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This analysis interrogates Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Live From Death Row to argue that unlike traditional personal narratives or memoirs, the diverse series of vignettes in Abu-Jamal’s most famous publication provoke readers to grapple not solely with his lived experiences on death row or the lived experiences of his fellow inmates; they also call for readers to confront the damming moral, social, and economic impact of mass incarceration on society at large. His internal account of prison life, therefore, depicts the inmates of Pennsylvania’s Huntingdon County prison not as moral aliens but as human beings and what early New England execution sermons describe as “common sinners.” More specifically, Abu-Jamal’s arguments linking the “free” with the condemned work on two basic levels. First and foremost, they illuminate the ways we all share a common history of racism by implicitly revealing the connections between slavery, Dred Scott, Plessey v. Ferguson, Jim Crow, the civil rights movement, McCleskey v. Kemp, and the ideological prejudices that still permeate and influence our legal, political, and social systems today. Thus, given Abu-Jamal’s compassionate internal account of prison life; his analysis of the all-to-frequent harsh realities of our justice system; as well as his common-sense plea for reform, this analysis contends that Live From Death Row continues to speak with more contemporary works like Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, Netflix’s 13th, Angela Y. Davis’ Are Prisons Obsolete?, and Abolition Now!. Numbers have changed; policies have evolved; voices of opposition have heightened; yet the lockup continues, making Abu-Jamal’s cry for reform and humanity as essential as ever.

Lives From Death Row: Common Sinners and Current Pasts