Mumia Abu-JamalMumia Abu-Jamal is an African-American writer, journalist, and activist currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. Sentenced to death in the early 1980s, Abu-Jamal spent almost 30-years on death row until the sentence was rescinded in early December 2011. Abu-Jamal is perhaps the most well-known death row inmate in the United States, and since his incarceration has continued to publish writings and radio comment-

aries on various topics despite heavy opposition from political and prison officials. In his efforts to advocate for the voiceless through his writings, Abu-Jamal has given a face to American death row inmates and has raised awareness of the institutions which isolate them. Abu-Jamal's situation is so notable because of the political and racist nature of his arrest, trial, and incarceration. Pennsylvanian, and particularly Philadelphian, politics and policing have traditionally been corrupt and racist, and Philadelphian police and prosecutors have routinely been convicted of brutality, evidence tampering, and framing. As a community activist and journalist covering policing issues, Abu-Jamal had already been under intense police scrutiny prior to the crime. Despite evidence establishing that prosecution witnesses were coached and falsified testimony, evidence that judges and juries were racially biased, and the dubious status of a purported confession, successive appeals of his sentence have failed.

Mumia Abu-JamalMumia Abu-Jamal is an African-American writer, journalist, and activist currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. Sentenced to death in the early 1980s, Abu-Jamal spent almost 30-years on death row until the sentence was rescinded in early December 2011. Abu-Jamal is perhaps the most well-known death row inmate in the United States, and since his incarceration has continued to publish writings and radio comment-

aries on various topics despite heavy opposition from political and prison officials. In his efforts to advocate for the voiceless through his writings, Abu-Jamal has given a face to American death row inmates and has raised awareness of the institutions which isolate them. Abu-Jamal's situation is so notable because of the political and racist nature of his arrest, trial, and incarceration. Pennsylvanian, and particularly Philadelphian, politics and policing have traditionally been corrupt and racist, and Philadelphian police and prosecutors have routinely been convicted of brutality, evidence tampering, and framing. As a community activist and journalist covering policing issues, Abu-Jamal had already been under intense police scrutiny prior to the crime. Despite evidence establishing that prosecution witnesses were coached and falsified testimony, evidence that judges and juries were racially biased, and the dubious status of a purported confession, successive appeals of his sentence have failed.