Mumia Abu-Jamal
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| “ | I am innocent of these charges that I have been charged with and convicted of and despite the connivance of Sabo, McGill and Jackson to deny me my so-called rights to represent myself, to assistance of my choice, to personally select a jury who is totally of my peers, to cross-examine witnesses, and to make both opening and closing arguments, I am still innocent of these charges. | „ |
| ~ Mumia Abu-Jamal |
Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook on 24 April 1954) is an African-American political activist and journalist. In 1982 he was convicted of the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death. His death sentence was later overturned on appeal by a Federal court in 2011 and his sentence was commuted to life without parole. He continues to maintain his innocence, claiming he was framed for the killing by a racist police department[1] despite abundant witness testimony and forensic evidence pointing to his guilt.[2]
Biography edit
Abu-Jamal was born Wesley Cook in Philadelphia on 24 April 1954. He began using the name "Mumia" in 1968 after learning about African cultures in high school. When he was fourteen he joined the Black Panther Party after being beaten up by white police while attempting to disrupt a campaign rally by racist politician George Wallace. He was appointed spokesman for the group's Philadelphia chapter, and came under surveillance from the COINTELPRO program as a result.[3]
Abu-Jamal adopted his current surname in 1971 after his son Jamal was born. In 1975 he became a radio journalist and commonly reported on the black separatist group known as MOVE. He covered the trial of the MOVE Nine, nine MOVE members accused of the fatal shooting of a police officer. He eventually joined MOVE, apparently because he loved the people in the organization and was enraged at white power structures.
On 9 December 1981, Abu-Jamal's brother William Cook was pulled over by officer Daniel Faulkner for driving the wrong way up a one-way street. Abu-Jamal, working as a taxi driver at the time, happened to be driving nearby and stopped his car. He then ran across the street to where Faulkner was standing and shot him in the back. Faulkner fell and shot Abu-Jamal in the stomach before Abu-Jamal shot him in the face, killing him. Police arrived and found Abu-Jamal lying on the ground next to the gun with an empty shoulder holster attached to him.[4]
After being discharged from hospital Abu-Jamal was charged with first-degree murder. Four witnesses to the shooting - Robert Chobert,[5] Cynthia White,[6] Michael Scanlon[7] and Albert Magilton[8] - identified Abu-Jamal as the shooter. Two other witnesses, hospital security guard Priscilla Durham and police officer Garry Bell, testified that Abu-Jamal said in the hospital "I shot the motherfucker, and I hope the motherfucker dies"[9] (although this is probably false, as doctors at the hospital said that he was not capable of speech at that time).[10] Ballistics expert Anthony Paul testified that the bullets still in the gun found at the scene, registered to Abu-Jamal, were consistent with the two found in Faulkner's body.[11]
Abu-Jamal's defence at trial was to claim that somebody else had shot Faulkner with his gun. To prove this, the defence brought forward a witness who claimed to have seen a man running away from the scene just after the shots were fired.[12] However, the only other shooting witness to testify for the defence contradicted this witnesses story, denying there was any such man at the scene.[13] Ultimately Abu-Jamal was convicted and sentenced to death.
Several appeals were filed by Abu-Jamal's legal team. Almost all were rejected, however the final appeal led to Abu-Jamal's sentence being overturned on the grounds that the jury instructions were too vague. His sentence would be changed to life without parole on 7 December 2011. He remains in prison to this day.
References edit
- ↑ Free Mumia, Free Mumia.com
- ↑ One Problem in Abu-Jamal Crusade: He’s Guilty, Los Angeles Times
- ↑ Prison Power: How Prison Influenced the Movement for Black Liberation by Lisa M. Corrigan, University Press of Mississippi
- ↑ Smerconish refutes Kaepernick call for convicted cop killer's release, CNN
- ↑ Commonwealth v. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook trial transcript §3.210–§3.211
- ↑ Commonwealth v. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook trial transcript pp. 94-95
- ↑ Commonwealth v. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook trial transcript pp. 5-75
- ↑ Commonwealth v. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook trial transcript pp.75
- ↑ Commonwealth v. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook trial transcript pp.29, 31, 34, 137, 162 and 164
- ↑ I spend my days preparing for life, not for death, The Guardian
- ↑ Commonwealth v. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook trial transcript p.169
- ↑ Commonwealth v. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook trial transcript p.127
- ↑ Commonwealth v. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook trial transcript pp. 99-100