Annette John-Hall: Abu-Jamal case raises irrefutable race issues

It sure makes for one heck of an icebreaker whenever Christina Swarns mentions that she represents the notorious Mumia Abu-Jamal.

But Swarns didn't take on such a controversial case just to engage in holiday party chitchat.

Forget for a minute that Swarns believes in Abu-Jamal's innocence. She is just as passionate about what anti-death-penalty activists believe worldwide - that the application of the death penalty in this country is racist.

It's the reason Swarns, director of the Criminal Justice Practice for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, has done capital-case work for 15 years. And it's the reason she teamed with Judith L. Ritter, a law professor and director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at Widener University, to represent Abu-Jamal in recent appeals.

Both lawyers say District Attorney Seth Williams' decision not to pursue a death sentence against Abu-Jamal was the right thing to do. Abu-Jamal, 58, a journalist turned cause célèbre, will undoubtedly spend the rest of his life in prison.

Reluctant agreement

The family of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner probably thinks life is too good for Abu-Jamal, though Faulkner's widow, Maureen, reluctantly stood in agreement with the district attorney as he made his announcement last week.

Still, I agree with Swarns and Ritter. Considering the mess made of the circus that was Abu-Jamal's trial - the evidence of racial bias, instances of evidence contamination, jury suppression - the defendant deserves another day in court.

"I know Mumia didn't have a fair trial, but we're focused right now with making sure he gets off of death row," Ritter says.

No matter what side you come down on, here's one fact that's irrefutable: Every research study available shows that when it comes to capital-punishment cases, being black almost always influences the likelihood of death.

Race matters

Swarns, 43, a graduate of the Penn law school, said she realized how much race mattered during the seven years she worked on appeals in the capital unit of Philadelphia's Federal Community Defender Office.

"It was impossible for me not to be struck by the sea of black men coming through the system," she says. "I knew, as a black person, that black people weren't that bad. It stuck in my gut that something was fundamentally wrong."