Mumia Abu-Jamal (IPA: /ˈmu.mi.ɑː ə.buʔ dʒə.mɑːl/); (born Wesley Cook on April 24,
1954[3]) is a
former Black Panther Party activist, cab driver, author, and journalist from
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
convicted for the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. He is serving a presently undefined sentence of imprisonment
at State Correctional Institution - Greene near Waynesburg, Pennsylvania in
consequence. Originally sentenced to death, that sentence was quashed and resentencing ordered in December 2001 by a judge of the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Both he and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have appealed the ruling alternately as to the appropriateness of affirming
the conviction and that of disaffirming the validity of the original sentence.
His acknowledged cause célèbre has received international attention. Supporters and
human rights campaigners variously assert that he is innocent, that the incident in question was a setup, that he did not receive
a fair trial, and/or express their opposition to the possibility of the
administration of the death penalty. Skeptics and opponents assert that he is guilty,
that he received the benefit of due process and was legitimately convicted of murder.
Execution proponents among these assert that under Pennsylvania law, his eventual judicial execution is warranted and mandated by
the nature of his crime.[4][5][6]
The attention received has spawned controversies surrounding naming of public places; his status as an honoree of municipal,
educational and civil society organizations; and his engagement as a radio commentator, writer and commencement speaker. During
the period of his imprisonment he has continued his activism as a spoken word commentator and as a published author of several
works - most notably Live from Death Row.
Early life, activism, journalism career
Born Wesley Cook, he was given the name Mumia in 1968 by his high school teacher, a Kenyan instructing a class on African
cultures in which students took African classroom names.[1] He formally adopted the name appending Abu-Jamal as his choice of surname after the birth of his
son Jamal from his first wife on July 18, 1971[1][7] "Mumia" is Luhya language in origin. Abu-Jamal means "father of
Jamal" in Arabic. He has expressed his religious beliefs, which follow no denomination,
in his poetry book "Death Blossoms", wherein he continually expresses a belief in a Mother God who coexists with all male
religious understandings and which he chooses to refer to by the name of "Mama".[8]
In his writings he has described his adolescent experience of "being kicked into the Black Panther Party" through suffering a
beating at the hands of white racists and police at the same time as being charged with assault for his efforts to disrupt a
George Wallace for President rally in 1968.[9] The following year he helped form Philadelphia’s branch of the Black Panther Party[10], taking appointment as its chapter Lieutenant Minister of Information exercising a responsibility
for authoring propaganda and news communications.[11]
It was also the year that he dropped out of Benjamin Franklin High
School and took up residence in the branch's headquarters.[10] Spending the winter of 1969 in New York and the spring of
1970 in Oakland, he lived and worked with BPP comrades in those cities.[12] He was a Party member for the period from May 1969
until October 1970 and was subject to some degree of FBI
COINTELPRO surveillance during that time as well as afterwards continuing through until about
1974.[13]
A first marriage, to Biba when he was aged 19, proved to be short-lived.[14] He fathered Lateefa by her in 1973 and Mazi by his second wife in 1978. Mazi’s mother is Marilyn
Cook a.k.a. "Peachie".[7] He commenced living with
his third and current wife, Wadiya, while separated from Peachie prior to the events that resulted in his incarceration.[15]
After leaving the Panthers he returned to high school, was elected the president of the student body, then expelled because of
his actions in leading protests to change the school name to Malcolm X High.[9] Once attaining his GED for a number of
semesters thereafter he studied at Goddard College in rural Vermont and acquired some
broadcasting industry experience at its student radio station, WGDR.[9][16]
By 1975 he was pursuing a vocation in radio newscasting, first at Temple University's
WRTI and then at commercial enterprises.[9][7] In 1975 he was
employed at radio station WHAT and he became host of a weekly feature program of
WCAU-FM in 1978.[17] He
was also employed for brief periods at radio station WPEN.[17] From 1979 he worked at WUHY public radio
station until 1981 when he was asked to submit his resignation pursuant to a dispute about the requirements of objective focus in
his presentation of news.[17] As a radio journalist
he was renowned for identifying with and giving exposure to the MOVE anarcho-primitivist commune in Philadelphia's Powelton Village neighborhood including reportage of the 1979-80 trial of
certain of its members (the "MOVE Nine") charged with the murder of police officer James Ramp.[18] He predicted that their commune would be attacked, and in 1985 the MOVE house
was indeed firebombed by police during a stand-off between MOVE members and city officials - killing 11 people and destroying an
entire row of houses.[19] At the time of the killing of
Daniel Faulkner, Abu-Jamal worked as a taxicab driver for the United Cab Company in Philadelphia.[20][11]
He was at that time also the outgoing President of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists[21] and had been working part-time concurrently as a reporter for WDAS, at that time a negro-oriented and minority-owned radio
station.[17]
Murder, arrest, trial
-
- See also: Mumia Abu-Jamal legal
proceedings
In the early hours of December 9, 1981, around 3:51 a.m.,
Philadelphia Police Department officer Daniel Faulkner was shot and killed during an altercation that ensued from a routine traffic stop of a
vehicle driven by William Cook, Abu-Jamal's younger brother.[22] The following sequence of events was presented in
evidence by the prosecution before the jury at his trial[22]:
- During the traffic stop, Cook assaulted Faulkner, who in turn attempted to subdue Cook.
- Abu Jamal emerged from a nearby parking lot and shot Faulkner in the back.
- Faulkner was able to return fire, seriously wounding Abu-Jamal.
- Abu Jamal then advanced on Faulkner, fired some additional shots at close range, one of which struck Faulkner in the face
causing his death.
- Abu Jamal was unable to flee due to his own gunshot wound, and was taken into custody by other police officers, who had been
summoned by Faulkner at the time of the traffic stop.
In Abu-Jamal's possession was a .38 caliber revolver that records showed he had purchased
in 1979. The cylinder of the revolver had five spent cartridges. He was taken directly from the scene of the shooting to a
hospital and was treated for his injury. Witnesses, including a security guard working at the hospital, stated that while
Abu-Jamal was receiving medical treatment, he acknowledged that he shot Daniel Faulkner. He was charged with first-degree murder. He initially retained the services of criminal defense attorney Anthony Jackson. In May 1982
he announced that he would represent himself, with Jackson continuing to act as his legal advisor. The judge initially acquiesced
to this but, in time, reversed his attitude of acceptance citing the effect of Abu-Jamal's deemed "disruptive" behavior in the
court.[23]
Philadelphia City Hall, shown in 2006
Abu-Jamal repeatedly and vociferously dissented from accepting the judge's rulings on points of law to the extent that he was
removed from representing himself and it was ordered that Jackson resume the role of acting as his sole advocate.[22] In all Abu-Jamal was removed from the courtroom at least
13 times during the course of the legal proceedings and trial by reason of what the judge deemed to be intentionally disruptive
actions on his part.[24] The case went to trial in June
1982 at Philadelphia's City Hall.[11]
Prosecution witnesses at trial
Four eyewitnesses to the shooting were produced by the prosecution:
- Robert Chobert, a cab driver;
- Michael Scanlon, a businessman who had been visiting from out of town on the night of the killing;
- Cynthia White, a prostitute who was later revealed to be a police informant;
- Albert Magilton, a pedestrian
These witnesses testified to the effect that they were at the scene at the time of the shooting, and each identified Abu-Jamal
as the person who shot Daniel Faulkner. [22]
Controversion of prosecution witnesses
While Cynthia White testified to witnessing the shootings from a nearby corner, Dessie Hightower has stated that he observed
her to be at least half a block further away.[25] Prostitute Veronica Jones testified at trial that she had been offered favorable treatment
by police on condition that she corroborate Cynthia White.[25] White is acknowledged to have been a police informant and to have received police
protection in her illegal prostitution activity both before and after she identified Abu-Jamal as a murderer. She is presently
presumed deceased.[26] In her declaration of
28 January2002 Yvette Williams affirms to having been
incarcerated with Cynthia White in December 1981 and being told by her that she had not even seen who shot Daniel Faulkner and
that she had entirely fabricated a witness account identifying Mumia Abu-Jamal out of fear of the Philidelphia police.[27] Police informant Pamela Jenkins testified at a post-conviction relief hearing on June 26, 1997, that she had been pressured by Philadelphia police offers to
falsely state that she had witnessed the killing of Daniel Faulkner and could identify Mumia Abu-Jamal as the murderer. She also
testified that she knew Cynthia White to be in fear of her life from police in the period after the shooting of Daniel Faulkner
and before the trial of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and that she claimed to have found Ms White in the company of some Philadelphia police
as recently as March 1997 - being some years subsequent to the date of her presumed death.[28]
Robert Chobert originally told police that the shooter had run away.[29] In his September 25, 2001
affidavit private investigator George Newman describes that under interrogation Robert Chobert had recanted the aspect of his
testimony that his taxi had been parked directly behind Daniel Faulkner's police car as well as the assertion that he had
witnessed a person firing bullets into the body of Daniel Faulkner as the latter lay prone on the ground.[30]
Hospital bed confession claim
The prosecution presented three additional witnesses: security officer Priscilla Durham and two members of the Philadelphia
Police Department, who testified that while Abu-Jamal was being treated for gunshot wounds he had at least once or even twice
proclaimed, "I shot the motherfucker, and I hope the motherfucker dies."[31][32] Other witnesses are
recorded as having reported that Abu-Jamal was completely unconscious during the time that he was reported to have uttered
it.[33] The original report of Gary Wakshul, a police
officer who confirms to having accompanied Abu-Jamal throughout the entire period of his arrest and medical treatment, relates
that "the negro male made no comments". Wakshul elsewhere later stated that he witnessed Abu-Jamal's utterance of the "hospital
bed" confession on the night of the killing, such statement being made almost three months after the arrest and upon the occasion
when the prosecutor met with police seeking to test the evidence about Abu-Jamal's alleged utterance of it. He is recorded as
having reasoned that he "didn't think the confession was important" at the time he wrote his original report.[29] Judge Albert F.
Sabo did not permit the trial jury to receive Gary Wakshul's original report as evidence.[22]
Defense witnesses at trial
A number of witnesses made statements - either to police on the scene or in court testimony or both - describing the fact of
one or more men running along the street shortly after the shooting.[34] At trial, the defense presented statements made by four of these witnesses: Deborah Kordansky,
Robert Chobert, Veronica Jones, and Dessie Hightower.[22] This became known as the "running man theory", based on the possibility that a "running man" may
have been the actual shooter. Of those witnesses, only Chobert averred to actually witnessing the shooting. He testified that
shortly after the shooting he had told police that he had seen Abu-Jamal shoot Daniel Faulkner in the face, and that Abu-Jamal
had then run a short distance and collapsed on the sidewalk - himself having also been shot by Faulkner. In other words,
Chobert's testimony was that Abu-Jamal himself was the running man.[22] The remaining three witnesses made various statements about a man or men running in or away from
the area. None of them claimed that the running man, or men, were involved in the shooting.[22]
The defense also presented nine character witnesses[32] including poet Sonia Sanchez. Sanchez
testified that Abu-Jamal was "viewed by the black community as a creative, articulate, peaceful, genial man." During cross
examination the prosecution raised the issue of her association with convicted felon and Black Panther activist Joanne Chesimard; Sanchez was also asked over defense objections whether she supported other blacks who
had killed police.[35]
Witnesses not called at trial
- See also: Mumia Abu-Jamal legal
proceedings#New witnesses
Abu-Jamal did not testify in his own defense. Regarding this he has explained:[36]
"At my trial I was denied the right to defend myself. I had no confidence in my court-appointed attorney, who never even asked
me what happened the night I was shot and the police officer was killed; and I was excluded from at least half the trial. Since I
was denied all my rights at my trial I did not testify. I would not be used to make it look like I had a fair trial."
He did not state his version of events for the initial police investigation, nor for almost another 20 years afterwards until
subsequent to his third set of lawyers offering the 1999 affidavit of Arnold Beverly.
Beverly purported to confess that he was in fact the person who had shot Daniel Faulkner as part of a contract killing connected
with a desire to keep Faulkner from interfering with graft and payoff to corrupt police.[37] Abu-Jamal's May 2001 sworn statement avers that he had been sitting in his cab
across the street when he first heard shouting, then saw a police vehicle, then heard the sound of gunshots. It further asserts
that, upon seeing his brother standing in the street staggering and appearing disoriented he ran across the street to him and was
shot by a uniformed police officer. It also incorporates Abu-Jamal's claim to have been tortured by the police while he was still
in need of medical assistance for his wounds. It concludes with his claim of innocence: "I never said I shot the policeman. I did
not shoot the policeman. I never said I hoped he died. I would never say something like that."[36]
For a similar period, William Cook also did not testify or make any statement whatsoever about events other than his utterance
at the crimescene, "I ain't got nothing to do with this."[38] On April 29, 2001, Cook belatedly
authored a declaration to the effect that he would be willing to testify and that both he and his brother "had nothing do with
shooting or killing the policeman". The statement inculpates Kenneth Freeman as being
armed with a .38 caliber firearm, present in Cook's vehicle passenger seat immediately prior to the confronation with Daniel
Faulkner, wearing a green army jacket of a fashion described by as many as four witnesses observing those present at the scene,
and admitting to planning to kill Daniel Faulkner and participating in his shooting.[39] Freeman's handcuffed and naked corpse was discovered in a vacant lot in North
Philadelphia the day after the police bombing of the MOVE communal residence in 1985 and neither
his name nor the fact of his presence at the crimescene was raised at any stage during the course of the trial and sentencing in
1982.[40] At the time of his death, Daniel Faulkner was
in possession of the replacement temporary driver license of Arnold Howard which the
latter had recently "loaned" to Freeman for unspecified purposes.[41] [42]
Several others made statements that supported Abu-Jamal's case. William Singletary has stated that he directly witnessed the
entire incident and that he would be willing to testify that Abu-Jamal was not the gunman.[43] Singletary's post-conviction review hearing testimony of August 11, 1995 described that police tore up two of his written statements and
that he was prevailed upon to sign a different statement which they dictated.[44] William Harmon, a pimp in 1981, testified in an August 1996
post-conviction relief hearing that he had seen a man other than Mumia Abu-Jamal execute Daniel Faulkner and flee in a car which
pulled up at the crimescene.[35] Court stenographer
Terri Maurer-Carter stated in an affidavit of August 2001 that in the presence of herself and two others the presiding Judge had
exclaimed, "Yeah, and I'm going to help them fry the nigger," [45] regarding Abu-Jamal's case shortly before the start of the trial.
On April 24, 2003, Kenneth Pate, the step-brother of Priscilla
Durham, swore a declaration incorporating the following relevant content:
I read a newspaper article about the Mumia Abu-Jamal case. It said Priscilla Durham had testified at Abu-Jamal's trial that
when she was working as a security guard at the hospital she heard Abu-Jamal say that he had killed the police officer. When I
read this I realized it was a different story from what she had told me. ... [when I asked her] ... "Did you hear him say that?"
[she] answered, "All I heard him say was: 'Get off me, get off me, they're trying to kill me'".[46]
Pate reported that the conversation occurred "sometime around the end of 1983 or the beginning of 1984", while he was in the
same prison as Abu-Jamal. His affidavit was released during another period in which both he and Abu-Jamal were housed in the same
prison - a time postdating the death of Ms Durham. Pate's affidavit has been tendered as evidence by Abu-Jamal’s lawyers to the
U.S. Court of Appeals in 2006.[47]
In corroboration of the four prosecution eyewitnesses, Robert Harkins testified on August
2,1995,that he had witnessed a man stand over Daniel Faulkner as the latter lay wounded on the ground, who shot him
point-blank in the face and who then "walked and sat down on the curb."[48] [49]
Physical evidence
A .38 caliber handgun Abu-Jamal had purchased to defend himself as a cab driver in 1979 was found at the scene next to him,
containing 5 spent shell casings.[50][51] Coroner Dr. Paul Hoyer, who autopsied
Daniel Faulkner, recorded in the examining report that he extracted a .44 caliber bullet
noting "shot w/ 44 cal". He later testified to the effect that his description of it had been a "rough guess" based on his own
observations, that he was not a firearms expert and that he had not received any training in weapons ballistics.[52][53] Tests performed with the available physical evidence verify that Daniel Faulkner was killed by a
.38 caliber bullet. The extracted slugs identified as Federal brand .38 Special [[+P]] bullets with hollow bases. It may be noted that the hollow base in a +P bullet is
distinguishable from Federal ammunition otherwise used at that time.[54] The type, brand, and caliber of the extracted bullets all match those of the shell casings obtained
from Abu-Jamal's Charter Arms revolver which was retrieved at the scene. That manufacturer
is known for rifling the barrels of their revolvers with eight lands and grooves in a right-hand direction of twist -
characteristics also evident on the bullet fragments extracted from Daniel Faulkner's body. Anthony L. Paul, Supervisor of the
Firearms Identification Unit, testified at trial that he could name two other manufacturers "right off the bat" which produce
weapons bearing the exact same rifling characteristics of pattern and twist direction.[55] Experts testified that the bullet taken from Abu-Jamal had been fired from
Daniel Faulkner's service weapon. George Fassnacht, a ballistics expert proferred by the defense, did not dispute any of the
findings of the prosecution's weapons and ballistics experts.[32]
Amnesty International has made reference to the physical evidence to the extent
of expressing their view that there was:
".. a lack of adequate ballistic tests to determine whether [Abu-Jamal's]
gun had recently been fired. It was not determined, for instance, whether there was residue on his hands from firing a
gun."[4]
In a 1995 hearing, another defense ballistics expert testified that due to Abu-Jamal's struggle with the police during his
arrest, such a test would have been difficult to accomplish and, due to the gunpowder residue possibly being shaken or rubbed
off, would not have been scientifically reliable.[56]
Verdict, death sentence, and reactions
The jury delivered a guilty verdict after five hours of deliberations.[11] In the sentencing phase of the trial Abu-Jamal read to the jury from a prepared statement and was
then sworn and cross-examined about issues relevant to the assessment of his character by Joseph McGill, the prosecuting
attorney.[57][32] In addressing his statement Abu-Jamal criticised his attorney as a "legal
trained lawyer" who was imposed on him against his will who "knew he was inadequate to the task and chose to follow the
directions of this black-robed conspirator, [Judge] Albert Sabo, even if it meant ignoring my directions." He claimed that all
his rights had been "deceitfully stolen" from him by the Judge, particularly focusing on the denial of his request to receive
defence assistance from John Africa and his being prevented from proceeding pro se. He quoted
remarks of John Africa and declared himself "innocent of these charges".[58]
"Free Mumia" parking garage stencil with "Cop killer"
graffito.
Abu-Jamal was subsequently sentenced to death by the unanimous decision of his jury[59] on July 3, 1982.[32] The date of the sentence is
recorded as May 25, 1983.[3] Judicial execution in Pennsylvania is by means of lethal injection and would occur at the State Correctional Institution - Rockview.[42] District Attorney Lynne
Abraham, who at times has supervised aspects of the Abu-Jamal case, is on record stating that the matter of the death of
Daniel Faulkner was the "most open-and-shut murder case" she'd ever tried,[60] and that Abu-Jamal:
"Never produced his own brother, who was present at the time of the murder, (yet) he has offered up various individuals who
would claim that one trial witness or another must have lied; or that some other individual has only
recently been discovered who has special knowledge about the murder; or that someone has fallen out of the skies, who is
supposedly willing to confess to the murder of Officer Faulkner."[61]
Appeals and legal developments
-
-
-
1983 - 1999 State appeals
Direct appeal of his conviction was considered and denied by the Supreme Court
of Pennsylvania on March 6, 1989,[62][59] subsequently denying rehearing. On October 1, 1990, the Supreme Court of the United States denied his
petition for writ of certiorari,[63] and his petition for rehearing twice up to June
10,1991.[64][32]
On June 1, 1995 his death
warrant was signed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.[32] Its execution was suspended while Abu-Jamal pursued state post-conviction
review,[65] the outcome of which was a unanimous decision
by six judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on October 31, 1998 that all issues raised by him were without merit.[66] The Supreme Court of the United States denied the petition for certiorari against that decision on
October 4, 1999,[32] enabling Governor Ridge to sign a second death warrant on October 13, 1999.[32] Its execution in turn was stayed as Abu-Jamal commenced his pursuit of federal habeas corpus review.
2001 Federal ruling directing resentencing
Judge William H. Yohn Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania voided the sentence of death on 18 December2001 citing "irregularities" in the original process of sentencing.[32]
Particularly,
"When the jury instructions and verdict sheet employed in Jamal’s case are considered, it becomes apparent that there is a
reasonable likelihood that the jury has applied the . . . instruction [and form] in a way that prevents the consideration of
constitutionally relevant evidence, regarding the existence of any named mitigating circumstances."[32]
He ordered the State of Pennsylvania to commence sentencing proceedings anew within 180 days[67] and ruled that it was unconstitutional to require that a jury's finding of the existence of circumstances mitigating against
determining a sentence of death be restricted to unanimous findings with respect to exclusive discrete categories of those
factors defined in advance.[68] Eliot Grossman and
Marlene Kamish, attorneys for Abu-Jamal, criticised the ruling on the grounds that it denied the possibility of a
trial de novo at which they could lead evidence to establish their case that their client
had been the subject of a frameup.[69] Both parties
appealed.[70][71]
2005 Federal higher appeal
On December 6, 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit admitted four issues
for appeal of the ruling of the United States District Court:[72][73]
- in relation to sentencing, whether the jury verdict form had been flawed and the judge's instructions to the jury had been
confusing
- in relation to conviction and sentencing, whether racial bias in jury selection
existed to an extent tending to produce an inherently biased and unprofessional jury and therefore an unfair trial (the
Batson claim)
- in relation to conviction, whether the prosecutor improperly attempted to reduce jurors' sense of responsibility by telling
them that a guilty verdict would be subsequently vetted and subject to appeal
- in relation to post-conviction review hearings in 1995-6, whether the presiding Judge - who had also presided at the trial -
demonstrated unacceptable bias in his conduct.
May 12, 2007, concert performance as part of a
Free Mumia demonstration in Germany
On March 17, 2006, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania filed its
appeal seeking to reinstate the sentence of death. Governor Ed Rendell has pledged to sign a
third execution warrant should the appeal be upheld in that regard.[70][71] On October 23, 2006, Abu-Jamal's counsel filed their reply brief. They asked the
Third Circuit Court to reverse the prior ruling on the basis that it would be the "only remedy .. available to correct ..
injustice and excessive bias that .. denied [him] a fair trial".[74] The Third Circuit Court heard oral arguments in the appeals on May
17, 2007, at the United States Courthouse in Philadelphia.[75] The appeal panel consisted of Chief Judge Anthony Joseph Scirica, Judge Thomas Ambro, and Judge
Robert Cowen. Maureen Faulkner traveled from Southern California to be in attendance.[76] Abu-Jamal's attorneys sought to obtain a new trial, while the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania challenged Judge Yohn's ruling insofar as it had presumed to invalidate the outcome of the original sentencing
procedure.[77]
Life as a prisoner
Writings, broadcasts, and intellectual pursuits
Since imprisonment, Abu-Jamal has continued his political activism, publishing Live from Death Row, a book on life
inside prisons, and other works during the more recent years of his incarceration. As Live from Death Row proved to be a
bestselling publication which raised substantial funds for the benefit of himself and his defence, he was punished with 30 days
solitary confinement for "engaging in the business or profession of journalism"
without authority and contrary to prison regulations applicable to him.[78]
He has attained a Bachelor of Arts from Goddard
College and a Master of Arts from California State University, Dominguez Hills, both by distance education during the course of his imprisonment. The New College of California School of Law has presented him with an honorary J.D. degree.[79]
In May 1994 he was commercially engaged by National Public Radio's
All Things Considered program to deliver a series of monthly 3-minute
commentaries addressing issues of crime and punishment.[80] The broadcast plans and commercial arrangement were cancelled following condemnatory public outcry
in anticipation encouraged by the Fraternal Order of Police.[81] The commentaries appeared in print in May 1995.[82]
In 1999, he was invited to deliver the keynote address for the graduating class at The Evergreen State College.[83] He accepted, and a recording of his speech was played at the commencement ceremony, being that he
was not legally permitted to attend in person. The event was protested heavily by police officers from around the US. Among other
schools whose graduates he has addressed are Antioch College, UC Santa Cruz, Kent State
University, and Occidental College.[84]
While his spoken word commentaries are recorded and published regularly and may be listened to online at Prison Radio[85] hardships have at
times been imposed upon his ability to most effectively communicate with those who support him, interested media, and the general
public. Subsequent to the airing of the 1996 HBO documentary Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case for
Reasonable Doubt? which included compelling footage from visitation interviews conducted with him, the Pennsylvania
Department of Corrections acted to ban outsiders from using any recording equipment in state prisons.[16] In August 1999, local prison authorities severed the connecting wires of
his telephone from their mounting when, for a brief time, he began delivering his radio commentaries live on the Pacifica Network's Democracy Now! weekday radio
newsmagazine. Notoriously they did so even at a time when he was on-air and in mid-performance.[16]
Claim of 1992 confession
In 1999, Vanity Fair revealed that a volunteer named Phillip Bloch
visited Abu-Jamal in prison in 1992 and asked him whether he regretted killing Faulkner, to which it was reported that Abu-Jamal
replied, "Yes."[86] Bloch, otherwise a supporter of
Abu-Jamal's case, stated he came forward after he grew concerned about the vilification of Daniel Faulkner. In response,
Abu-Jamal is reported to have said "A lie is a lie, whether made today or 10 years later", and thanked Vanity Fair "...not
for their work but for stoking this controversy, because controversy leads to questioning, and one can only question this belated
confession."[87]
Foreign honours controversy
House Resolution 407
On May 19, 2006, Michael
Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
introduced a concurrent resolution designated House of Representatives Resolution 407[88], and on June 15, 2006, Richard Santorum (R-PA) introduced the identical Senate Resolution 102[89],
being :
That Congress,
- condemn the murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Danny Faulkner
- urge the city of Saint-Denis to change the name of Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal, and, if they do
not, urge the French government to take action against the city to change the
name
- commend police officers all over the world for their commitment to public service and public safety.
– Operative text of proposed HR407, 109th US
Congress, May 19, 2006
On December 6, 2006, the House of Representatives voted
368-31 in favor of HR407, "Condemning the decision of St. Denis, France, to name a street in honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the
convicted murderer of Philadelphia Police Officer Danny Faulkner."[90]
Lawsuits involving French municipalities
Bertrand Delanoë,
Mayor of Paris (2001
- ) and a proponent responsible for conferring honorary Parisian citizenship upon Mumia Abu-Jamal in October 2003
On December 11, 2006, the executive committee of the
Republican Party for the 59th Ward of the City of
Philadelphia (covering approximately Germantown, Philadelphia),
filed suit with two plaintes (criminal complaints
on behalf of victims) in forums of the French legal system against the government of the city of Paris and the city of Saint-Denis citing the wrong of those cities'
actions "glorifying" Mumia Abu-Jamal.[91]
"Free Mumia" campaign
Barcelona street banners calling for the release of
Mumia Abu-Jamal
-
For more details on the movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal and its opponents, see
Free Mumia campaign.
A broad international movement has allied in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal's cause with noteworthy opposition coalesced about the
family of Daniel Faulkner, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Fraternal Order of Police. Whether to protest at perceived
injustice affecting him or to deplore the possibility of future application of the death penalty in his and other cases, support
encompasses that to date supplied by prominent American labor unions and congresses[92][93][94][95]; acts by some US[96] and foreign city governments[97]; outspoken encouragement from a number of US and foreign artists and celebrities and notable
persons[98] [99][100];
references in popular and underground music; the formation of groups of
parliamentarians[101][102], lawyers[103][104], educators[105] , and journalists[106]; a 2004 resolution of the NAACP[107] and legal intervention on behalf of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund [108]; support claimed from the Episcopal Church of the United States of America[109]; interest adopted by human rights advocacy organisations such as
Human Rights Watch[110] and Amnesty International[4]; and the persistence of activist cells variously known as chapters of the Free Mumia
Coalition and the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c Ready to Party: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the
Black Panther Party, by Todd Steven Burroughs Ph.D (Index)
- ^
Mumia Abu Jamal
Commentaries, <http://www.fsrn.org/news/audio/mumia/>. Retrieved on 2007-10-18
- ^ a b Persons Sentenced to Execution in Pennsylvania as of October 1, 2007. Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
- ^ a b c Amnesty International: new trial.
Amnesty International. Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
- ^ Guilty and Framed. Court TV. Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
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Williams, Yvette (January 28, 2002),
.JPG)
