Who is Mumia?
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a renowned journalist from Philadelphia who has been on death row since 1981 for allegedly shooting police officer Daniel Faulkner. He is known as the "voice of the voiceless" for his award-winning reporting on police brutality and other social and racial epidemics that plague communities of people of colour in Philadelphia and throughout the world. Mumia has received international support over the years in his efforts to overturn his unjust conviction.
Mumia was serving as the president of the Association of Black Journalists at the time of his arrest. He had been a founding member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Black Panther Party as a teenager. Years later he began reporting professionally on radio-stations such as NPR and he was the news director of the Philadelphia station WHAT. Much of his journalism called attention to the blatant injustice and brutality he watched happen on a daily basis to MOVE, a revolutionary organization that works to protect all forms of life - human, animal, plant - and the earth as a whole.
The Scene
In 1981, Mumia worked as a cab driver at night to supplement his income. On December 9th he was driving his cab through the red-light district of downtown Philadelphia at around 4 a.m. Mumia testifies that he let off a fare and parked near the corner of 13th and Locusts streets. Upon hearing gunshots, he turned and saw his brother, William Cook, staggering into the street. Mumia exited the cab and ran to the scene, where he was shot by a uniformed police officer and fell to the ground, fading in and out of consciousness. Within minutes police arrived on the scene to find officer Faulkner and Mumia shot; Faulkner later died. Mumia was arrested, savagely beaten, thrown into a paddy wagon and driven to a hospital a few blocks away (suspiciously it took 30 minutes to arrive at the hospital). Mumia somehow survived.
The Trial
The trial began in 1982 with judge Sabo (who has sent more people to death row than any other judge) presiding. Mumia wished to represent himself, but before jury selection had finished, this right was revoked and an attorney was forcibly appointed for him. Throughout the trial Mumia was accused of disrupting court proceedings and was not allowed to attend most of his own trial. Sabo lived up to his nickname of the "prosecution's friend".
The Evidence
The prosecution claimed that the shot which killed Faulkner came from Mumia's legally registered .38-caliber weapon, contradicting the medical examiner's report that the bullet removed from Faulkner's brain was a .44-caliber. This fact was kept from the jury. Moreover, a ballistics expert found it incredibly that police at the scene failed to test Mumia's gun to see if it had been recently fired, or to test Mumia's hands for powder residue. One of the most damning prosecution claims was that Mumia confessed at the hospital. However, this confession was not reported until two months after December 9th, immediately after Mumia had filed a brutality suit against the police. One of the officers who claims to have heard the confession is Gary Wakshul. However, in his police report on that day he stated: "The negro made no comments.". Also, dr. Coletta, the attending physician who was with Mumia the entire time, says that he never heard Mumia speak.
The Witnesses
The star prosecution witness, a prostitute named Cynthia White, was someone no other witness reported seeing at the scene. During the trial of Billy Cook (Mumia's brother) just weeks before Mumia's trial, White gave testimony completely contradictory to what she stated at Mumia's trial. Her testimony at Billy Cook's trial placed someone at the scene who was not there when police arrived. This corroborates the five other witness accounts, stating that someone fled the scene. In a 1997 hearing, another former prostitute, Pamela Jenkins, testified that White was acting as a police informant.
Other sworn testimony revealed that witness coercion was routinely practiced by the police. In 1995, eyewitness William Singletary testified that police repeatedly tore up his initial statement - that the shooter fled the scene - until he finally signed something acceptable to them. The following year, witness Veronica Jones, came forward to testify that she had been coerced into changing her initial statement that two men fled the scene. Witness Billy Cook, who was present the whole time, has stated very clearly that Mumia is absolutely innocent.
The Sentence
Due to police manipulation of witnesses, fabrication of evidence, and the rights of the defence severely denied, Mumia was found guilty. He was sentenced to death during the penalty phase based solely on his political beliefs. Mumia has been unjustly separated from his family for twenty years, with the threat of death looming over his head.
New Witnesses
In 2001, a court stenographer, Terri Maurer-Carter, came forward and stated that in 1982, before Mumia's trial began, she heard judge Sabo say: "Yeah, and I'm going to help them fry the nigger.". He was referring to Mumia. This backs up evidence of judicial bias and racism in Mumia's case. In the same year, esteemed Philadelphia journalist Linn Washington stated that on the morning of December 9th, 1981, he went to the scene to report and no police were present. This backs up prior claims thatpolice didn't handle the crime-scene properly.
The Confession
In 1999, Arnold Beverly confessed to killing officer Faulkner. This confession was validated by a lie detector test administered by eminent polygraph expert Charles Honts. Despite concrete evidence supporting this confession, the Philadelphia District Attorney has refused to investigate, and the courts have not even allowed it to be heard. The injustice continues.
The Decisions
On December 18th 2001, judge Yohn issued a decision on the habeas corpus petition in Federal District Court. He upheld Mumia's unjust conviction, but challenged the sentencing phase (= the death sentence). This means there could be a new sentencing hearing, but the only options are life in prison with no possibility of parole or another death sentence. This is not justice. There is massive evidence of Mumia's innocence and he should be absolutely free.
Additionally, judge Pamela Dembe's November 21, 2001 rejection of Mumia's request to reopen the PCRA hearings is currently being appealed by Mumia's legal team. Judge Dembe based her decision almost entirely on the Peterkin case, which has just been overturned. The Struggle continues! To keep up to date visit www.freemumia.com.