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Who is Mumia Abu Jamal...

Born Wesley Cook on April, 24 1954, he was later given the African name Mumia (meaning Prince) by his Kenyan high school teacher while studying African cultures. After the birth of his first son, Jamal, in 1971 he adopted the Arabic, Abu Jamal, meaning "father of Jamal". Mumia also has a daughter named Lateefa, and another son from his second marriage.

After his father passed away at the age of nine, Mumia went on to become very active in politics, particularly in that of the African American community. Controversy began to follow. In 1968, he was arrested and charged with assault for his efforts to disrupt a George Wallace for President rally, even after he himself received a beating at the hands of White Racists and the Police. One year later, he helped to form the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panther Party. The self-described "Lieutenant of Information" seen his responsibility as a journalist, and took on the role of authoring the news and communications of the chapter.

In later writings, Abu Jamal describes his early experience's as "being kicked into the Black Panther Party. He left the organization after a year and a half to return to High School.

Accomplishments as a journalist

He found an interest in radio-journalism, and by 1975 was pursuing a job in radio newscasting, first at Temple University's radio station WRTI and then at various commercial enterprises. He worked for the WHAT radio station, and for a brief period at WPEN, and became the host of a weekly program in 1978 WCAU-FM. From 1979 through 1981 he worked at the public radio station WUHY.

Prior to the events that resulted in his incarceration, Mumia was working concurrently as the President of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and as a part time reporter for the African-American, minority owned WDAS radio station.

In 1994, Abu Jamal was to deliver a series of 3 minute commentaries addressing issues of crime and punishment to the National Public Radio's - All Things Considered program, but the broadcast plans were canceled following an uproar which included condemnations from the Fraternal Order of Police, and US Senator Bob Dole. The commentaries later appeared in print as part of Live from Death Row.

In 1999, he was invited by The Evergreen State College, to deliver a keynote address to the graduating class, and in 2000 he gave a commencement address at Antioch College.

He was presented with an honorary degree from The New College of California School of Law, and has been made an honorary citizen of about 25 cities around the world, including Paris, Montreal and Palermo. He even has a street in St. Denis, Paris named after him, Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal.

In 2001, he received the biannual Lübeck Erich Mühsam Prize, awarded for special commitment to human rights.

In 2002, Mumia was conferred honorary membership of the Association of Those Persecuted by the Nazi Regime - Federation of Antifascists and Antifascist Groups.

Mumia Abu Jamal today

Locked away on Death Row in Pensylvania, Mumia still speaks his truth, and has not given up the fight to bring hope to the hopeless. He continues to write a weekly column for the German language newspaper junge Welt, and his radio addresses can be heard on Prison Radio

You can listen to some of recent Mumia's radio essay's here.

On Iran, the NIE and the Neocons

On the Idea of a Black President

On the CIA Destroying the Interrogation Tapes

On Blackwater

The Case

On December 9, 1981, Daniel Faulkner, a police officer from Philadelphia was shot dead in the streets. Mumia Abu Jamal was arrested, tried, convicted of murder, and sentenced to death.

He has always proclaimed his innocence.

The trial was controversial from the beginning. Even Reuters, in a recently reported article entitled "Policeman's widow seeks execution of Abu Jamal" brings up one key questionable factor regarding the case;

Abu Jamal's supporters say he deserves a new trial on the grounds that his first trial was tainted by too few blacks on the jury and by a judge, the late Albert Sabo, who was heard by a court reporter to say, "Yeah, and I'm going to help 'em fry the nigger."

But that wasn't the only thing wrong with the picture. Mumia was forced to give up his right to represent himself, and was subsequently removed at least 13 times during the trial for "disrupting" the proceedings. Judge Albert Sabo, also denied the entry of witness testimony, particularly that of the doctors at the hospital wear Abu Jamal had been taken after suffering a gunshot wound himself on that fateful night. The prosecution presented two witnesses, security officer Priscilla Durham and Police Officer Garry Bell, who both testified that Mumia had confessed that night while in the hospital.

They stated they heard Abu Jamal say;

"I shot the mother f**ker, and I hope the mother f**ker dies."

But, the doctors said he was in no condition to utter anything. Police officer, Gary Wakshul, who accompanied Abu Jamal to and at the hospital, originally wrote in his report that;

"the negro male made no comments"

He recanted two months after the arrest, when interviewed by police Internal Affairs officers, blaming "emotional trauma" for the mistake.

The Judge did not permit the jury to hear Wakshul's evidence.

The case was plagued with other problems as well, such as details involving the Prosecutions evidence in regards to the murder weapon, a supposed .38 caliber. But, Dr. Paul Hoyer-the coroner who autopsied Officer Daniel Faulkner-states that he extracted a .44 caliber bullet from the body.

Questions were also raised over the bullets Federal Brand and it's rarity and rifling pattern.

Amensty International, who supports a new trial for Abu Jamal, pointed out that;

…the police failed to conduct tests to ascertain whether the weapon had been fired in the immediate past…Compounding this error, the police also failed to conduct chemical tests on Abu-Jamal's hands to find out if he had fired a gun recently.

For more on Mumia's trial and appeals click here and/orhere.

Reasonable Doubt ?

Indeed Mumia has become the Cause célèbre for Anti-death penalty proponents worldwide, and indeed he continues to fight, not only for his own life, but for the freedom and right to life of the common man.

He still speaks with a soft and courageous tone, even from one of the hardest, coldest, and loneliest places to be. He speaks about a world that, clearly, he cares so passionately about. A world that he cannot even see from his small cell on death row.

Would killing Mumia Abu Jamal be right? Does he deserve another trial?

Or can we find something in ourselves that says there is a great worth to the mind of this journalist, who even while faced with death, lets his one voice be heard, because he believes in truth.

In my opinion there is reasonable doubt that he committed this terrible crime, but even if he did, I don't think we should so easily extinguish this bright and talented soul.