Live from Death Row
Encyclopedia
Live from Death Row, published in May 1995, is a collection of memoirs by American
death row
inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal
. Publishers Addison-Wesley
gave Abu-Jamal a $30,000 advance for the novel, prompting Maureen Faulkner, the widow of Daniel Faulkner
, the Philadelphia Police Officer whom Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering, to hire a plane to fly over the company's headquarters trailing a banner that read "Addison-Wesley Supports a Cop Killer", an invocation of Pennsylvania
's Son of Sam law
, and promoted a boycott of Addison-Wesley by the Fraternal Order of Police
. Abu-Jamal's essays were finally published after National Public Radio backed out of an agreement, due to pressure from the Fraternal Order of Police and Senator Bob Dole
, to broadcast his writings on All Things Considered
, an act he referenced with the title of his 2000 book All Things Censored.
. Utilizing numerous references to law and court cases, he relegates the Dred Scott ruling as still relevant; he believes blacks are still far from free denoting Nelson Mandela
's plight. He expresses a dislike for William Rehnquist
's conservative slant and Sandra Day O'Connor
's "Rehnquistian" dissent in Penry v. Lynaugh
, allowing the execution of the mentally retarded. He mocks Lewis Powell
's dismissal of statistical evidence of racial discrimination in capital sentencing in McCleskey v. Kemp
and his dissent in which he states "McCleskey's claim, taken to its logical conclusion, throws into serious question the principles that underlie our entire criminal justice system". He also mentions Harry Blackmun
's vote in Gregg v. Georgia
that ruled the death penalty constitutional
and his later dissent in Callins v. Collins in which he states "from this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death ... I feel morally and intellectually obligated simply to concede that the death penalty experiment has failed".
A former Black Panther
, Abu-Jamal recalls some of his past experiences with the organization, his one-time role as bodyguard for Huey P. Newton
, whom he regards as a hero, the feuding between the Newton-led west coast and the Eldridge Cleaver
-led east coast and, ultimately, its demise. He mentions his protest of a George Wallace
rally with three other black teens, their subsequent beatings at the hands of white attendees, and his mistaken appeal for help to a police officer who, instead, kicked him in the face while he was on the ground.
He also frequently references the MOVE
organization, its founder John Africa, and the battle of May 13, 1985 which he compares to the raid at Waco
. He also mentions the trial of Rodney King
, the succeeding riots in Los Angeles, and his belief that the involved officers each had their constitutional right of double jeopardy
violated by putting them on trial twice.
system; in an additional end section titled "Musings, memories, and prophecies", Abu-Jamal discusses past events in his life and he remembers some prominent blacks in America. He delves into the purported purpose of prison finding it hard to believe that "corrections" and deterrence
are its true goals using the policy to block education of inmates and the psychological problems caused by isolation and non-contact visits as support for his argument of an ulterior motive, to "erode one's humanity". He describes the procedures of death row blocs where twenty-plus hour solitary confinement
is offset by a few hours of recreation and exercise "outside" on penned in plots of land and minimal conversations with fellow inmates often regarding their attempts at appeal and their battles with the law. He details two suicide
s of fellow inmates, one by hanging and one death caused by self-inflicted burns, and the drugging of inmates to make them more sedate even at the expense of one epileptic's health. He reports the interactions between "urban" prisoners and "rural" guards in which prisoners are subject to brutal beatings, cavity searches, racial harassment, and human rights violations after insurgencies.
In addition to prison conditions, he discusses social issues and their relevance to prison. He expresses dismay towards "three strikes" mandatory sentencing
and politicians using "tough on crime" slogans as political gateways offering the fact that the United States has the most incarcerated individuals in the world. He hints at racial discrimination, as proposed in the McCleskey v. Kemp case, by reciting statistics on America's death row population in comparison with America's population by race; the numbers are not proportional. He then looks at the elements of the judicial system, believing it is subject to racism; he mentions the choosing of "peer
s", often white jurors who are pro-death, as jury members and expert witnesses who suppress or distort evidence to suit the criminal justice
system. He also explores the topic of uneven justice with examples of police officers being acquitted with compelling evidence against them and, more often than not, guards receiving minimal, if any, punishment for inappropriate actions against prisoners.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death. He has been described as "perhaps the world's best known death-row inmate", and his sentence is one of the most debated today...
. Publishers Addison-Wesley
Addison-Wesley
Addison-Wesley was a book publisher in Boston, Massachusetts, best known for its textbooks and computer literature. As well as publishing books, Addison-Wesley also distributed its technical titles through the Safari Books Online e-reference service...
gave Abu-Jamal a $30,000 advance for the novel, prompting Maureen Faulkner, the widow of Daniel Faulkner
Daniel Faulkner
Daniel J. Faulkner was a police officer in the American city of Philadelphia who was shot and killed in the line of duty. Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of first-degree murder for the shooting and sentenced to death...
, the Philadelphia Police Officer whom Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering, to hire a plane to fly over the company's headquarters trailing a banner that read "Addison-Wesley Supports a Cop Killer", an invocation of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
's Son of Sam law
Son of Sam law
A Son of Sam Law is any American law designed to keep criminals from profiting from the publicity of their crimes, often by selling their stories to publishers. However, this is not in the same manner of asset forfeiture, which is intended to seize assets acquired directly as a result of criminal...
, and promoted a boycott of Addison-Wesley by the Fraternal Order of Police
Fraternal Order of Police
The Fraternal Order of Police is an organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It claims a membership of over 325,000 members organized in 2100 local chapters , organized into local lodges, state lodges, and the national Grand Lodge...
. Abu-Jamal's essays were finally published after National Public Radio backed out of an agreement, due to pressure from the Fraternal Order of Police and Senator Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
, to broadcast his writings on All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
, an act he referenced with the title of his 2000 book All Things Censored.
Context
Historically, Abu-Jamal references many important events of relevance to the standing of blacks in AmericaUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Utilizing numerous references to law and court cases, he relegates the Dred Scott ruling as still relevant; he believes blacks are still far from free denoting Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
's plight. He expresses a dislike for William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
's conservative slant and Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
's "Rehnquistian" dissent in Penry v. Lynaugh
Penry v. Lynaugh
Penry v. Lynaugh, , sanctioned the death penalty for mentally retarded offenders because the Court determined executing the mentally retarded was not "cruel and unusual punishment" under the Eighth Amendment...
, allowing the execution of the mentally retarded. He mocks Lewis Powell
Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr.
Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He developed a reputation as a judicial moderate, and was known as a master of compromise and consensus-building. He was also widely well regarded by contemporaries due to his personal good manners and...
's dismissal of statistical evidence of racial discrimination in capital sentencing in McCleskey v. Kemp
McCleskey v. Kemp
McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 , was a United States Supreme Court court case, in which the death penalty sentencing of McCleskey for armed robbery and murder was upheld...
and his dissent in which he states "McCleskey's claim, taken to its logical conclusion, throws into serious question the principles that underlie our entire criminal justice system". He also mentions Harry Blackmun
Harry Blackmun
Harold Andrew Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. He is best known as the author of Roe v. Wade.- Early years and professional career :...
's vote in Gregg v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia, Proffitt v. Florida, Jurek v. Texas, Woodson v. North Carolina, and Roberts v. Louisiana, 428 U.S. 153 , reaffirmed the United States Supreme Court's acceptance of the use of the death penalty in the United States, upholding, in particular, the death sentence imposed on Troy Leon...
that ruled the death penalty constitutional
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
and his later dissent in Callins v. Collins in which he states "from this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death ... I feel morally and intellectually obligated simply to concede that the death penalty experiment has failed".
A former Black Panther
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
, Abu-Jamal recalls some of his past experiences with the organization, his one-time role as bodyguard for Huey P. Newton
Huey P. Newton
Huey Percy Newton was an American political and urban activist who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.-Early life:...
, whom he regards as a hero, the feuding between the Newton-led west coast and the Eldridge Cleaver
Eldridge Cleaver
Leroy Eldridge Cleaver better known as Eldridge Cleaver, was a leading member of the Black Panther Party and a writer...
-led east coast and, ultimately, its demise. He mentions his protest of a George Wallace
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
rally with three other black teens, their subsequent beatings at the hands of white attendees, and his mistaken appeal for help to a police officer who, instead, kicked him in the face while he was on the ground.
He also frequently references the MOVE
MOVE
MOVE or the MOVE Organization is a Philadelphia-based black liberation group founded by John Africa. MOVE was described by CNN as "a loose-knit, mostly black group whose members all adopted the surname Africa, advocated a "back-to-nature" lifestyle and preached against technology." The group...
organization, its founder John Africa, and the battle of May 13, 1985 which he compares to the raid at Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
. He also mentions the trial of Rodney King
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
, the succeeding riots in Los Angeles, and his belief that the involved officers each had their constitutional right of double jeopardy
Double jeopardy
Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction...
violated by putting them on trial twice.
Synopsis
Told as anecdotes, most of Live from Death Row details the prisonPrison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
system; in an additional end section titled "Musings, memories, and prophecies", Abu-Jamal discusses past events in his life and he remembers some prominent blacks in America. He delves into the purported purpose of prison finding it hard to believe that "corrections" and deterrence
Deterrence (legal)
Deterrence is the use of punishment as a threat to deter people from committing a crime. Deterrence is often contrasted with retributivism, which holds that punishment is a necessary consequence of a crime and should be calculated based on the gravity of the wrong done.- Categories :Deterrence can...
are its true goals using the policy to block education of inmates and the psychological problems caused by isolation and non-contact visits as support for his argument of an ulterior motive, to "erode one's humanity". He describes the procedures of death row blocs where twenty-plus hour solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
is offset by a few hours of recreation and exercise "outside" on penned in plots of land and minimal conversations with fellow inmates often regarding their attempts at appeal and their battles with the law. He details two suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
s of fellow inmates, one by hanging and one death caused by self-inflicted burns, and the drugging of inmates to make them more sedate even at the expense of one epileptic's health. He reports the interactions between "urban" prisoners and "rural" guards in which prisoners are subject to brutal beatings, cavity searches, racial harassment, and human rights violations after insurgencies.
In addition to prison conditions, he discusses social issues and their relevance to prison. He expresses dismay towards "three strikes" mandatory sentencing
Mandatory sentencing
A mandatory sentence is a court decision setting where judicial discretion is limited by law. Typically, people convicted of certain crimes must be punished with at least a minimum number of years in prison...
and politicians using "tough on crime" slogans as political gateways offering the fact that the United States has the most incarcerated individuals in the world. He hints at racial discrimination, as proposed in the McCleskey v. Kemp case, by reciting statistics on America's death row population in comparison with America's population by race; the numbers are not proportional. He then looks at the elements of the judicial system, believing it is subject to racism; he mentions the choosing of "peer
Peer group
A peer group is a social group consisting of humans. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer group often have...
s", often white jurors who are pro-death, as jury members and expert witnesses who suppress or distort evidence to suit the criminal justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
system. He also explores the topic of uneven justice with examples of police officers being acquitted with compelling evidence against them and, more often than not, guards receiving minimal, if any, punishment for inappropriate actions against prisoners.
- Political-Rock band, Rage Against the MachineRage Against the MachineRage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
is observed as a heavy supporter of Abu-Jamal. Singer, Zack De La RochaZack de la RochaZacarías Manuel "Zack" de la Rocha is an American rapper, musician, poet, and activist best known as the vocalist and lyricist of Rage Against the Machine.-Early life and childhood:...
has spoken to Congress condemning the U.S. government's treatment of him. Guitarist Tom MorelloTom MorelloThomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...
visited Abu-Jamal and has interviewed him. - Political Hip-Hop artist Immortal TechniqueImmortal TechniqueFelipe Andres Coronel , better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics...
featured Abu-Jamal on his second album Revolutionary Vol. 2Revolutionary Vol. 2Revolutionary Vol. 2 is the second album released by rapper Immortal Technique and is a follow-up to his debut album, Revolutionary Vol. 1.Revolutionary Vol...
. - The Punk Band Anti-FlagAnti-FlagAnti-Flag is a punk rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States, formed in 1988. The band is well known for its outspoken political views. Much of the band's lyrics have focused on fervent anti-war activism, criticism of United States foreign policy, corporatism, U.S. wealth...
has a speech from Mumia Abu Jamal in the intro to their song "The Modern Rome Burning" from their 2008 album "The Bright Lights of America". The speech is actually on the end of their track "Vices" which precedes "The Modern Rome Burning."