9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Raising doubt about Mumia's trial, December 31, 2001
This review is from: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Life in the Balance (Open Media Series) (Paperback)
If you are from Philadelphia or the Philadelphia area, then you can truly understand the problems of the case of Mummia. It seems that every time you mention his name here you get into some kind of arguement. The sad thing about this is most people have absolutely no knowledge of the facts on the case of Mumia. This book, if you read it, can change that. The book attempts, and does a good job of, explaining why Amnesty International thinks that Mumia Abu Jamal recieved an unfair trial. At no time does Amnesty International say that Mumia should be set free, or that he is innocent of said charges. I will repeat this so there are no misunderstandings,AT NO TIME DOES AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SAY THAT MUMIA SHOULD BE SET FREE OR THAT HE IS INNOCENT.
Now anyone should be skeptical of a book written on such a sensitive subject, but Amnesty International is a highly respected global human rights watch dog group, and I believe that their information is reliable. If you are from Philadelphia and would like to read a book on Mumia, or you are from somewhere else and just interested, this book is a good start, but not an end to informing you on this subject.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, January 11, 2011
This review is from: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Life in the Balance (Open Media Series) (Paperback)
Without commenting on his guilt or innocence this report by Amnesty International looks at the circumstances of the Mumia Abu-Jamal trial and whether it complied with basic international legal procedures and universally recognised standards of human rights. This explores the judicial bias in his trial, as well as in his appeals and whether he was given adequate legal assistance and whether his trial was conducted under fair and impartial conditions. Considering his very life depends on this being so you can imagine this is of utmost importance. The catalogue of errors and corruption of the legal process makes for shocking reading and this is a good way to get acquainted with the case of Abu-Jamal after reading of his case in various other publications. This is a short, but thoroughly engrossing read and gives an insight into `justice' in America.
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not very objective, February 25, 2008
This review is from: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Life in the Balance (Open Media Series) (Paperback)
It's sad that so few commentators on this case ever read the trial transcripts.
It's simple: Officer Falkner was shot by a gun registered to Mumia. Mumia was still wearing the shoulder holster when he was apprehended, and the gun had five spent cartridges. Mumia's hair, complexion, hat and striped sweater matched the description of an eye-witness who saw it all from 25 feet away.
Faced with such damning, obvious evidence, the defense has cooked up one silly explanation after another. But they never explain away the central facts of the case.
Far too many black men have been wrongly convicted. I'd give a second look at any black man's conviction. That's why I got interested in this case. But Mumia is simply, obviously guilty. Handsome, charismatic, and guilty.
Mumia has been very successful at manipulating the media and the courts. It takes away from other men of color who have genuinely been wrongly accused.
If you must believe he's innocent, then there are all sorts of fairy tales for you. If you believe in colorblind justice, there is one simple answer.
Mumia shot a police officer in the face, point blank.
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