WHEREAS, last October the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the appeal of death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal who was framed and convicted of killing a Philadelphia policeman; and
WHEREAS, Mumia Abu-Jamal, a radio journalist, was the target of the Philadelphia police since his youthful days in the Black Panther Party; and
WHEREAS, the notorious Judge Sabo, who presided over the trial and was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, has sentenced more people to death than any other sitting judge in the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, the Philadelphia police department, according to a 1979 federal government investigation, is rife with corruption and police brutality; and
WHEREAS, in 1995 the Philadelphia police scandal was highlighted in newspapers across the country with accounts of innocent people being blatantly framed up, resulting in the release of 300 innocent people from jail, many convicted by juries from which blacks were routinely excluded ; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge has pledged to sign Mumiašs death warrant and is set to begin the execution process of an innocent man; and
WHEREAS, the ILWU through resolutions from its organizational divisions and letters from its International Presidents has defended Mumia Abu-Jamal; and
WHEREAS, Mumia last year lent his name to the victorious Neptune Jade defense campaign of the ILWU; and
WHEREAS, on April 24, 1999 there will be national demonstrations to demand a stop to the execution of and a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal on the East Coast in Philadelphia and on the West Coast in San Francisco; and
WHEREAS, the organized labor movement has the power through action to ensure justice for this principled and courageous freedom fighter;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the ILWU go on record supporting these demonstrations and mobilize our membership on the coast to participate; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that we apppeal to our fellow longshore workers in Philadelphia to join in this national demonstration in an effort toward freeing Mumia.
submitted by
Jack Heyman # 8780
