Racial Injustice Mumia Abu Jamal Essay
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The following paper will discuss the topic of racial injustice in the United States Legal System. Since this topic is so broad, it will deal with the trial of Mumia Abu Jamal in 1982. This paper will show how the "system" will try anything to keep a minority down.
The system consists of upper middle class to upper class whites that believe minorities are inferior to them. The system is used is a "political machine" used by whites to keep these minorities from becoming powerful. If minorities can speak their minds, have power, or bond together, they can be a threat to the status quo. This "system" still thrives in our world. A stunning article, Race and the Death Penalty reminds us that a low percentage of Whites were being executed for the death of a Black person. Meanwhile, almost triple the number of Blacks that were being put to death for the killings of a White people. Where is the justice in this so-called democracy?
Imagine driving up to an intersection and seeing your own flesh and blood being beaten... What do you do? Any normal person would try and help out. What if the one who is assaulting him/her is a police officer? Should it make a difference? A police officer is trained to "serve and protect". When he isn't protecting you or your relatives, whom is he protecting?
Mumia encountered this same scenario. He raced to the aide of his brother. And in the midst of battle, shots rang out. Mumia was shot, and later recovered. The police officer was killed. Witnesses reported two men fleeing the scene. However, when police arrived and realized that they had a black critic of the police department, who was also a member of the Black Panthers, they immediately beat him, and charged him with murder. In an interview with The Revolutionary Worker, Mumia referring to the question, "How did they (the police) treat you?" stated "I would not say they 'treat' me, I would say that they 'beat' me. They beat me in the street. They beat me in the paddy wagon."(Interview)
Mumia was a broadcast journalist whose purpose was to give angered civilians an open forum for discussion. Mumia, like any person who speaks his/her mind, has their share of opposition. The only problem was Mumia's opposition held some of the highest positions in politics. Having enemies in those positions isn't a good thing.
During the time prior to the trial, Mayor Frank Rizzo had made attacks on several radical organizations. Stings and raids had filled the streets. Mumia let the radicals present their sides on the radio; this caused them to gain support. This counteracted what the mayor had planned. Once again, this angered the politicians who run the "system". (Weinglass, L.I., Jones, D.)
Being a member of the Black Panther Party wasn't much help either. They were upset that a Black man had such power and influence over his audience. They "system" once again stepped in and tried to destroy the reputation of the Black Panthers. They stated that the Panthers weren't a credible organization claiming they were radical and terrorist in order to dissuade persons from joining them, or sympathizing with them.
In a Standard English dictionary, radical means "Departing markedly from the usual; extreme." That is what they thought of these groups, and in fact they were right. These groups believed in what they thought was right, and were willing to pursue it to the very end. The word radical is often paired off with the word terrorist. The word terrorist means "The political use of violence and intimidation". You may ask where is the connection between the two? Well, the government thinks that because these groups are radical and sometimes are forced into violent situations, they use this violence as a motivation builder. (American Heritage Dictionary)
You also may ask where do they get these ideas of radicalism and terrorism. Do you think giving food to the hungry is radical? How about the creation of several social skills programs across the US? They aren't but you can imagine what the government claims the driving force behind these groups. Drugs, money, racism, that is what the government claims is going on. Do you see that?
In the trial, Mumia, an educated black man, was not allowed to represent himself. Instead a court-appointed attorney, who obviously didn't want any part of the deliberations, represented him. Mumia was barred from the court because his questioning of jurors for the case was so-called "intimidating".
Also, decreasing the chances of a fair trial, and a fair jury even more, Mumia's attorney was threatened with contempt charges if he attempted to slow the jury selection process. This caused the selectors to "overlook" three potentially dangerous jurors. Two of these had some connection to the police department, and one who openly testified that he couldn't have an open mind in this case.
The most damaging portion of Mumia's case was that he was not allowed in the courtroom for most of the trial, although a majority of the case was researched and created by him for his defense. How could someone who isn't on the same level of thinking come up with the same defense? They can't. Mumia's lawyer didn't know what Mumia was thinking, and...
Smolowe, Jill (1991, April 29). Race and the Death Penalty. Time Magazine, pgs 68.Unknown. Refuse and Resist [On-line]. Available: http://www.walrus.com/~resist/mumia/051697brochuretext.html; date visited: 7/13/98.
Weinglass, L. I., Jones, D. The trial of Mumia Abu-Jamal #'s 1 & 2, [On-line] Available: http://www.walrus.com/~resist/mumia/FFS.html; date visited: 7/10/98
Interview with Revolutionary Writer, [Online] Available: http://www.walrus.com/~resist/interview.html#assault; date visited: 7/12/98
The American Heritage Dictionary; Third Edition (1994) New York City, NY: Dell Publishing; pgs. 680, 835.
Haqq, Abdul (1996), Death to Killer Cops, In Anderson, S. E., Medina, T., Allen, P. A. (Eds.), In Defense of Mumia (pgs. 29-30) New York City, NY: Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc.
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