Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook; April 24, 1954) is a political activist and journalist who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1982 for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.
He entered the general prison population early the following year. Beginning at the age of 14 in 1968, Abu-Jamal became involved with the Black Panther Party and was a member until October 1970.
They attended local public schools. In 1968, a high school teacher, a Kenyan instructing a class on African cultures, encouraged the students to take African or Arabic names for classroom use; he gave Cook the name "Mumia".
into the Black Panther Party" as a teenager of 14, after suffering a beating from "white racists" and a policeman for trying to disrupt a 1968 rally for Independent candidate George Wallace, former governor of Alabama, who was running on a racist platform.
That same year, he dropped out of Benjamin Franklin High School and began living at the branch's headquarters. He spent late 1969 in New York City and early 1970 in Oakland, living and working with BPP colleagues in those cities; the party had been founded in Oakland.
He was a party member from May 1969 until October 1970.
He entered the general prison population early the following year. Beginning at the age of 14 in 1968, Abu-Jamal became involved with the Black Panther Party and was a member until October 1970.
That same year, he dropped out of Benjamin Franklin High School and began living at the branch's headquarters. He spent late 1969 in New York City and early 1970 in Oakland, living and working with BPP colleagues in those cities; the party had been founded in Oakland.
He was a party member from May 1969 until October 1970.
He returned to Philadelphia. == Marriages and family == Cook adopted the surname Abu-Jamal ("father of Jamal" in Arabic) after the birth of his first child, son Jamal, on July 18, 1971.
He married Jamal's mother Biba in 1973, but they did not stay together long.
By 1981, Abu-Jamal had divorced Peachie and had married his third (and current) wife, Wadiya. ==Radio journalism career== By 1975 Abu-Jamal was working in radio newscasting, first at Temple University's WRTI and then at commercial enterprises.
In 1975, he was employed at radio station WHAT, and he became host of a weekly feature program at WCAU-FM in 1978.
The couple divorced. In 1977 Abu-Jamal married again, to his second wife, Marilyn (known as "Peachie").
He supported the MOVE Organization in Philadelphia and covered the 1978 confrontation in which one police officer was killed.
Their son, Mazi, was born in early 1978.
In 1975, he was employed at radio station WHAT, and he became host of a weekly feature program at WCAU-FM in 1978.
He became active in the local chapter of the Marijuana Users Association of America. From 1979 to 1981 he worked at National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate WHYY.
He reported on the 1979–80 trial of certain members (the "MOVE Nine"), who were convicted of the murder of police officer James Ramp.
Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook; April 24, 1954) is a political activist and journalist who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1982 for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.
By 1981, Abu-Jamal had divorced Peachie and had married his third (and current) wife, Wadiya. ==Radio journalism career== By 1975 Abu-Jamal was working in radio newscasting, first at Temple University's WRTI and then at commercial enterprises.
He became active in the local chapter of the Marijuana Users Association of America. From 1979 to 1981 he worked at National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate WHYY.
Thinking back on it later, he said he "was probably enraged as well". In December 1981, Abu-Jamal was working as a taxicab driver in Philadelphia two nights a week to supplement his income.
He had been working part-time as a reporter for WDAS, then an African-American-oriented and minority-owned radio station. == Traffic stop and death of officer Faulkner== At 3:55 am on December 9, 1981, in Philadelphia, close to the intersection at 13th and Locust streets, Philadelphia Police Department officer Daniel Faulkner conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle belonging to and driven by William Cook, Abu-Jamal's younger brother.
Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook; April 24, 1954) is a political activist and journalist who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1982 for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.
The MOVE Nine were the members who were arrested and convicted of murder in that case. Since 1982, the murder trial of Abu-Jamal has been seriously criticized for constitutional failings; some have claimed that he is innocent, and many opposed his death sentence.
Amnesty International concluded "that the proceedings used to convict and sentence Mumia Abu-Jamal to death were in violation of minimum international standards that govern fair trial procedures and the use of the death penalty". == Appeals and review == === State appeals === The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on March 6, 1989, heard and rejected a direct appeal of his conviction.
Castille should have recused himself from the 2012 appeals decision after his involvement as Philadelphia District Attorney (DA) in the 1989 appeal.
The Supreme Court of the United States denied his petition for writ of certiorari on October 1, 1990, and denied his petition for rehearing twice up to June 10, 1991. On June 1, 1995, Abu-Jamal's death warrant was signed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.
Both sides of the 2018 proceedings repeatedly cited a 1990 letter sent by Castille to then-Governor Bob Casey, urging Casey to sign the execution warrants of those convicted of murdering police.
The Supreme Court of the United States denied his petition for writ of certiorari on October 1, 1990, and denied his petition for rehearing twice up to June 10, 1991. On June 1, 1995, Abu-Jamal's death warrant was signed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.
She also reiterated her belief that Abu-Jamal will be punished further after death. == Life as a prisoner == In 1991 Abu-Jamal published an essay in the Yale Law Journal, on the death penalty and his death row experience.
Cynthia White was declared to be dead by the state of New Jersey in 1992, but Pamela Jenkins claimed that she saw White alive as late as 1997.
In May 1994, Abu-Jamal was engaged by National Public Radio's All Things Considered program to deliver a series of monthly three-minute commentaries on crime and punishment.
The Supreme Court of the United States denied his petition for writ of certiorari on October 1, 1990, and denied his petition for rehearing twice up to June 10, 1991. On June 1, 1995, Abu-Jamal's death warrant was signed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.
His commentaries later were published in May 1995 as part of his first book, Live from Death Row.
At April 2021 he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was scheduled for heart surgery to relieve blocked coronary arteries In 1996, he completed a B.A.
Subsequent to the airing of the 1996 HBO documentary A Case For Reasonable Doubt?, which included footage from visitation interviews conducted with him, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections banned outsiders from using any recording equipment in state prisons. In litigation before the U.S.
Cynthia White was declared to be dead by the state of New Jersey in 1992, but Pamela Jenkins claimed that she saw White alive as late as 1997.
Court of Appeals, in 1998 Abu-Jamal successfully established his right while in prison to write for financial gain.
The Supreme Court of the United States denied a petition for certiorari against that decision on October 4, 1999, enabling Ridge to sign a second death warrant on October 13, 1999.
Its execution was stayed as Abu-Jamal began to seek federal habeas corpus review. In 1999, Arnold Beverly claimed that he and an unnamed assailant, not Mumia Abu-Jamal, shot Daniel Faulkner as part of a contract killing because Faulkner was interfering with graft and payoff to corrupt police.
In 1999, Abu-Jamal was invited to record a keynote address for the graduating class at Evergreen State College in Washington State.
The same litigation also established that the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections had illegally opened his mail in an attempt to establish whether he was earning money by his writing. When, for a brief time in August 1999, Abu-Jamal began delivering his radio commentaries live on the Pacifica Network's Democracy Now! weekday radio newsmagazine, prison staff severed the connecting wires of his telephone from their mounting in mid-performance.
In August 1999, the Fraternal Order of Police called for an economic boycott against all individuals and organizations that support Abu-Jamal.
In 2000, he recorded a commencement address for Antioch College.
The Faulkner family, politicians, and other groups involved with law enforcement, state and city governments argue that Abu-Jamal's trial was fair, his guilt beyond question, and his death sentence justified. When his death sentence was overturned by a Federal court in 2001, he was described as "perhaps the world's best-known death-row inmate" by The New York Times.
As Abu-Jamal's defense team prepared another appeal in 2001, they were divided over use of the Beverly affidavit.
Some thought it usable and others rejected Beverly's story as "not credible". Private investigator George Newman claimed in 2001 that Chobert had recanted his testimony.
On August 30, 2018, the proceedings to determine another appeal were once again extended and a ruling on the matter was delayed for at least 60 more days. === Federal District Court 2001 ruling === The Free Mumia Coalition published statements by William Cook and his brother Abu-Jamal in the spring of 2001.
Cook, who had been stopped by the police officer, had not made any statement before April 29, 2001, and did not testify at his brother's trial.
In 2001 he said that he had not seen who had shot Faulkner.
Abu-Jamal did not make any public statements about Faulkner's murder until May 4, 2001.
Upon seeing his brother appearing disoriented across the street, Abu-Jamal ran to him from the parking lot and was shot by a police officer. In 2001 Judge William H.
But he vacated the sentence of death on December 18, 2001, citing irregularities in the penalty phase of the trial and the original process of sentencing.
Terri Maurer-Carter, a former Philadelphia court stenographer, stated in a 2001 affidavit that she overheard Judge Sabo say "Yeah, and I'm going to help them fry the nigger" in the course of a conversation with three people present regarding Abu-Jamal's case.
Sabo denied having made any such comment. On March 27, 2008, the three-judge panel issued a majority 2–1 opinion upholding Yohn's 2001 opinion but rejecting the bias and Batson claims, with Judge Ambro dissenting on the Batson issue.
About 25 cities, including Montreal, Palermo, and Paris, have made him an [citizenship|honorary citizen]. In 2001, he received the sixth biennial Erich Mühsam Prize, named after an anarcho-communist essayist, which recognizes activism in line with that of its namesake.
In October 2002, he was made an honorary member of the German political organization Society of People Persecuted by the Nazi Regime – Federation of Anti-Fascists (VVN-BdA). On April 29, 2006, a newly paved road in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis was named Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal in his honor.
In October 2002, he was made an honorary member of the German political organization Society of People Persecuted by the Nazi Regime – Federation of Anti-Fascists (VVN-BdA). On April 29, 2006, a newly paved road in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis was named Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal in his honor.
The hospital doctors said that Abu-Jamal was "on the verge of fainting" when brought in, and they did not hear any such confession. In 2008, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected a further request from Abu-Jamal for a hearing into claims that the trial witnesses perjured themselves, on the grounds that he had waited too long before filing the appeal. On March 26, 2012 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected his appeal for retrial.
Sabo denied having made any such comment. On March 27, 2008, the three-judge panel issued a majority 2–1 opinion upholding Yohn's 2001 opinion but rejecting the bias and Batson claims, with Judge Ambro dissenting on the Batson issue.
On July 22, 2008, Abu-Jamal's formal petition seeking reconsideration of the decision by the full Third Circuit panel of 12 judges was denied.
2. The punk band Anti-Flag has a speech from Mumia Abu-Jamal in the intro to their song "The Modern Rome Burning" from their 2008 album The Bright Lights of America.
His defense had asserted, based on a 2009 report by the National Academy of Sciences, that forensic evidence presented by the prosecution and accepted into evidence in the original trial was unreliable.
On April 6, 2009, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear Abu-Jamal's appeal, allowing his conviction to stand. On January 19, 2010, the Supreme Court ordered the appeals court to reconsider its decision to rescind the death penalty.
On April 6, 2009, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear Abu-Jamal's appeal, allowing his conviction to stand. On January 19, 2010, the Supreme Court ordered the appeals court to reconsider its decision to rescind the death penalty.
The same three-judge panel convened in Philadelphia on November 9, 2010, to hear oral argument.
In 2011, the prosecution agreed to a sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
On April 26, 2011, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed its prior decision to vacate the death sentence on the grounds that the jury instructions and verdict form were ambiguous and confusing.
The Supreme Court declined to hear the case in October. === Death penalty dropped === On December 7, 2011, District Attorney of Philadelphia R.
He was later allowed to resume his broadcasts, and hundreds of his broadcasts have been aired on Pacifica Radio. Following the overturning of his death sentence, Abu-Jamal was sentenced to life in prison in December 2011.
The hospital doctors said that Abu-Jamal was "on the verge of fainting" when brought in, and they did not hear any such confession. In 2008, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected a further request from Abu-Jamal for a hearing into claims that the trial witnesses perjured themselves, on the grounds that he had waited too long before filing the appeal. On March 26, 2012 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected his appeal for retrial.
Castille should have recused himself from the 2012 appeals decision after his involvement as Philadelphia District Attorney (DA) in the 1989 appeal.
At the end of January 2012, he was shifted from the isolation of death row into the general prison population at State Correctional Institution – Mahanoy. On March 30, 2015, he suffered diabetic shock and has been diagnosed with active Hepatitis C.
This sentence was reaffirmed by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania on July 9, 2013. After the press conference on the sentence, widow Maureen Faulkner said that she did not want to relive the trauma of another trial.
The now defunct New College of California School of Law presented him with an honorary degree "for his struggle to resist the death penalty." On October 5, 2014, he gave the commencement speech at Goddard College, via playback of a recording.
They also discussed support for the death penalty. In early 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Debo Adegbile, a former lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, to head the civil rights division of the Justice Department.
At the end of January 2012, he was shifted from the isolation of death row into the general prison population at State Correctional Institution – Mahanoy. On March 30, 2015, he suffered diabetic shock and has been diagnosed with active Hepatitis C.
In August 2015 his attorneys filed suit in the U.S.
Senate on a bipartisan basis because of that. On April 10, 2015, Marylin Zuniga, a teacher at Forest Street Elementary School in Orange, New Jersey, was suspended without pay after asking her students to write cards to Abu-Jamal, who was ill in prison due to complications from diabetes, without approval from the school or parents.
On May 13, 2015, the Orange Preparatory Academy board voted to dismiss Marylin Zuniga after hearing from her and several of her supporters. == Written works == Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? City Lights Publishers (2017), Writing on the Wall: Selected Prison Writings of Mumia Abu-Jamal, City Lights Publishers (2015), The Classroom and the Cell: Conversations on Black Life in America, Third World Press (2011), Jailhouse Lawyers: Prisoners Defending Prisoners v.
This was reported as Abu-Jamal's last legal appeal. On April 30, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Abu-Jamal would not be immediately granted another appeal and that the proceedings had to continue until August 30 of that year.
Both sides of the 2018 proceedings repeatedly cited a 1990 letter sent by Castille to then-Governor Bob Casey, urging Casey to sign the execution warrants of those convicted of murdering police.
On August 30, 2018, the proceedings to determine another appeal were once again extended and a ruling on the matter was delayed for at least 60 more days. === Federal District Court 2001 ruling === The Free Mumia Coalition published statements by William Cook and his brother Abu-Jamal in the spring of 2001.
At April 2021 he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was scheduled for heart surgery to relieve blocked coronary arteries In 1996, he completed a B.A.
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