On Dec. 3, Pres. Obama granted nine pardons, the first since he took
office, absolving the recipients of various offenses. All those who
received clemency were convicted of minor crimes at least a decade ago
and a majority had never been incarcerated.
This is an insult to
political prisoners such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier, the Cuban
Five and the Angola Three. It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt
that none of these men is guilty. However, Obama apparently finds it
more urgent to grant clemency to people like Ronald Foster, who was
convicted of “mutilating coins” in 1963, than to these internationally
renowned freedom fighters.
Poor and working people receive no
justice under this racist legal system. Rather than guaranteeing
fairness, it functions to protect capitalism and silence those who stand
up to oppression. As these absurd pardons show, working-class people
must organize a militant movement to win freedom for the wrongfully
imprisoned instead of relying on politicians
