.

The Mexican government has pressed Texas to stop the execution of Tamayo. In a statement on Jan. 19, Mexico's foreign ministry said, “If Edgar Tamayo's execution were to go ahead without his trial being reviewed and his sentence reconsidered ... it would be a clear violation of the United States' international obligations.” In the streets in México the outrage is more visceral: at protests in Cuernavaca, the capital of the Mexican state of Morelos, protesters burned U.S. flags and shut down businesses associated with the U.S. such as McDonalds and Burger King.

Texas’ planned execution of Tamayo causes problems for the U.S. government around the world, not just in México. That’s because if the U.S. government continues to violate the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by executing foreign nationals without notifying them of their right to get help from their country’s consulate, then the U.S. government’s demand for such rights for U.S. nationals in other countries are less likely to be honored.

The Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement is planning a protest outside the prison in Hunstville, where the execution would take place, starting at 5:00 p.m. on Jan. 22, an hour before the scheduled execution. On Facebook, a member of Tamayo’s family encouraged people to sign an online petition (in Spanish) demanding that Texas Governor Rick Perry stop Tamayo’s execution. There is also a sample letter here you can send to Governor Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles demanding they stop Edgar Tamayo’s execution.

#HuntsvilleTX #ImmigrantRights #Mexico #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #DeathPenalty #Texas #EdgarTamayo

Philadelphia, PA – After 30 years, political prisoner and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal is no longer on death row. On Dec. 7, 2011, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams announced that he would not seek a new sentencing hearing to try to re-sentence Abu-Jamal to the death penalty. He has now been moved to SCI Mahanoy after spending the last 30 years on Pennsylvania’s death row.

This is a stunning development in Abu-Jamal’s case. He has been on death row since 1982, after being wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death for killing a police officer in 1981. A broad and powerful movement rallied in defense of Mumia for decades, decrying the racism and injustice in his case, going up against seemingly impossible odds to try to stop his execution and win his freedom.

District Attorney Williams’ decision not to pursue the death penalty for Abu-Jamal comes after an Oct. 11, 2011 U.S. Supreme Court decision to not hear the Philadelphia district attorney’s appeal of a federal court ruling that that the sentencing portion of Abu-Jamal’s 1982 trial had violated the constitution. The Supreme Court decision forced the district attorney to either conduct a new sentencing hearing or change Abu-Jamal’s sentence to a life term without parole. Williams chose not to conduct a new sentencing hearing, likely fearing a reopening of any portion of Abu-Jamal’s thoroughly flawed trial. As a result of this decision, Mumia Abu-Jamal no longer faces the death penalty.

While Abu-Jamal sat in a small cell on death row in virtual isolation for three decades and came close to scheduled execution dates several times, the courts stonewalled his attempts to win justice up and down the line. In that context, his supporters consider this a victory, though one that doesn’t bring true justice. It simply opens the door to the next phase of the struggle – to win freedom for Mumia. According to a statement by the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, “This is not an ending, it is a new beginning for the movement supporting Abu-Jamal's quest for release.”

Write to Mumia Abu-Jamal to express your solidarity. His new address is:

Mumia Abu-Jamal

#AM 8335

SCI Mahanoy

301 Morea Road

Frackville, PA 17932

#PhiladelphiaPA #MumiaAbuJamal #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #DeathPenalty #DeathRow #PoliticalPrisoners

Milwaukee, WI, – Over 30 people gathered for an evening vigil, Sept. 22, the day after the execution of Troy Davis. Attendees mourned the death of Davis and denounced the death penalty and this racist execution. Davis was a Black man in Georgia who was given the death penalty for the killing of a white off-duty police officer, despite overwhelming evidence that he didn't commit the crime.

The vigil was organized by many of the organizations making up the newly-founded Coalition for Racial Justice and Unity, including the Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Luv Brigade and Peace Action Wisconsin. This coalition recently brought out thousands from the Milwaukee area to protest a Nazi rally.

The vigil lasted for an hour, a prayer was led and attendees formed a circle for everyone to say something about this grave injustice.

#MilwaukeeWI #SDS #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #DeathPenalty #TroyDavis

Chicago, IL – Death row prisoner Troy Davis was denied clemency today, Sept. 20, by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. He is scheduled to be executed tomorrow night.

Emergency protests are being held around the country. In Chicago, Amnesty International, Students for a Democratic Society and other groups gathered in front of the national headquarters of President Obama’s re-election campaign.

Mark Clements of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty had just returned from Atlanta where he had been with supporters of Davis outside the Georgia State Capitol. He told Fight Back!, “Seven out of nine witnesses have recanted their testimonies. The parole board says that these witnesses are less than credible now, but they were credible enough to convict him. How could that be?”

Clements has first-hand knowledge of the racist justice system in the US. He served 28 years in prison after being tortured into making a false confession by Chicago police.

Last minute appeals are being directed to Chatham County District Attorney, Larry Chisolm. He has the power to withdraw the death warrant. Clements said that the struggle for Davis’s life will continue until the last minute.

Call Larry Chisolm: 912-652-7308. Demand he vacate the death sentence for Troy Davis.

#ChicagoIL #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #DeathPenalty #CampaignToEndTheDeathPenalty #TroyDavis

On Sept. 21 at 7:00 p.m., the State of Georgia Department of Corrections is planning to execute Troy Davis by lethal injection. A broad movement has stepped into high gear to stop this injustice from happening, with a global day of solidarity protests planned for Sept. 16. Protests will take place across the U.S. and around the world to demand that the Georgia State Board of Pardon and Parole stop the execution by granting Davis clemency. Davis’s family is also asking people to sign the online petition to the Board of Pardons and Parole. Over 200,000 people have signed the petition in a matter of days.

Troy Davis was given the death penalty in 1991 for the murder of an off-duty police officer. He has always maintained he is innocent and that he was the victim of false identification. Since his conviction, the evidence his conviction was based on has largely fallen apart. Seven of nine eyewitnesses have recanted or contradicted their trial testimony, the ballistic evidence was later withdrawn and new witnesses have identified a different shooter.

Despite this, at every step in the legal process Davis’ appeals have been turned down. The legal process is sharply tilted against reversing a conviction, even if the evidence the conviction was based on has later been discredited. Usually courts only allow procedural issues to be raised to challenge a conviction, not new evidence.

Due to the strong pressure organized by the movement to defend Troy Davis, the U.S. Supreme Court took the highly unusual move in August 2009 of ordering an evidentiary hearing, which allowed Davis to present new evidence of his innocence. At the June 2010 hearing, four witnesses recanted their original testimony, saying their testimony implicating Davis was coerced by the police. Three other witnesses said another man, Sylvester Coles, was the actual shooter.

But this evidence wasn’t enough because of the way the U.S. legal system works. Normally in a trial, the prosecution has to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. But in this evidentiary hearing about an already existing conviction, the burden was the opposite – Davis’s defense had to not just raise reasonable doubt of guilt, but to prove innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. The judge in the hearing admitted that the evidence presented did cast some “additional, minimal doubt” but did not consider this enough to reverse the conviction and death sentence.

In March of this year the Supreme Court refused to consider Davis’s final appeal. Davis has had four execution dates set in the past, but the previous ones were postponed by appeals. Now there are no more chances for Davis to appeal.

The last option is for Georgia’s State Board of Pardons and Parole to grant Troy Davis clemency. They are set to meet on Monday, Sept. 19, just two days before his scheduled execution. They would have to vote by majority to grant Davis clemency. The Board has more leeway to stop the execution than the courts have, since they can consider things other than procedural questions. They can take into account that witnesses have recanted and new witnesses have come forward. Davis has been denied clemency before, but there are new members on the Board now, and new witness testimony since the last time the Board considered Davis’s case.

The movement is demanding that the Board of Pardons and Parole grant clemency to Troy Davis. This would stop his execution, which would be a huge victory. But clemency would not reverse his conviction for a crime he continues to maintain he is innocent of, it would most likely convert his sentence to life in prison. But averting his unjust execution will allow the struggle to reverse his conviction to continue.

There is a day of global solidarity on Friday, Sept. 16, just three days before the Georgia Board of Parole and Pardons meets to consider clemency. Check here for the protest nearest you and click here to sign the online petition.

#Georgia #GA #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #DeathPenalty #TroyDavis

March participant Anh Pham, a member of the University of Minnesota's Progressive Student Organization said, “It's great to see that people are recognizing that Mumia's case ties in with an overall system of injustice. There are people here talking about Mumia's case and police brutality in all our communities, different national liberation movements, and the US bombing of Yugoslavia. The system is showing cracks and the people are speaking out.”

#PhiladelphiaPA #News #AfricanAmerican #MumiaAbuJamal #PoliticalPrisoners #DeathPenalty #ProgressiveStudentOrganization #BlackPantherParty

Philadelphia, PA – On October 13 1999, Governor Ridge of Pennsylvania signed a new warrant for “the execution by lethal injection of Mumia Abu-Jamal of Philadelphia.” The execution date is set for December 2.

Governor Ridge decided to sign Jamal's warrant despite the fact that Mumia still has appeals remaining. He is choosing to ignore the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Bar Associations' recent call for a moratorium on all executions until the death penalty system is proven just.

One of the system's infirmities, acknowledged by the bar associations, has to do with racial prejudice. While nine percent of Pennsylvania's total population is African-American, for example, the percentage on death row is nearly seven times that amount (62%). This is the largest racial disparity of any state in the U.S.

A federal judge is expected to issue a stay of execution within the next few days. From there the appeal process will continue. The federal judge who gets this case is not required to grant a hearing. He could simply read the trial transcripts and issue a ruling. In fact, the 1996 federal law is specifically designed to discourage federal courts from reviewing and overturning death sentences handed down in the state courts. This is why the government has to hear a loud popular demand for a new trial for Mumia.

Mumia's immediate response was: “This is just the next stage of the fight. We will continue to fight. We will win!”

In general, action in the federal courts will go much faster than it did in the state courts. Thus we are now entering the final phase of the battle to save Mumia's life. This is why we must proceed with a greater sense of urgency and determination.

Steff Yorek, Political Secretary of Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “Justice for Mumia Abu Jamal will represent not simply justice for the man but also a victory against racism and national oppression. A victory for him will mean a victory for all of us. To make this happen we need to make his case an issue everywhere.”

Background and Source: PRNewswire

#PhiladelphiaPA #News #AfricanAmerican #MumiaAbuJamal #PoliticalPrisoners #DeathPenalty #GovernorRidge #execution