"On October 16, alongside attorney Noel Hanrahan, I went to see the country's best-known political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal. A jury, who were told that Abdul-Jamal's political writings could be used in determining guilt, sentenced the former Black Panther to death in 1982 for the murder of Daniel Faulkner, a Philadelphia police officer. It's not just committed radical campaigners but organizations like Amnesty International that believe his trial and conviction were a sham and are calling for his case to be reopened."
"For Abu-Jamal to meet us and celebrate some good news means that he has to endure a full-body cavity search. This is a precondition for all prisoners before and after visits. No exceptions. A 71-year-old Abu-Jamal is not exempt due to his age or stature as an "old head." The meeting room, where all the family, friends, and lawyers of these incarcerated men gather, resembles a high school cafeteria complete with vending machines against the walls."
"In the visitor room, the guards keep one eye firmly on Abu-Jamal. Until recently, he could only pretend to stare back. Now he can. That's because for nine months, Abu-Jamal, the author of 15 books, was blind. To restore his sight, he needed a five-second laser cataract surgery. Yet it took a legal battle and protests at the prison gates for him to receive the procedure. The problem wasn't just being unable to read or see more than light colorful blobs."
On October 16 at the State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy, visitors met with Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was sentenced to death in 1982 after a jury heard his political writings could be used against him. Organizations including Amnesty International regard the trial and conviction as illegitimate and seek reopening. Abu-Jamal has been incarcerated for 44 years and remains politically vocal despite being on "slow-motion death row." Prison protocols require full-body cavity searches before and after visits with no age exemptions. Abu-Jamal experienced nine months of blindness and required a five-second laser cataract surgery obtained only after legal battles and protests.
Read at The Nation
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