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Mumia will be 70 on April 24th, 2024. Prison ages you. The lack of enough exercise, a healthy diet and adequate medical care is directly linked to failing health. Trauma only adds to the risk. Mumia was shot by police, lived on death row for three decades, and survived two death warrants. This combined with the losses of Samiya 'Goldii' Davis Abdullah, his daughter, and just over a year ago, the loss of his wife of 42 years Wadiya Jamal makes Mumia’s health precarious.
Mumia needs your solidarity now more than ever.
His diet is still not heart healthy and we must continue to advocate for cardiac rehabilitation. Mumia told me that exercise is still very limited: “Today they shut down the yard after 15 minutes because snow started falling and the wind was biting so the shift commander shut it down.” As we are talking about outdoor exercise, Mumia noted that only a handful of folks go out. Prior to Covid and the prison lockdowns, there were hundreds of guys in the yard.
Before 2021, everyone had the chance to walk to the cafeteria and congregate, but now all the food is taken on trays to each cell. They locked everyone down for 72 hours last week because a water main broke. Recently SCI Mahanoy banned walking in the day room. So when Mumia buzzes out to the day room, it is a room he is forbidden from walking in. Prison officials have parked an elliptical there, but the machine has no outlet near it. Mumia can use it because he “bought an adapter in Huntingdon over 25 years ago. He explained “I am geeky, and kept it.” But, every single other prisoner is out of luck, as the machine will not work without power. Mumia is one among many lifers who are being subject to, as he says, “slow death row” and “Death by Incarceration” (DBI).
Yesterday, I pushed open the heavy metal doors, after being buzzed through, and walked down the cold long hall to the visiting room with Natalie, a woman who was visiting for the first time. She had not seen her brother in 23 years. Freddy, 52 years old, is serving a life sentence and has metastasized cancer with just months to live. He received a terminal diagnosis after being in severe pain and misdiagnosed. This is all very rough, but we are not alone.
Join us as we advocate for Mumia and all of the people inside, for justice and freedom. Take a moment to honor the connection Mumia shares with us, by continuing to take action, and by giving when you can.
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