Apparently, “new breed journalists” like Mumia were not the only ones with an eye on Frank Rizzo and the brutality in the name of “justice” carried out by the Philadelphia Police under his watch. In 1979, United States District Court asserted that “Rizzo and 18 other high-ranking city and police officials either committed or condoned ‘widespread and severe’ acts of police brutality.”

Rizzo’s second term as mayor ended in 1980, one year before Abu-Jamal’s life changed forever (he failed to change a city charter that would have allowed him to run for a third term). However, the culmination of his eight year run was not enough to stem the growing tide of anti-activist sentiments that brewed within the Philadelphia Police Department, justice system and government.

In the Still of the Night

For Mumia’s supporters and detractors, December 9, 1981 will go down in history as a day of infamy.

There are several different accounts of what took place in the early morning hours that day; however, there are several concrete facts. Officer Daniel Faulkner pulled over William Cook (Abu-Jamal’s brother) around 4:00 a.m. Mumia was in the vicinity in his cab (due to some of his views, he was unable to support himself fully as a journalist, thus, the cab driving job). Mumia intervened (or interfered) in the traffic stop. Officer Faulkner died of gunshot wounds to the face and back, Mumia was also shot.

What happened in between depends on the person relaying the story.

Mumia alleges that Faulkner beat his brother, which prompted his intervention. During the altercation, another man, shot and killed Faulkner before fleeing the scene.

The prosecution alleges that Mumia interfered with the traffic stop, shot and killed Faulkner, who wounded Mumia before dying.

When back up arrived at the scene, Faulkner was dead and Abu-Jamal lay on the concrete, in a pool of his own blood from a gun shot wound to the chest. Mumia was arrested and charged with the murder of Daniel Faulkner. His trial began in 1982.

Trial and Error?

Many would charge that in a justice system that is supposed to grant all U.S. citizens a right to a “fair” trial, Mumia never had a fighting chance. The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution guarantees the right of counsel to all defendants in the court system. In numerous cases, the Supreme Court asserts that defendants have a right to represent themselves, the Court has also held that this right can only be denied by the trial judge if “the defendant simply lacks the competence to make a knowing or intelligent waiver of counsel or when his self-representation is so disruptive of orderly procedures that the judge may curtail it.”

The presiding judge, Albert Sabo (a retired police officer) denied Mumia the right of self representation on the grounds that his dread locks made jurors “nervous.” Mumia was then granted a court-appointed attorney, who according to the Bisson article was a “reluctant incompetent who was later disbarred.” Sabo also had a history of harsh decisions and in his time on the stand, sentencing 31 men to die (two were white) before being forced to retire.

With no money to hire an attorney of his choosing, no funds to effectively mount a defense, a biased judged and a police department determined to see him locked away for the murder of one of their own, Mumia didn’t stand a chance. In June of 1982, a jury of ten whites and two blacks found Abu-Jamal guilty of the murder of Philadelphia Police officer Daniel Faulkner.

He was sentenced to death.

Since the original trial, new pieces of evidence and allegations of questionable trial procedures and police conduct have surfaced. Two of the three eyewitnesses for the state initially told police that Faulkner’s killer fled the crime scene, but later changed their stories. The fatal bullets that struck and ultimately killed Faulkner came from a .44 caliber handgun, while Mumia’s gun (which he legally carried) was a .38. No ballistics tests were ever conducted on Abu-Jamal’s weapon and police claim to have lost the fragments from the crime scene.

According to an article on the Peace and Freedom web site, Judge Sabo allowed the state to read excerpts from old Black Panther pamphlets and newspapers in an effort to paint Mumia as “a violent hater of police who was just waiting on his chance to kill a cop.”

With so many allegations of police misconduct, bias from the judge and evidence not used during the trial, it may come as a surprise to some that the mainstream media (which prides itself on investigative reporting) has not taken a harder look at the claims of Mumia’s supporters. However, Hip Hop historian Davey D believes it’s no coincidence that pro-Mumia evidence has been ignored by the press.

“The press over the years have become totally dependent upon police to fill them in on crime, gangs and others criminal activities,” he says of the relationship between law enforcement and journalists.

“The end result of this symbiotic relationship has been the press not digging too deep on controversial topics, including ones like Mumia and other political prisoners. It’s the nature of the beast… The press usually lightens up in exchange for exclusive stories, leads and interviews later down the road,” he adds. Continued on page 3 »