Mumia Abu Jamal Essay Research Paper The

Mumia Abu Jamal Essay, Research Paper

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 th

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