legal
Upcoming Love Park 4 Court Date - COURT SOLIDARITY NEEDED! July 14th, 2008
Submitted by onion on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 00:07
Criminal Justice Center - Room 1003
1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
On Monday July 14th, the remaining Love Park 4 defendants - Jason Robbins, Tom Keenan and Jared Schultz - are scheduled for a court date in Philadelphia Municipal Court, 1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
Call for Solidarity with Counter-G8 Protesters in Japan
Submitted by onion on Sun, 07/06/2008 - 16:15
This latest action comes after weeks of repressive activity on behalf of the police and government. Activists throughout Japan have been arrested at demonstrations and in their homes, often on "technical" charges, such as not registering a change of address. Overt surveillance of activists, academics and reporters has been taking place for months, and with some local activists for years. International conference participants and protesters have been interrogated for hours at the border and many have been denied entry into the country without warrant. The legal team sees this as a violation of people's right to freely exchange ideas.
"What we have witnessed in the streets of Sapporo is part of an ongoing and escalating campaign to suppress the movement for real democracy in Japan," said Marina Sitrin, professor and member of the National Lawyers Guild, a US based human rights organization that is a part of the No! G8 Legal Team.
Jury says Michael Ellerbe was shot intentionally by PA State Troopers: Awards $28 Million to Family
Submitted by rosa on Thu, 05/29/2008 - 03:46
By Andalusia Knoll
When State Troopers in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, killed 12-year-old Michael Ellerbe in 2002, his family along with neighbors and members of People against Police Violence, launched a campaign to bring those responsible for his death to justice. They demanded answers; why was an unarmed 12-year-old black boy shot in the back as he was running away from state troopers?
Despite strong community pressure a state inquest found the officers innocent. If the case ended there, Ellerbe would have joined the ranks of the 2000+ others whose lives were cut short by U.S. law enforcement officers who are rarely held responsible for their deaths.
Michael Hickenbottom, Ellerbe’s father, unsatisfied with a ruling of innocence, filed a civil suit against the troopers. On March 11 2008, more than five years after Ellerbe’s death, a Jury in federal court ruled that Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Samuel Nassan and Corporal Juan Curry used excessive force and intentionally shot Michael Ellerbe. The jury awarded more than $28 million dollars in punitive and compensatory damages.
Justice Denied: A Political Decision that Cannot Be Allowed to Stand
Submitted by rosa on Thu, 05/29/2008 - 02:55
written by Michael Schiffmann for the German Network Against the Death Penalty and to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
On Thursday, March 27, the 3rd U.S. Court of Appeals decided to lift the death sentence against Mumia Abu-Jamal and deny him a new trial.
The lifting of the death sentence is a big victory for the movement against the death penalty and for the life and freedom of Mumia.
That the court denied Mumia a new trial is a bitter defeat.
The defense will now seek a decision by the full court instead of the three judge panel that handed down the March 27 decision.
MOVE 9 women denied parole
Submitted by rosa on Thu, 05/29/2008 - 02:54
By Hans Bennett
The Philadelphia Inquirer announced on April 22nd that the three remaining MOVE 9 women (Debbie Sims Africa, Janet Hollaway Africa and Janine Phillips Africa) were denied parole by the PA Parole Board. The Inquirer quotes parole board spokesperson Leo Dunn as saying that parole had been denied because the three MOVE prisoners had “minimized or denied the ‘nature and circumstances’ of the offense, ‘refused to accept responsibility’ and lacked remorse. He said the fourth reason for the rejections was the ‘negative recommendation’ by the prosecutor.”
