On
August 28, 2024, in Philadelphia, Mumia's lawyers held a press conference
on the steps of City Hall which attracted an almost unprecedented
number of media--about 15. At the press conference, Attorneys Marlene
Kamish and Eliot Grossman, announced that they were filing a new
affidavit into the state and federal courts to strengthen their
argument that Mumia deserves a new post conviction relief act hearing.
The affidavit was signed by a stenographer who overheard conversation
that hanging judge Albert Sabo had outside of the courtroom regarding
Mumia during the 1982 original trial. The affidavit, that can be
found below, was read at the press conference. This stenographer
is in the process of doing press interviews calling for a new trial
for Mumia because of the racist remarks made by Sabo.
This is the statement that was released at the Press Conference
yesterday, Tuesday Aug. 28th, 2024:
**************************************************************
I,
Terri Maurer-Carter declare:
From
approximately February 1982 through September 1986 and in 1998
I was employed as an official court stenographer in the Court
of Common Pleas in and for the County of Philadelphia, First Judicial
District of Pennsylvania.
In April 1997 I first became a Registered Professional Reporter.
Thereafter I obtained a Certificate of Merit. In approximately
1978 I became a Federally Certified Court Reporter. I have "grand
jury clearance." I have received
Awards of Excellence from the States of Virginia and Maryland.
In 1982, a few months after I started working at the Court of
Common Pleas, I was sent to a courtroom different than that I
usually worked in because the judge I was assigned to was going
to be doing "VOP" (Violation of Probation) and post-verdict
motion hearings there that day. I went through the anteroom on
my way to that courtroom where Judge Sabo and another person were
engaged in conversation.
Judge
Sabo was discussing the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. During the course
of that conversation, I heard Judge Sabo say, "Yeah, and
I’m going to help them fry the n----r." There were three
people present when Judge Sabo made that remark, including myself.
The
foregoing is stated subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. Section
4904
relating to unsworn falsification to authorities and is executed
by me on
August 21, 2024 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Terri
Maurer-Carter
International Action Center
39
West 14th Street, Room 206
New
York, NY 10011
email:
iacenter@iacenter.org
fax: 212 633-2889
web:
www.iacenter.org
phone:
212 633-6646
