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Poetic petition to Larry Krasner

By Julia Wright
May 2, 2025

Mumia Abu-Jamal

dear Larry Krasner,

we heard

you sued Elon Musk

over his corrupt million election

giveaways –

you lost

but you were on the right side

of History

 

we heard

you founded the Conviction Integrity Unit

on the model

of Archbishop Tutu’s milestone Truth and Justice Commission –

the same Bishop

who after visiting Mumia Abu-Jamal in prison

called for his immediate release

 

dear Larry Krasner

on the eve of your first election

to Philly DA

you declared Mumia Abu-Jamal’s case

epitomized all that had been corrupt

in the criminal justice system

in the city of brotherly love –

again you were historically right

 

yet over and over again

appeal upon appeal

you sent him back

to death by incarceration

in spite of exculpatory evidence

of his innocence

including the corruption

of a star prosecution witness –

uncovered after thirty six years

 

Dear Larry Krasner,

in an open letter to you

i invited you to visit

Mumia

in his prison

to shake the hand

and get to know

the man you have sentenced

and

who is revered

as one of the greatest historians

and educators

in the USA –

the invitation is still open

and

it is not too late

to be on the right side of History

yet again

 

after all

the Human Rights Committee

of the United Nations

who regularly monitors his case

alongside others

has written a letter to the U.S. government

asking that death by incarceration

as torture

be placed under moratorium*

 

after all

far away

in Burkina Faso,

young President Ibrahim Traore

took off his military uniform

and,

dressed in rags,

faked a burglary

to get himself arrested

and confined

to Kotoka Prison Fortress

to experience incognito

what prisoners

lived through day to day –

the notes he took

inspired a structural reimagining

of carceral rehabilitation

for which he will always be remembered

by his people

 

we ask of you

no disguise

no arranged arrest

merely the courage

to step into the other world

you ordained

for our Mumia – a human being

like you

Julia Wright

(c) Julia Wright. April 25, 2025. All Rights Reserved.