Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 August 1999 — Page 6
PAGE A6
THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
FRIDAY, AUGUST 13,1909
Unusual proof that Abu-Jamal confession claim is false!
By LINN WASHINGTON It’s a lie! The damning confession by Mumia Abu-Jamal trumpeted recently in mainstream media has self-destmcted, ironically at the hands of the man who claimed he . heard the admission from the mouth of America’s most celebrated death row inmate. Phillip Bloch claimed AbuJamal told him that he killed a Philadelphia policeman during a prison interview the pair had in the winter of 1992. But Bloch sent a letter to AbuJamalin July 1993endorsing AbuJamal’s consistent claims of innocence. Bloch's three-page letter discussing his personal accomplishments and philosophical views ends with Bloch saying, “When you get a new trial -1 think there is a good chance of acquittal.” It is highly unlikely that Bloch would beg Abu-Jamal to believe that “it is possible to get justice” months after hearing him confess. Abu-Jamal found this handwritten letter in his files recently and provided a copy to his supporters and two reporters for the Philadelphia Tribune. Abu-Jamal has consistently stated that Bloch’s confession claim is a lie. “Why would he write (this letter) to me over six months after my “confession” to him? The answer is simple. There was no confession. By his own words he proves he is a liar,” Abu-Jamal stated in a recent essay written from death row entitled, “Anatomy of the Lie.” The handwriting in this 1993 letter is identical to the handwriting in a letter Bloch recently sent to a Philadelphia Tribune reporter. The similarities in handwriting plus the inclusion in the letter of a personal artifact from Bloch negate claims that Abu-Jamal forged the ’93 letter. This letter from Bloch is a major embarrassment to supporters of Abu-Jamal’s immediate execution who touted the confession as
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additional proof of Abu-Jamal’s guilt in the 1981 killing of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. Philadelphia’s police union, the FOP and Philadelphia’s DA’s • ffice immediately endorsed Bloch’s confession claim following its coverage in Vanity Fair magazine and on ABC’s “20/20.” Bloch told Faulkner’s widow, Maureen, that Abu-Jamal had confessed to him, and she connected him with Vanity Fairand “20/20.” Mrs. Faulkner and the FOP are allies waging a propaganda war against Abu-Jamal’s worldwide support movement. This letter from Bloch is also a major embarrassment to prominent mainstream media journalists, including ABC’s Sam Donaldson, who dutifully followed Mrs. Faulkner’s wishes and reported the Bloch claim without conducting basic background reporting. Bloch says he was a Pennsylvania Prison Society volunteer when Abu-Jamal confessed to him in 1992. However, the Society terminated Bloch overa year before this alleged conversation with AbuJamal. The Society released Bloch for violating its regulations, including his repeated breach of inmate confidentiality. Philadelphia Tribune reporter Milton McGriff, who broke the Bloch letter story, was the onlv reporter to contact the Prison Society to check on B loch ’ s credibi Iity. McGriff performed this basic bit of reporting, which was ignored by so-called top ranked reporters like Donaldson and Pulitzer Prize winning writer Buzz Bissinger, author of the Vanity Fair article. Abu-Jamal blasted this lapse by White journalists. “In a startling departure from journalistic standards, not a single newspaper or so called news show bothered to check (Bloch’s) tale with me, nor to check him out with the Pennsylvania Prison Society,” Abu-Jamal stated in “Anatomy.”
National News
Black farmers protest land loss on Aug. 10 (NNPA) — John Boyd Jr, president of the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA), will led a delegation of farmers and supporters to protest Black land loss from discrimination by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Aug. 10 in Washington, DC. “[USDA] Secretary D$n Glickman must be held accountable along with his employees — civil rights director, farm service agency undersecretary, and office of general counsel for civil rights — who are further depriving Black farmers of their land in USDA inventory and processing of Black farmer complaints who have opted out of the class action lawsuit. “This is the last Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. We will not enter the new millennium without our land,” Boyd said. Call (804) 580-9089. CBCF hosts annual legislative conference Sept. 15-18 (NNPA) — The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc. (CBCF) will hold its 29th Annual Legislative Conference Sept. 15-18 in the District of Columbia’s Washington Convention Center. The theme is ‘Tools for 2000: Planning Our Work - Working Our Plan.” “For 29 years, CBCF has brought together some of the country’s most influential leaders to chart the course for Black America during our conference,” said Eva Clayton
MARK YOUR CALENDAR The Greater Indianapolis Branch NAACP FREEDOM FUND LIFE MEMBERSHIP DINNER Thursday, September 9, 1999 At the Murat Centre 501 N New Jersey • Lower Level Guest Speaker Lieutenant Governor, State of Indiana JOSEPH KIRNAN lor more information Call: 236-8992 or 631 1395 ext: 268
One Tribune writer revealed in a July 20, 1999 column that the secured visiting cubicle where B loch claimed the confession conversation occurred contained hidden microphones. Abu-Jamal did not talk freely during visits because of eavesdropping by prison authorities using the hidden microphones. The forces pushing for AbuJamal’s execution immediately embraced Bloch because they desperately need a credible confession claimant. Pro-execution forces hoped that Bloch could become their new poster boy. Bloch was anon-Phila-delphian. He was a fresh face who claimed to be both a friend of Mumia’s and a death penalty opponent. There were serious problems with the credibility of the previous four persons who claimed they heard Abu-Jamal confess. Typical of mainstream media coverage of the Mumia Abu-Jamal controversy, white journalists rarely report the serious problems surrounding previous confession claims. Two policemen claimed hearing Abu-Jamal confess on the day of the murder but neither reported this critical evidence for two months. This dud did not remember the alleged confession until they were being questioned about a police brutality complaint filed against them by Abu-Jamal. Most media reports brush over the absurdity of two veteran policemen - friends of the slain officer - simply forgetting a confession from the mouth of the prime suspect. Earlier this year the Philadelphia district attorney’s office admitted that it included inaccurate accounts of confession claims in legal papers submitted to appellate courts. White media also ignored this unprecedented admission of DA error reported by McGriff. Abu-Jamal, in the “Anatomy” essay, stated, “By this episode [Bloch] has proven how truly low trash journalism can go.” *
(D-NC), chair of the CBCF. “The ALC is a four-day event which includes a series of issue forums, workshops and congressional braintrusts convened by the members of the Congressional Black Caucus. There are also six major fund-raising events which support our four national educational programs and public policy research.” Registration will gain access to the following events: the CBCF chair’s reception, jazz concert, national town hall meeting; and CBC braintrusts and issue forums. Pre-registra-tion payments must be postmarked by Aug. '13 and should be sent to: Post Office Box 15670, Washington, DC 200030670. Call (800) 784-2577 or visit: cbcfonline.org Members of Congress participate in housing summit (NNPA) — About 500 people participated in the recent Southeastern Regional Summit on Housing and Wealth Accumula- * tion in Charlotte, N.C. entitled “Raising the Roof: Home Buying Strategies for the 21st Century.” Sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), participants explored various obstacles and opportunities for homeownership. Also, a campaign was lauhehed to generate one million new African-American homeowners by the year 2005. In response to the campaign, Fannie issued a $500,000 grant to the CBCF. “This starts the process of bringing together people from different areas of interest and expertise — mortgage lenders, potential home buyers, housing advocates, church and community leaders — to find ways to make real the American Dream of homeownenhip,” said Rep. Eva Clayton (D-NC).