LAPD admits to framing innocent people

A Commentary by Mumia Abu Jamal

Reactionary California Proposition 21 Targets Oppressed Nation Youth


At the end of January, Los Angeles police chief Bernard Parks
called for the district attorney to dismiss 53 criminal cases "en
masse" because of evidence that police officers framed the
accused.(1) The district attorney has said as many as 3000 cases
may need to be reviewed in the wake of revelations by former
police officer Rafael Perez.(2) As we reported earlier, Perez is
testifying about cops lying and planting evidence to get
convictions or justify use of deadly force as part of a deal to
shorten his sentence for stealing eight pounds of cocaine from a
police property room. (3) According to Parks, at least three
people who were wrongly convicted are still in prison.

Perez' revelations are extraordinary only for the fact that they
became public. Even leading cops and judges admit how common pig
perjury is. "Joseph McNamara, former chief of police in Kansas
City, Missouri and San Jose, has said he believes hundreds of
thousands of police officers tell... lies in court every year...
Conservative U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski
has called this kind of police perjury widespread and described it
as 'an open secret long shared by prosecutors, defense lawyers and
judges.'"(4) This is why MIM calls ALL convictions in
Amerikan courts into question and would move faster than Parks to
dismiss a hell of a lot more than 53 cases.

Parks and the district attorney place the preservation of the
power and prestige of an utterly corrupt institution ahead of
righting wrongs. They "concede the small justice in order that the
greater injustice may continue." We are glad to see some wrong
verdicts overturned, but at the same time, our disgust with this
system and resolve to have done with it is strengthened by the
realization that there are likely hundreds of thousands of others
still in prison because of police lies.

Notes:

1. Los Angeles Times, 27 January 2000.

2. Los Angeles Times, 15 December 1999.

3. MIM Notes 197, 1 November 1999.

4. Los Angeles Times, 31 December 1999




In a few moments we will bring you a commentary by Mumia Abu 
Jamal. Mumia is a Black Nation revolutionary fighting for his life 
on Pennsylvania's death row. Mumia was framed for the murder of a police officer because 
he is an outspoken opponent of Amerikan imperialism.  With Mumia's access to the media limited, 
this commentary is read by the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League.

[All Things censored cd, track 27 judge bruce wright :37]

[MAJ Censorship CD Track 8 7:03]


Reactionary California Proposition 21 Targets Oppressed Nation Youth

Known as Proposition 21, the "Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime
Prevention Act of 1998" will be put before California voters on
March 7. The proposition aims to break down the juvenile justice
system and make it easier on all counts to get juveniles into
adult prisons, serving adult sentences and carrying adult criminal
records. According to the state's analyst, passing the proposition
would require building more than $1 billion in new jails and
prisons in California,(1) in a state where the budget for prisons
already exceeds the budget for all higher education.

Prop 21 gives the authority to try juvenile cases in adult courts
to district attorneys, rather than judges, as is the law now. It
also "requires adult trial for juveniles 14 or older charged with
murder or specified sex offenses."(1) According to one critic of
the measure, under the current arrangement, when prosecutors
request a waiver to adult court, California judges support them
about 80% of the time.(5) So the proposition would essentially
codify (and worsen) current practice.

MIM Notes has previously reported on studies proving that
prosecutorial waiver of juveniles to adult court does not reduce
the juvenile crime rate.(2) And according to a new study by the
same group, the Justice Policy Institute, "black, Latino and
Asian teens are much more likely to be tried in adult court and
sentenced to prison than are white offenders who commit the same
crimes."(3)

Compounding the assault on oppressed nation youth in particular
are the Prop 21's provisions to increase criminal penalties for
so-called "gang" membership. If prosecutors can prove a crime was
committed by a gang member (and gang is defined by prosecutors and
police very broadly), than they can prosecute any member for
conspiracy, regardless of their involvement in any particular
crime.

Dan Macallair from Justice Policy Institute explains it this way:

QUOTE "... if a youth is sitting at home watching TV and two friends are
arrested for car theft, the youth can be charged and imprisoned
for conspiracy. The provisions for youth gang involvement are so
far-reaching that any group of three or more youths can be called
a gang and prosecuted."(4) END QUOTE

And Prop 21 aims to increase prison terms for gang-related crimes
from anywhere from two to ten years on top of the original
sentence. In the case of murder, if prosecutors can prove a gang
affiliation, juveniles will be eligible for the death penalty. The
proposition "also makes it easier to prosecute crimes related to
gang recruitment, ... allows wider use of 'wiretaps' against known
or suspected gang members, and requires anyone convicted of a
gang-related offense to register with local law enforcement
agencies."(1)

One of the worst, most vicious elements of Prop 21 is the
provision to reduce the dollar amount defining "felony vandalism"
from the current $50,000 to $400. This could translate into state
prison time for tagging, for example, or any action that an
insurance company could put a $400 price on. Worse, such low-level
"offenses" could become "strikes" in California's infamous "three
strikes and you're out" mandatory minimum prison sentences.
According to Macallair:

"The initiative also seeks to extend the "three strikes" law to
more children by categorizing common schoolyard assaults as the
equivalent of adult gun robberies. In other words, a child who
gets arrested for taking lunch money from a classmate on two
occasions and then is later arrested for possession of marijuana
will potentially be subject to a mandatory 25-years-to-life adult
prison sentence."(4)

Join us in exposing this reactionary law for what it is: an
assault on oppressed nation youth. And most importantly, join MIM
in building support for revolutionary struggle to overturn
imperialism which systematically oppresses Amerika's internal
colonies.

Notes:

1. http://vote2000.ss.ca.gov/VoterGuide/Propositions/21.htm

2. MIM Notes 197, November 1 1999.

3. Los Angeles Times, 29 January 2000.

4. San Francisco Chronicle, 10 January 2000.

5. Los Angeles Times, 1 February 2000.