Now the state of Pennsylvania is about to execute an outspoken black journalist who never received a fair trial and had no criminal record before his arrest. In 1995, revelations of police brutality, corruption and the framing of innocent people resulted in 300 criminal convictions being thrown out and many innocent victims set free. The United States last month was placed on Amnesty International's list of human rights violators because of police brutality, violations committed against people in detention and increased executions. Labor and minorities share a common history of being victimized by the criminal justice system in this country. For many outside the prison walls, Jamal has become an articulate spokesman and a courageous symbol from death row of the struggle against a repressive system.
Organized labor has the power to defend victims of injustice.
By following the example of West Coast longshore workers, labor can be stay the executioner's hand and win freedom for an innocent man. Jack Heyman is an executive board member of the San Francisco longshore union.