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12/8/98
To 20/20:
I understand that you plan to air a one-sided and biased story on death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. As you are no doubt aware, there is a growing world-wide movement of human rights advocates demanding that Mumia's execution be stopped and that he receive a new trial.

In his trial, Mumia was poorly defended, not given enough funds for an adequate investigation and the jury was improperly selected. Further, there is new overwhelming evidence that Mumia was framed and is not Officer Faulkner's killer. The Pennsylvania court system maneuverings have never allowed this evidence to be heard in a court of law.

Mumia has spoken and written about police corruption and brutality for over 30 years. He has done so in an articulate and thoughtful manner. Mumia is a powerful and exceptionally talented writer who is deeply loved by those who know his work.  It is easy to understand why the Fraternal Order of Police is engaged in such a hateful and vindictive campaign against him. It is easy to believe that he has been framed for a crime he did not commit by law enforcement and the judicial system which protects it.

The average American knows nothing about this case because it has received almost no coverage in the mainstream, corporate-owned media. To present only the prejudiced police version is cruel and will undoubtedly contribute mightily to the police-sponsored movement for Mumia's immediate execution. This is an extraordinary thing to do to a fellow journalist regardless of your political opinions.

I demand that you postpone coverage of this case until you can interview Mumia or his attorney Leonard Weinglass. As you know, they will not be interviewed during a labor strike. This refusal should give you some idea of depth of their moral standards.

Mumia is a journalist who has spoken the disturbing truths of the underclass for his entire professional life despite the tremendous and lethal consequences to him and his family. If Mumia can be legally killed for writing the truth, all journalists risk their lives in their work.

I urge you to educate yourselves on this case by visiting Mumia.org.

Karen Saari, Head Researcher
Stolen Lives Project
Send e-mail to: kmsaari@wco.com

1. I resent being characterized as "duped." Please don't feel sorry for me. I am well-educated and intelligent and can think for myself, thank you. I have followed the case quite closely for some time. Quite frankly, no one knows the facts because of the maneuverings by the Pennsylvania legal system.

2. Your piece was not an example of fair-minded or objective reporting. Donaldson handled the utterly pathetic and vengence-driven Maureen Faulkner, the FOP and Joe McGill with reverance while nearly ridiculing Mike Farrell, Ed Asner and Leonard Weinglass. McGill got minutes on screen with his "friend" Sam Donaldson while Weinglass got sound bites overlayed with Donaldson's skeptical expression. Give me a break! Your editing made the defense look bad, not the facts.

4. There are serious questions about the state's case which were not addressed by this "in depth" report:

Mumia's confession:

• 1) The cop's memory lapse excuse is simply not believable.
  2) Interestingly, the "repressed memory" surfaced shortly after Mumia filed a brutality complaint.
  3) Mumia's doctor that night said he was with him the whole time and that Mumia never made a confession.
  4) Lastly, Mumia was simply too experienced with the judicial system to make a confession in those circumstances.

Neither the brutality complaint nor the doctor's statement were mentioned in the ABC story. It seeems amazing to me that in a 4-month investigation, you missed these critical points . . .

Eyewitnesses:

• 1) There are several witnesses (Veronica Jones, Debbic Kordansky, Robert Chobert, William Singletary) who originally reported seeing one man or two men running away from the scene.
  2) Several eyewitnesses (Jones, Chobert and Singletary) changed their stories about the man or men fleeing and one (Chobert) named Mumia as the shooter at the trial when pressured to do so by police.
  3) Another of the state's eyewitnesses (Pamela Jenkins) has since come forward to say she was pressured by the police to testify that Mumia was the shooter even though they knew she was not at the scene that night.
  4) Two years ago the state produced false documents contending that another state eyewitness (Cynthia White) had died. She had been seen recently by the defense investigators.

These crucial points were not mentioned on 20/20.

The gun:

• 1) Mumia was never tested that night to determine if he had fired a gun.
  2) Mumia's gun was not tested to see if it had been fired.

20/20 did not mention these points. This is a remarkable lapse on the part of the police investigators but a clever thing to do in a frame up.

The bullet:

• 1) The fatal bullet was originally reported to be a .44.
  2) The .38 bullet now in evidence has a fragment missing (evidence "lost" by the police) and it is not possible to tell without the fragment if it was fired from Mumia's gun.

These points were not brought up by 20/20.

The trial:

• 1) Mumia had an incompetent attorney whom the judge refused to replace.
  2) The defense was given a paltry $1500 for investigation services.
  3) The defense was not told about another person at the scene until 1995!
  4) Mumia was removed from the room during a considerable portion of the trial.
  5) The judge who heard the trial also heard the appeals.
  6) The judge who heard the case is well-known as the "hanging judge" and is considered to be grossly incompetent by many jurists and has been removed from the bench.

None of these gross injustices were addressed by 20/20.

5. All of these points suggest a frame-up. And if Mumia really was the shooter, why would the state have to go to such lengths to frame him?

6. Philadelphia has one of the worst records of police brutality and corruption in the nation. Mumia has written and spoken out about this for 30 years. The possibility that he has been framed for a crime he did not commit in retribution for his journalistic work was completely overlooked by 20/20. For so-called responsible journalists to fail to make this connection is unfathomable.

7. I believe that Mumia is innocent of the charges (as he has stated several times). There are, however, many Mumia supporters who have not come to a conclusion on his guilt or innocence. This is hardly the position of people who have been duped by propaganda. They are calling for a halt to the execution and for a new trial because there is so much controvery over the evidence, the witnesses and the way the trial was handled.

In conclusion, I think 20/20 is really 60/40. I am disgusted. I intend to boycott all Disney (the corporate owner of ABC) products until ABC presents Mumia's side in a respectful manner. ABC can be respectful without believing in Mumia's innocence.  I will urge my friends to join me in a Disney boycott.

Karen Saari, Head Researcher
Stolen Lives Project
Send e-mail to: kmsaari@wco.com.