Mumia Abu-Jamal fights for life, justice

[Charleston Chew]

Run time: 04:32 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUJJr-s-4ro   Posted on YouTube: November 09, 2010 By YouTube Member: RTAmerica Views on YouTube: 182   Posted on DU: November 10, 2010 By DU Member: Charleston Chew Views on DU: 773

 
The world's most famous death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal was arrested almost thirty years ago in Philadelphia over charges of murdering a police officer. Since then he has become a symbol of an unfair and corrupt US justice system. RT's Anastasia Churkina reports from Philadelphia.

[T Wolf]

1. His innocence or guilt is not really an issue anymore. This case has roiled Philly

ever since I moved here last century and brings out the blood-lust of the pro-cop side.

The widow has made quite a career on the death of her husband, aided by the knuckle-draggers and racists from here and around the country.

Enough doubt exists that in a nation with a functioning (fairly) justice system, Mumia would have been found not guilty decades ago. But we don't have that, so neither does he.

(Suspected) cop-killers are abused within the system, while killer cops are protected and never disciplined at all. Mumia's continued ability to avoid being murdered by the state is one of the few victories in this war.

[molly77]

2. T Wolf...eloquent words for Mumia. May he see justice this year.

More US prosecutors should go to jail for suppressing evidence. That would send a message to the judicial system...

your last two sentences sum up our system.

[RZM]

5. Do you count Michael Moore among the 'knuckle draggers and racists?'

Because he's written that he thinks Mumia did it -- not that he knows any more about it than I do, but it's a point worth considering when characterizing the sides of debate. And why would his innocence or guilt not be an issue anymore? I'd say it's the ONLY issue that should matter.

[bc3000]

11. There has never been any doubt about his guilt.

He killed a man. He is a murderer.

He then did everything in his power to disrupt his trial. The only real argument his supporters have is that he was not given a fair trial. Some may then take the logical leap that he is innocent, but all evidence points to his guilt.

His supporters are effectively supporting the right of a murderer to avoid justice by refusing to participate in a trial.

If anything, the Mumia controversy should serve as a warning to people on DU that if they blindly take the "liberal" side on every issue without getting the facts first, they might sometimes be horribly wrong and in this case, become unwitting participants in a murderer's avoidance of justice.

If you are against the death penalty in all cases, great! But there are plenty of innocent men out there that would serve as a better champion for your cause.

[T Wolf]

12. not even close to the truth, but keep spouting your pro-pig bullshit. Mumia was

railroaded by a corrupt CJ system that never sides with people against itself.

There is ample evidence showing that Mumia did not off the pig, at least, not in a way that warrants any prosecution. The "trial" was a farce in which defense evidence was not allowed to be presented. The judge used racist epithets in court. The cops lied (as they always do).

I know that justice will never be done in this case - Mumia will never be freed because they have too much invested in his persecution.

But as long as we can keep this in the public eye, there is a small chance that the case will result in some good.

[RZM]

17. Why 'pig' every chance you get? Is it still 1972?

Your posts demonstrate a central fact about the Mumia case. For the pro-Mumia side, it's never really been about Mumia and it certainly isn't about the dead police officer. It's about a larger critique of the criminal justice system and race relations in America. Mumia is just a prop . . . a symbol around which people can rally. The dirty little (not-so)secret of the pro-Mumia side is that many people don't really care whether he did it or not; 'Mumia is innocent' is just a meme designed to advance a condemnation of the entire system. What many people can't say but probably think is that they don't believe it's all that bad of a thing if he DID shoot the police officer, because many cops are racist white 'pigs' and politically radical African-American men are righteous revolutionaries fighting a struggle for the survival against a corrupt and evil power structure. In short, Mumia's a prophet and the cop got what he deserved. Of course, you're not going to get as many people on your side if you come out and say THAT, so instead those feelings are mostly buried deep within the 'innocence' argument.

[herbm]

3. All evidence of his innocence or guilt have been thoroughly compromised by the authorities, no fair

trial is possible. Even if he was guilty and no one but Mumia and maybe a cop or two will ever know that for certain, thirty years is more than plenty for the crime.

[bc3000]

4. Obviously guilty as hell, but cool dreads, so let's pretend otherwise.

[Township75]

6. A balanced piece by the Kremlin reporter.

I love the quote with Bachmann stating the media has covered this story up because it exposes the corrupt system. Good one genious.

[RZM]

7. RT is so bad. Not so bad it's good, but so bad it's just really bad

With all of the focus on media funding here at DU, it's strange that anyone would buy this nonsense. All RT seems to report on is conspiracies and bullshit designed to exacerbate our weaknesses and divide people.

[Township75]

8. Check out their US news website.

Every title is about how horrible the US is. I like this one "American college students hooked on drugs"

THey would never report like this about Russia.

[RZM]

9. That's for sure

TV news in Russia itself is also under the thumb of the Kremlin. They almost never report anything very critical of the government or the United Russia crowd. That's not a coincidence, since most Russians get their news from TV. There's some real reporting in Russian on the internet, but not a lot of people see it. I wish people on the left here who spread the RT nonsense would understand that they are getting played like a fiddle.

[RZM]

10. LOL, just went to Thom Hartmann's site

He who has a show on RT. Here's the quote of the day for today:

'The corruption of journalistic integrity is always bad, but it becomes obscene under conditions of extreme media concentration as now exist.' - Robert McChesney, Rich Media, Poor Democracy 1999

:rofl:

[mmonk]

13. It is a very true statement.

I have no problem with it.

[RZM]

15. It absolutely is - I have no probelm with the statement itself at all

The funny part is this is coming from a guy who has a show on a Kremlin funded-network. The same Kremlin that has slowly but surely put the screws to the post-Soviet press in Russia itself, to the point where you just don't see much real criticism of the government on television, which is where most Russians get their news. It's been a long process and the current government-friendly tone hasn't necessarily been achieved by brute force -- though that has been used as well, as a few dozen Russian journalists have been murdered since the collapse of the Soviet Union, many apparently for their reporting on the war in Chechnya. It's happened more been through maneuvering, with the government acquiring large stakes in many stations and also with some media outlets being intimidated into self-censoring. The result is, the government has WAY too much control over the press there, both direct and indirect.

So it strikes me as kind of hypocritical for someone to take Russian government money to spread stories about how god-awful things are here, including stories about how bad our press is, when that same government has created a situation in its own country where it's extremely difficult to practice real journalism. The tone and approaches that Kremlin-funded RT reporters take towards the United States government and society just aren't evident in Kremlin-influenced outfits in Russia. And that's frankly a bit galling.

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

14. ad hominem much?

:eyes:

Shoot that messenger! Shoot them!

[RZM]

16. The agenda of the messenger here is quite transparent

This isn't journalism. The piece presented only one side of the story -- the pro-Mumia side. They didn't bother to talk to anyone who doesn't think it's a massive conspiracy. It's total horseshit and I'm surprised anyone could take it seriously. I've never seen a single piece on RT that isn't intended to give the impression that life in America is desperately awful in just about every way possible. Why do you think that is? Because it's really the case and there's only one side to any story in the US, or because that's the impression the Kremlin wants to give of the United States? It's striking how little their approach has changed since Soviet days, when the Kremlin was also interested in presenting America (and the rest of the capitalist world) as a horrid cesspool. This is total bullshit and as I've written in another post, this kind of negative approach is generally not tolerated in Russia itself, where the Kremlin casts a very large shadow over the press (and also owns, directly, or indirectly, a good chunk of it). It saddens me that people here seem unaware of the Kremlin's agenda or its disturbing control of information at home and views this trope as actual journalism and not the propaganda that it is.