In Defense of Mumia

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Summary: This is a must read for any politically progressive person!
Review: From reading some of these myopic reviews, it is obvious that they come from people who clearly haven't bothered to read the book they claim to review. Rather than basing your review on television programs such as 20/20 (they always get it right?) or resorting to some uninformed knee-jerk reactions, it might be helpful to READ the impressive body of poetry and prose that Anderson and Medina have painstakingly collected. IN DEFENSE OF MUMIA offers readers a diverse array of distinguished contributors, from Gwendolyn Brooks to Toni Morrison to Nat Hentoff to E.L. Doctorow and several emerging, new writers. Within its pages these authors address many issues that move the discussion beyond Mumia the Man into a much larger arena that encompasses police brutality, the privatization of prisons, and the disenfranchisement of prisoners, to name only a few. It is a timely and much-needed collection, especially considering the dangerous times in which we live. In a nation where Proposition 21 passes, allowing cops to arrest young children...in a nation where an innocent, unarmed man can be ruthlessly murdered (shot 41 times) on his own doorstep--without impunity--...in this nation we can ill afford not to support progressive literature such as the anthology, IN DEFENSE OF MUMIA. Buy this important book and judge for yourself, don't allow others to make the decision for you.

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Summary: This is a fantastic book!!!
Review: I give this book a 5 star rating. It's that good. S.E. Anderson and Tony Medina have put together a mesmerizing collection of poetry, art and prose that rekindles the kind of passionately political wrting that dominated the literary landscape of the 1960s and '70s. Not only do you have giants such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Toni Morrison, Sonia Sanchez, Jayne Cortez, Amiri Baraka, June Jordan John Edgar Wideman and Cornel West to name a few of the older generation of writers,but you have new up-and-coming hotshots like Ras Baraka, Mike Ladd,Asha Bandele, Suheir Hammad, Paul Beatty, Kevin Powell and Tony Medina himself. This is a book for everyone interested in socially committed art. It is also a worthy cause...to defend the life of a fellow writer, intellectual and political activist who was sent to death row with little or no evidence when the trial he was given was not fair. This anthology leaves one with the nagging question: How many innocen people are sitting on death row because they weren't able to pay for a competent defense like, say, O.J.? If the system is allowed to execute Mumia, then what will follow in the urban areas of these as-yet-to-be-united states will be a fate worse than that which preceeded the assasinations of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "In Defense of Mumia" is a book that clearly and boldly warns of a fire this time.

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Summary: A Must Read For Those Studying The Techniques of Propaganda
Review: It is of upmost importance in todays society of privatized imprisonment to respect the freedoms and liberities of all individuals. The rights of each American become jepordized by a system that empowers police to make policy decisions based on racial profiling and stereotypes. Any decision to arrest much less kill by the sanctioning of the state such an active political figure must be questioned and scrutinized as to its purposeful objectives and intentions. This book does just that and in doing so it deserves our analytical attention.

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Summary: The ignorance showed by these authors is incredible
Review: Look, it is time to set the record straight. I am against the death penalty, and admit the U.S. justice system is flawed and corrupt, but MUMIA IS GUILTY. All you idiots who want to free this cold-blooded killer are as ignorant as any white supremist. Study the case, carefully, like I did, and you will uncover the truth. He killed Faulkner, and he recieved his fair trial. Somehow, hundreds of thousands of people have allowed themselves to be sucked into supporting this murderer. Listen, Mumia supporters, read the case, not garbage propaganda like this book, and make an unbiased judgement. You really are fools if you waste one more breath on this guy. There are people truly innocent on death row who deserve your help more.

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Summary: This is a must read for any politically progressive person!
Review: This book speaks to the need for people of color to protect our men from being railroaded by America's so-called justice sytem (read "just us" system). And this need is even more evidenced by the New York City cases of Patrick Dorismond and Amadou Diallo who ultimately lost their lives. In Mumia's case, we as people at least still have the chance to save his life and liberate him.

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Summary: Wasted talent
Review: Why have these gifted writers wasted their fine talents on this issue? I think the answer lies in the authors note above. Any intelligent person can deduce that Mumia was guilty of murder, but the author seems to suggest that it was okay for Mumia to execute Daniel Faulkner in the way that he did because he was from a poor minority oppressed by the 'evils' of capitlism.

I am a student from a working class background living in a capitalist society and know all about poverty and how unfair the system can be. However, this would not justify me blowing the back of a policeman's head off tommorrow simply because he is a part of the system, and if I did do this I should be tried and sentenced in the way my country's laws see fit.

As for the comment that anyone from overseas cannot voice an opinion, well, this is the age of the internet my friend and I have been able to study the original trial transcripts and case evidence as I am sure any supporter of Mumia has not bothered to do. I have come to my own, unbiased conclusion and even if Mumia was allowed another trial the evidence would still overwhelmingly convict him.

It is time to move on. If you want to campaign against the death penalty then fine, but do not drag Mumia abu Jamal into your arguments as he isn`t worth your time. All I can say is that it is a shame that such a gifted writer and journalist such as Mumia chose to behave in such a disgusting manner.