The Ordeal of Mumia Abu-Jamal

Abstract

Mumia Abu-Jamal is the most celebrated death row inmate in the country today. It is quite possible, depending on the outcome of his fight to secure a new trial, that he may become the most prominent in our country’s shameful history of killing its own citizens. He has written two well-received books (Live from Death Row and Death Blossoms)¹ He also has written numerous articles (published in such venues as The Nation and the Yale Law Journal) addressing topics ranging from prison conditions to U.S. foreign policy, and has even recorded commentaries for National Public Radio (which were canceled after conservatives and right-wing politicians objected). That Abu-Jamal still has the resiliency and focus to speak out for the voiceless and the oppressed from within the depths of death row is a testament to this man’s fighting spirit and evolved humanity as a human rights advocate.