Supporters Rally For Ex-Black Panther

Lawyers Are Trying To Show Mumia Abu-Jamal Didn't Get Fair Trial In 1982 Murder Conviction

(AP)  Two hundred supporters of death row inmate and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal protested outside federal court on Thursday as lawyers challenged his 1982 conviction for killing a police officer, a sentence which activists argue resulted from a racist U.S. justice system.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing three issues in the case: whether the trial judge was racially biased, whether the judge erred in instructing jurors on the death penalty, and whether the prosecution preferred white jurors to black jurors.

In court, the appellate judges pressed attorneys on both sides about the question of whether blacks had been intentionally kept off the jury that convicted Abu-Jamal a quarter century ago and sentenced him to death.

Abu-Jamal's attorneys argue that they were, but both sides agree there is no record from the 150-person jury pool to prove it one way or the other.

"I don't know how we could get it," Abu-Jamal attorney Robert R. Bryan told the court.

Philadelphia prosecutors say the evidence against Abu-Jamal is overwhelming.

Abu-Jamal, 53, a former radio reporter and member of the now-defunct black civil right militant group who has built a global following while in prison through his politically charged writings and recorded speeches, was convicted of shooting Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. The jury had 10 whites and two blacks.

Faulkner, who was white, had pulled over Abu-Jamal's brother in a traffic stop when Abu-Jamal, according to witnesses, ran to the scene from his nearby taxi and shot the 26-year-old officer repeatedly. Abu-Jamal was shot once, apparently by the downed patrolman.

His attorney is now challenging his conviction, while prosecutors are asking the appeals court to reinstate his death sentence. A federal judge threw out the death sentence in 2001, citing improper jury instructions, but upheld Abu-Jamal's conviction.

Actors, writers, death-penalty opponents and other activists have rallied behind his claim of innocence.

Outside the courthouse Thursday, Marcus Shell, 35, said Abu-Jamal didn't get a fair trial because of who he was: "a former Black Panther, the voice of the voiceless.

"Mumia represents a lot of blacks locked up in prison today," Shell said.

[rhs648]

Only the fringe could believe that this guy is innocent. To some, his beliefs transcend the crime. Does this mean that the end justifies the means? If so, the tyrants of the world such as Stalin, Hitler, and Poi Pot (former leader of Cambodia) responsible for millions of murders should be hailed as heroes. This guy has been alive twenty-five years more than the traffic cop he killed. That is twenty-five years of watching tv, enjoying jokes with fellow inmates, and having contact with other people. Presumably, this guy has had twenty-five years of contact with his family--something the police officer was deprived of.

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Part 5!

I provided all these details because this story and case has been around for over 25 years! It also has the potential of causing a very explosive situation in the City of Philadelphia if its not handled properly. There is a lot of emotion out there surrounding this case. Abu Jamal was a Black Panther early in his life and it bothers me that his early membership as a Black Panther was the headline in this article because if you read all my Post related to this article you will discover Abu Jamals early membership as a Black Panther had nothing to do with Officer Faulkners death, there is no link or relationship so the Black Panther headline is very misleading! Its like saying the current Pope being a former German Nazi should prevent him from being Pope. The Pope was a Nazi in his youth and he moved on from that like Abu Jamal moved from being a Black Panther as well. You see my point.

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Part 4!

What do I think should happen? I think the Police blew it by not locking up Cook when this crime occurred 25 years ago! How can Cook be a suspect in the murder of a Police Officer, on the scene while it happened and was actually the root cause of it and walk free, especially when the person accused is denying they did it, which in this case is Abu Jamal. Its also possible that there could be an option 6! Option 6 could be Abu Jamal walks free in a retrial because the Police blew it by never locking up Cook and the case could be thrown out altogether in a mistrial which would really pisss a lot of people off big time, but such is the way our legal system works, so I don't have an opinion, I would just like justice served and fairness administered. I just hope everyone remembers that we all are entitled to our own opinions, but not to our own facts!

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Part 3! There are 5 possible outcomes to this case!

1) A retrial is denied and Abu Jamal stays on Death Row.

2) Abu Jamal turns in his bother Cook as the murderer and walks free.

3) Abu Jamal wins a retrial and the outcome is the same, death, and back on Death Row.

4) Abu Jamal wins a retrial and gets life in prison with no parole, rots in jail.

5) Abu Jamal wins a retrial and gets life in prison with parole, in which case since Abu Jamal has already served 25 years he would be eligible to go before a Parole Board right away because of time served. If that Parole Board determines that Abu Jamal has paid his debt to society and is a corrected citizen and no threat to society, he walks free, obviously the best case scenario for him.

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Part 2! Either Abu Jamal or Cook killed Officer Faulkner, Officer Faulkner definitely did not kill himself. Either Abu Jamal or Cook has to pay for Officer Faulkners death is some context, either life in prison or death! I don't understand why Cook was allowed to go free all these years while Abu Jamal rotted in jail. Both Abu Jamal and Cook should have been locked up facing the same fate, if that had occurred maybe one or the other would have confessed and let the other go free. If Abu Jamal is taking the fall for his brother then justice is being served, thats his choice, but one of them, Abu Jamal or Cook has to pay for this crime. Abu Jamal cannot expect to walk free even if he didn't kill Officer Faulkner, someone did and Abu Jamal is it until someone else takes the blame. We have a dead Police Officer here and someone has to pay for his death in some context! Even if Abu Jamal didn't kill Officer Faulkner, he was there and knows who did. Either Abu Jamal or Cook, which is it Mumia?

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Background: At the time of this event Abu-Jamal was a very popular Radio personality in Philly, one reason he is so well known and popular. Abu-Jamal's brother Cook was a Philly Street Vendor downtown for many years. Downtown Philly is a very lucrative business district and Cook was joined by many Street Vendors, so many in fact they were starting to hurt sales to businesses who complained to the City to remove them, mainly because they did not pay property taxes and were stealing their customers. Officer Faulkner who was killed and Cook had bad chemistry from the start. Officer Faulkner made daily & frequent visits to Cooks vending stand trying to get him to move with no success. The Vendors and City went at it in Court with the Court deciding vendors had to have wheels on their Carts and leave & come back every day, not have a permanent presence. Officer Faulkner did his job with extra enthusiasm, usually code for a bad cop with very public daily heated exchanges with Cook. The stage was set! Cooks going home one day with a busted tail light, Faulker pulls Cook over, was probably waiting for him!, all hell breaks loose when they notice each other, Abu-Jamal sees his brother & Faulkner going at it and jumps in. Officer Faulkner ends up dead and Abu-Jamal ends up shot. Many think Cook killed Officer Faulkner & thats why Abu-Jamal said nothing about the crime for years. Abu-Jamal may be taking the fall for his brother, that's the big mystery in this case, Abu-Jamal may be innocent.

[feelfree1]

The blanked-out word, allegedly used by this judge, rhymes with 'bigger'.

[feelfree1]

Related:

"Terri Maurer Carter, an award-winning court stenographer, overheard Judge Sabo state in his courtroom antechambers in reference to Mumia's case, "Yeah, and I'm going to help 'em fry the ***."

The jury selection was hardly the most aggregious abuse committed within this injustice.

CBS serves us up another helping of ****-poor, pro-Corporate yellow-journalism with this article.

Any takers?

[rhs648]

Only the fringe could believe that this guy is innocent. To some, his beliefs transcend the crime. Does this mean that the end justifies the means? If so, the tyrants of the world such as Stalin, Hitler, and Poi Pot (former leader of Cambodia) responsible for millions of murders should be hailed as heroes. This guy has been alive twenty-five years more than the traffic cop he killed. That is twenty-five years of watching tv, enjoying jokes with fellow inmates, and having contact with other people. Presumably, this guy has had twenty-five years of contact with his family--something the police officer was deprived of.

[rhs648]

Is this another example of looking for a racist under every bed? The guy was caught with a smoking gun. He had his day in court. Are we to believe that he has repented after twenty-five years? Why are so many people willing to waste resources on this guy? There are far better causes out there.