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New stage reached in the struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal

Mumia Abu-Jamal

source: Workers World
published: 3 December 2019

Political prisoner and world-renowned journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal and his supporters are closer than ever to winning his release, 38 years after he was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.

The Fraternal Order of Police, former district attorneys and other political higher-ups who participated in the frameup are now shaking in their boots because this innocent man may be given a new trial in which judicial, police and prosecutorial misconduct will be exposed.

In the late 1970s and early 80s, Abu-Jamal was a daily radio reporter for WHYY and NPR who earned acclaim for his award-winning reporting. As a reporter who supported the MOVE organization against state repression, he drew the ire of the Philadelphia FOP and the notoriously racist Police Commissioner and later Mayor Frank Rizzo.

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Expungement request denied for ex-cop in Rekia Boyd case

Rekia Boyd
Rekia Boyd

source: WTTW News
published: 19 November 2019

Family and supporters of Rekia Boyd erupted into applause inside a Cook County courtroom Tuesday after a judge denied a request from Dante Servin, the former Chicago police detective who was charged and acquitted in her killing, to expunge any record of his criminal case from the public’s view.

In announcing his decision Tuesday, Judge LeRoy K. Martin Jr. said that just because Servin was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter, that “does not make one innocent.” He based his ruling on the evidence prosecutors presented in the case in 2015, and the fact that the trial judge felt those facts better aligned with first-degree murder.

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Stage play inspired by Sheku Bayoh to examine Scotland’s racist underbelly

Sheku Bayoh & Family
Sheku Bayoh & Family

source: The Scotsman
published: 7 August 2019

A powerful new play inspired by the case of a father-of-two who died in police custody in Scotland and intended to explore how racist the country really is, is being developed by one of its leading theatres.

The Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh is working with an acclaimed poet and writer on Lament for Sheku, which will examine how much prejudice exists in Scotland’s institu­tions and in our wider society.

Hannah Lavery, who has already created a spoken word show recalling her experiences of growing up in a mixed-race family in Edinburgh, said the play was aimed at revealing the human tragedy behind the Sheku Bayoh case, which triggered accusations of racism within Police Scotland.

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