Live from death row

Mumia Abu-Jamal on the phone with his defense counsel Robert Bryan. from ECPM on Vimeo.

The 180 members of the public who had gathered to view the film Manners of dying had an opportunity to witness a discussion between Mumia Abu-Jamal and his lawyer Robert Bryan.

The film screening organized Tuesday evening at Maison des arts du Grütli by the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights saw a phone discussion with the famous American death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal – 15 minutes live from death row.

“ It was a very moving moment live from death row,” a member of the audience said. “Thanks for the privilege we had to discuss with him,” another person added. The emotion was palpable among the public.

“Mumia doesn’t feel like a symbol of the anti-death penalty campaign,” said Robert Bryan. Today, Barack Obama can make the difference, he continued, referring to a petition to the US president already signed by 17,000 people.

According to Bryan, the death penalty is a privilege reserved for the poor, but it is also a public finance issue. “If it is more expensive to execute somebody than to send them jail for an entire life, why not use this money for education, for instance ?», he asked.

For more information about Mumia Abu jamal, and to sign the international petition, please visit http://www.mumialegal.org/

Source: World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Feb. 25, 2010

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