Courts are supposed to be about finding the truth. And when a witness comes forward to tell the truth and correct a past injustice, that should be a cause of celebration. But in Philadelphia, that will get you arrested.
On October 1, 1996, Veronica Jones had come to court to testify that she has lied in the original sham trial of Mumia Abu-Jamal in 1982, and had withheld vital evidence because of police coercion.
No sooner was she sworn in than Judge Sabo proceeds to threaten her with seven years in prison for perjury. "Seven years for each count," chimed in Assistant District Attorney Arlene Fisk. And, it didn't matter which version of the story was true! If she gave two conflicting versions under oath, she would be guilty of perjury.
It was a heavy moment for Veronica. She had struggled against all the odds to raise her now grown daughters who were in the courtroom with her. She was a single parent with a criminal record and had worked as a prostitute to put bread on the table. She wanted to do the right thing, and was now being told that if she did, punishing her was the priority of the court - not finding the truth.
Sitting in a cell awaiting trial on a robbery charge back in 1982, Veronica was visited by two police detectives. She had been on the street the night that Mumia and Officer Faulkner were shot, and she had told detectives that she heard shots, looked around the corner, and saw two Black men jogging away. This fact was written in the report of her interview.
But this was very inconvenient for the police. They wanted to pin the shooting of Officer Faulkner on Mumia, and so evidence of others fleeing the scene now needed to be "disappeared." The detectives offered Veronica a deal she couldn't refuse. She was 21 years old with three small daughters. They told her she was facing five to ten years in prison - five to ten years separated from her young children. She might lose custody of them entirely.
They offered a way out, however. If she would simply alter her testimony, things would go a lot better for her. So at Mumia's trial Veronica changed her testimony, and denied seeing two men run away. She lied, and was then given probation on the charges against her. Now, 14 years later, she had come into court to set the record straight.
This time Veronica did not give in to the threats and coercion. She testified about the two men she saw running from the scene. And in the cross examination, no detail of Veronica's life was spared, down to the details of who she was living with, how much she had been behind in her rent, how much welfare she used to get, her criminal record, and even the name of the street where she lived.
Sabo and the prosecutor were furious. To expose the police is an unpardonable sin in Philadelphia. At the end of Veronica's testimony, D.A. Fisk called two New Jersey police officers into the courtroom. They identified Veronica as a missing woman wanted on a two-year-old bench warrant for missing a court date. The warrant was for a different name, but Sabo ordered Veronica taken into custody immediately. She was arrested on the witness stand for testifying in defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal!
With the support of people all over the country, Veronica's bail money was raised in a matter of minutes. She returned to court after her release to sit proudly with Mumia's supporters. The entire episode was a stunning exposure of the collusion of the court and the prosecution to suppress the truth and railroad Mumia.
Make October 1996 a National Month of Resistance! Refuse the politics of cruelty! To the racists and women-haters, to the gay-bashers and welfare slashers, to the prison builders and executioners, we say: THE FUTURE IS NOT YOURS!
Send letters of support to Veronica Jones through your local Free Mumia Coalition or through Refuse & Resist! - http://www.refuseandresist.org/
Arm yourself with the truth. Get the full set of Mumia Fact Sheets from your local Free Mumia Coalition or from Refuse & Resist!
Download a PDF file of this Fact Sheet use Adobe Acrobat to print a 300 dpi repro quality version to a PostScript printer.
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