On Wednesday, December 7th, Philadelphia's District Attorney's Office announced that it will not pursue the death penalty in the case of Mumia Abu Jamal.  Earlier this year, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that because of unclear instructions delivered to the jury in Mumia Abu Jamals sentencing trial years ago, Mumia Abu Jamal should be allowed a new sentencing-phase trial or be sentenced to life-behind bars without the possibility of parole.

In the wake of this partial victory for Mumia Abu Jamal and his supporters, Dr. Johanna Fernandez, assistant professor of history at Baruch College of the City University of New York and member of Educators for Mumia Abu Jamal, speaks to "On The Block Radio" about the significance of the decision and what the next steps are in Mumia Abu Jamal's fight for his freedom.

On today's show.

 Pennsylvania Prison Report Headlines: 

The Pennsylvania Prison Report is produced by the Human Rights Coalition.  For complete transcripts of the PA Prison Reports, go to www.hrcoalition.org. 
________________

Feature Story: Prisoner Hunger Strike Resumes in California

On September 26, 2012, prisoners in California resumed a hunger strike that had been suspended at the end of July after receiving statements by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that prison officials will meet some of prisoners' demands. 

The hunger strike was initiated in the middle of this past summer in protest of what prisoners have described as the cruel and unusual conditions endured by inmates in the state's prisons.  According to Laura Magnani, a member of the team mediating on behalf of prisoners with CDCR officials last summer, while some positive movement by CDCR officials has been made in the last few months in meeting the intial demands of inmates, "it is painfully slow for people who have lived under conditions of torture for years, and often decades in California's prison system.  While the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation tries to paint the prisoners as nothing more than 'dangerous gang members,' we see this strike as a courageous effort to work across all cultural and ethnic divisions through time-honored non-violent actions." 

Isaac Ontiveros of the Prisoners Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, reports that based on accounts from family members and confidential sources for the Coalition, the strike resumed on last Monday with 6000 prisoners taking part.

"On the Block" speaks with Isaac Ontiveros about the recent developments.

On the heels of Mayor Nutter's address at a West Philadelphia church in which he spoke out against recent waves of youth striking out violently at folks walking down the street and gang robbing stores, a diverse group of Philadelphia residents sat down to share their perspectives on what has been described by some as "flash mobs" and by others as youth uprisings.

The roundtable participants were:

Keturah Caesar.
Activist and organizer of the Philadelphia Coalition of the Heart and the Hip Hop Party for the People.

Tommy Joshua.
Organizer and executive director of Beats, Rhymes and Life: Hip-Hop Multimedia and Mentoring Program.

Diop Olugbala.
Philadelphia's independent mayoral candidate for 2011.

Dr. Charles Williams.
Professor of education at Drexel University and director of the Center for the Prevention of School-Aged Violence.

Dessi.
An urban youth and a member of Beats, Rhymes and Life: Hip-Hop Multimedia and Mentoring Program.

 Jaquel.
An urban youth and a member of Beats, Rhymes and Life: Hip-Hop Multimedia and Mentoring Program.