From: "C. Clark Kissinger" To: Subject: Call for Aug 1 actions at the RNC Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 10:46:40 -0400 The execution of Shaka Sankofa has been a wake-up call for us all. What follows is a call to make August 1 a day of actions at the RNC, concentrating on opposition to the death penalty in general and the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal in particular. Organizations supporting justice for Mumia are urged to endorse the call and join in supporting the various actions planned for Philadelphia on Aug 1. Responses can be sent to Jeff Garis at PAUADP@aol.com or Clark Kissinger at cck1@earthlink.net. * * * * * Crashing the Party at the Executioners’ Ball! The Republican National Convention, July 31-August 3, 2000 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania August 1: A Day of Resistance to the Death Penalty and the Execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal We call on all people of conscience and resistance to join us in Philadelphia to confront the executioners at their gala Executioners’ Ball -- the Republican Convention 2000. The previous decade has witnessed a resurgence in the use of executions, spearheaded by leading Republicans such as presidential candidate Gov. George W. Bush (more than 130 executions), including the unconscionable execution of Shaka Sankofa (Gary Graham). The convention host is Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (over 200 execution warrants signed in five years), and delegates include numerous others who are intent on using body counts as stepping stones to positions of greater power. In solidarity with the many progressive forces who will be expressing their outrage on many issues during this whole convention, we are dedicating August 1, 2000, as a special day to expose these executioners. When the national spotlight is on Philadelphia, let us also expose this city -- with a death row larger than 37 states and nearly 90% people of color -- as the “Capital of Capital Punishment,” presided over by “America’s Deadliest D.A.” Lynne Abraham. The death penalty is the spearhead of a bi-partisan agenda that has led to an explosion in prison building and the incarceration of 2 million people in the U.S. The death penalty has always been the special friend of inordinate wealth and power, and is used overwhelmingly against people of color, almost exclusively on the poor, frequently executing people who are innocent, and in targeting political dissidents. The executioners view any limitations on their power and any demands for due process and fairness as obstacles to be eliminated. These Republican executioners have been highly successful in pursuing this violent agenda with the cooperation of their Democratic Party colleagues, most notably in the implementation of the Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 which ties the hands of the Federal Courts in reversing death sentence cases on appeal. It is under these severe new limitations that the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, sentenced to death in a Philadelphia court by a judge who has presided over more death sentences than any other sitting judge, heads into Federal Court in Philadelphia this summer. When this Executioner’s Ball is at the center of the international stage, join us in crashing the party and denouncing the deadly deeds of the hosts and the guests of honor! Join with us in Philadelphia, in our unity and diversity, to make Tuesday, August 1, a day of city-wide communication, outreach, protest, audacity and action against the death penalty in the United States and against the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal! Conveners: [list in formation] Academics for Mumia Abu-Jamal; Campaign to End the Death Penalty; Herman Ferguson; Jack Heyman, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 Executive Board member; International Action Center; International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal; Bob Mandel, Executive Board, Oakland Education Association; Robert Meeropol; MOVE; National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; Pennsylvania Abolitionists; Refuse & Resist!; Solidarity; Western PA Committee to Free Mumia; Rev. S. Michael Yasutake, Executive Director, Interfaith Prisoners of Conscience Project [Organizations listed with individuals may be for identification only]