Voyager Publishes Mumia Abu-Jamal

July 5, 1995--Voyager announced publication of the next title in its acclaimed First Person series: Mumia Abu-Jamal--Live from Death Row. Other titles in the series include Stephen Jay Gould--On Evolution, Marvin Minsky--The Society of Mind and Donald Norman--Defending Human Attributes in the Age of the Machine. Set for release on August 1, the CD-ROM will include video-taped interviews with Mumia Abu-Jamal, the text of his book Live from Death Row (published by Addison Wesley), and audio commentaries by Jamal, some of which have already aired on radio stations throughout the country. First Person: Mumia Abu-Jamal--Live from Death Row will be available for both the Windows and Macintosh platforms with a suggested retail price of $29.95.

Additionally, through the use of RealAudio technology, Voyager will broadcast Jamal's audio commentaries on its World Wide Web site http://www.voyagerco.com along with regular installments of his essays. A recent development by Progressive Networks, RealAudio makes sound transmissions on the Internet immediately available, without the delays caused by downloading.

Mumia Abu-Jamal speaks with uncommon passion and clarity about the lives of African-Americans, the death penalty, political censorship, racism in the judicial system, and the vast increase in America's prison population. Known as the voice of the voiceless, he writes from an incredibly dark place with humanity, intelligence, and wit. His even-handed observations sadden and disturb. Alice Walker calls him "a rare and courageous voice speaking from a place we fear to know," and says, "Mumia Abu-Jamal must be heard."

Jamal writes:

"America is revealing a visage stark with harshness. Nowhere is that face more contorted than in the dark netherworld of prison, where humans are transformed into nonpersons, numbered beings cribbed into boxes of unlife, where the very soul is under destructive onslaught."

An award-winning journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal is a former president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Black Journalists, a former member of the Black Panther Party, and a supporter of the MOVE organization. He has been on death row for thirteen years, accused of the murder of a Philadelphia policeman. On June 1 Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge signed Mr. Jamal's death warrant, setting his execution for August 17, 1995 at 10:00 PM. From the beginning, Jamal has proclaimed his innocence. His attorneys have recently filed a lengthy appeal that calls into question all of the evidence used by his prosecutors and the conduct of the presiding judge at the trial. Many individuals and organizations, calling for a new trial, believe that he has been jailed and condemned to death because of his political beliefs.

On June 8, 1995 Amnesty International stated that "During the sentencing phase of the trial, and in its closing arguments to the jury, the prosecutor appears to have overtly used Mumia Abu-Jamal's past political beliefs and affiliations with the Black Panther Party in his successful efforts to persuade the jury to impose the death penalty." They called on Pennsylvania authorities to commute the death sentence.
On June 5, Human Rights Watch recognized Mumia Abu-Jamal with a Hellman/Hammett grant, awarded to writers under political persecution. Other recipients this year included writers from Nigeria, Algeria, China, Vietnam, and Iran, many of whom are in exile. In their statement, Human Rights Watch objected to "prison authorities' denial of interviews with Jamal" and to legal moves to block publication of his work.
The National Black Police Association has issued a statement of support for Mumia Abu-Jamal, citing his case as an example of racial inequalities in the judicial system. They write, "Over the last decade, appellate courts have refused to recognize Jamal's human and constitutional rights and [have] let stand his conviction and death sentence."
On April 13, on behalf of its 2,800 members, the writers' advocacy group Pen International wrote the Governor of Pennsylvania asking him to "prevent Mr. Abu-Jamal's execution," registering "serious doubts as to the fairness of his trial" and noting that reports of an unidentified man leaving the scene of the crime "do not seem to have been adequately investigated."

Voyager is proud to present such a significant voice on issues of great immediacy and relevance.

Based in New York, Voyager is a publisher of high-quality interactive media, with over 300 titles in its catalog. Voyager cultivates and maintains close relationships with authors, artists, filmmakers and educators who want to express their ideas using electronic media, and collaborates on the development of new forms, most recently the World Wide Web. Recent titles include Laurie Anderson's Puppet Motel, Art Spiegleman's The Complete Maus, Shakespeare's Macbeth, and the award-winning Who Built America? First Person: Mumia Abu-Jamal will be available for purchase from selected bookstores and software outlets or directly from Voyager.

Contact:
Braden Michaels (Voyager Company)
tel: 212-431-5199
fax: 212-431-5799
e-mail: michaels@voyagerco.com
Voyager Web pages/order the CD

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