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Revision as of 18:58, 13 August 2002 by AxelBoldt (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)On December 9, 1981, the white Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner was shot to death, and in the same incident, a black man, Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook), was shot in the chest. On July 3, 1982, Abu-Jamal was convicted of Faulkner's murder and sentenced to death.
Abu Jamal was arrested in Philadelphia at 4 AM with a pistol registered in his name at his side. Abu Jamal's brother, William Cook, had been pulled over by Faulkner for driving the wrong way on a one-way street with his lights out. Abu Jamal, who was driving a cab at the time, happened on the scene. Both Abu Jamal and Faulkner were shot in an ensuing struggle.
His case has become a popular cause and many supporters have called for either a new trial or his release from prison. The widow of Daniel Faulkner and the Fraternal Order of Police believe that Abu Jamal killed the officer while he was engaged in a legal, justified arrest.
Abu Jamal's supporters claim that the trial was unfair. In addition to a conventional criminal defense, Abu Jamal raised many political issues in his trial.
Points raised in his appeals, or by his supporters, include:
- Incompetent representation who was later disbarred - allowed only $150 to interview witnesses.
- only one Black person on a 12 person jury
- A hanging judge with a reputation for death sentences - Judge Albert F. Sabo has sentenced more men to die (31 to date, only two of them white) than any other sitting judge in America. Called a "defendant's nightmare" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, a fellow judge once called his courtroom a "vacation for prosecutors" because of bias toward convictions.
- conflicting testimony and missing witnesses
Abu Jamal's conviction has been upheld in both state and federal courts. In December 2001, a federal judge affirmed his murder conviction but ordered that Abu-Jamal should either receive a new sentencing hearing or have his sentence commuted to life in prison because of an error by the trial judge in presenting rules of sentencing.
Before his conviction, Abu-Jamal was an up-and-coming journalist in Philadelphia. He was president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, called "one to watch" by Philadelphia magazine. He began his journalism career with the Black Panther Party and was also a prominent supporter of the black nationalist group MOVE.
Since his imprisonment, Abu-Jamal has continued his political activism, publishing Live from Death Row, a book on life inside prisons, as well as making frequent commentaries on left-wing radio shows.
External Links
- www.danielfaulkner.com, one of the few web sites presenting the case against Abu Jamal. Includes refutations of many defense assertions and articles on the 2001 affirmation of the conviction.
- The Case of Mumia Abu Jamal, by Terry Bisson from New York Newsday, 1995
- Supporters of Mumia Abu-Jamal as listed by the Fraternal Order of Police
- Transcripts of Mumia Abu Jamal's 1981 trial.
- Live from Death Row, HarperTrade 1996) ISBN 0380727668