Mumia Abu-Jamal - Misplaced Pages

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Mumia Abu-Jamal
File:Mumiaabujamal.png
Born	(1954-04-24) April 24, 1954 (age 70) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality	U.S.
Education	Benjamin Franklin High School (Philadelphia) Goddard College (B.A.) California State University, Dominguez Hills (M.A.)
Occupation	Journalist/activist
Spouses	1.Biba (former) 2.Marilyn "Peaches" Cook (former) 3.Wadiya (current)
Children	3
Parent(s)	William and Edith Cook

Mumia Abu-Jamal (Template:PronEng; born Wesley Cook on April 24, 1954) was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner, and is currently a prisoner at State Correctional Institution - Greene near Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. In December 2001 a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania affirmed the conviction but quashed his original punishment and ordered resentencing. Both Abu-Jamal and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania appealed. The case was orally argued before a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia on May 17, 2007, and is pending.

His case has received international attention. Supporters and human rights campaigners variously assert that he is innocent, that he was setup, that he did not receive a fair trial, and/or oppose the death penalty. Opponents assert that he is guilty, that he received the benefit of due process and was legitimately convicted of murder. Proponents of execution among his opponents assert that under Pennsylvania law his eventual judicial execution is warranted and mandated by the nature of his crime.

Prior to his arrest he was a Black Panther Party activist, cab driver, and journalist. During the period of his imprisonment he has courted controversy as an honoree of municipal, educational and civil society organizations, and as a spoken word commentator and published author of several works—most notably Live from Death Row.

Early life and activism

Abu-Jamal's father died when he was nine years old. He was given the name Mumia in 1968 by his high school teacher, a Kenyan instructing a class on African cultures in which students took African classroom names. He adopted the name appending Abu-Jamal ("father of Jamal" in Arabic) as his choice of surname after the birth of his son Jamal from his first wife on July 18, 1971. Abu-Jamal claims that 'Mumia' means "Prince" and was the name of anti-colonial African nationalists conducting warfare against the British in Kenya at the time of the Uhuru. His first marriage, to Biba when he was aged 19, proved to be short-lived. Their daughter, Lateefa, was born shortly after. Mazi, Abu-Jamal's son by his second wife, Marilyn a.k.a. "Peachie", was born in early 1978. Abu-Jamal commenced living with his third and current wife, Wadiya, while separated from Peachie prior to the events that resulted in his incarceration.

Involvement with the Black Panthers

File:Bpp logo.jpg

Black Panther Party logo

In his writings Abu-Jamal describes his adolescent experience of "being kicked into the Black Panther Party" through suffering a beating at the hands of white racists and police at the same time as being charged with assault for his efforts to disrupt a George Wallace for President rally in 1968. The following year he helped form the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panther Party, taking appointment, in his own words, as its chapter "Lieutenant of Information" exercising a responsibility for authoring propaganda and news communications. In one of the interviews he gave at the time he quoted Mao Zedong, saying that "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun". That same year, he dropped out of Benjamin Franklin High School and took up residence in the branch's headquarters. Spending the winter of 1969 in New York City and the spring of 1970 in Oakland, he lived and worked with BPP comrades in those cities. He was a Party member from May 1969 until October 1970 and was subject to some degree of FBI COINTELPRO surveillance from then until about 1974.

Education

After leaving the Panthers he returned to high school, but was suspended for distributing literature calling for "black revolutionary student power". He also led unsuccessful protests to change the school name to Malcolm X High. After attaining his GED, for a number of semesters he studied at Goddard College in rural Vermont.

Work as a journalist

By 1975 he was pursuing a vocation 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 of WCAU-FM in 1978. He was also employed for brief periods at radio station WPEN, and became active in the local chapter of the Marijuana Users Association of America. From 1979 he worked at WUHY public radio station until 1981 when he was asked to submit his resignation after a dispute about the requirements of objective focus in his presentation of news. As a radio journalist he earned the moniker "the voice of the voiceless" and was renowned for identifying with and giving exposure to the MOVE anarcho-primitivist commune in Philadelphia's Powelton Village neighborhood, including reportage of the 1979–80 trial of certain of its members (the "MOVE Nine") charged with the murder of police officer James Ramp. At the time of the killing of Daniel Faulkner, Abu-Jamal was working as a taxicab driver in Philadelphia. He was at that time also the outgoing President of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and had been working part-time as a reporter for WDAS, then an African-American-oriented and minority-owned radio station.

Arrest for murder and trial

Main article: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Mumia Abu-Jamal

File:Daniel faulkner.jpg

Daniel Faulkner

On December 9, 1981, Philadelphia Police Department officer Daniel Faulkner was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop of a vehicle driven by William Cook, Abu-Jamal's younger brother. In the altercation Abu-Jamal was shot and wounded by Faulkner, and collapsed on the sidewalk. He was taken directly from the scene of the shooting to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and received treatment for his injuries. He was charged with the first-degree murder of Daniel Faulkner.

The case went to trial in June 1982 in Philadelphia. Judge Albert F. Sabo initially agreed to Abu-Jamal's request to represent himself, with criminal defense attorney Anthony Jackson acting as his legal advisor. During the first day of the trial this decision was reversed and Jackson was ordered to resume acting as Abu-Jamal's sole advocate by reason of what the judge deemed to be intentionally disruptive actions on Abu-Jamal's part.

Prosecution case

This is the case as presented by the prosecution at the trial. It does not include any counter arguments made by the defense or information revealed after the trial.

The prosecution presented four witnesses to the court. Robert Chobert, a cab driver, identified Abu-Jamal as the shooter. Cynthia White, a prostitute, claimed to see a man emerge from a nearby parking lot and shoot Faulkner. Michael Scanlon, a motorist, testified that he saw a man run across the street from a parking lot and shoot Faulkner. Albert Magilton, a pedestrian who did not see the actual killing, testified to witnessing Faulkner pull over Cook's car. At the point of seeing Abu-Jamal start to cross the street toward them from the parking lot, Magilton turned away and lost sight of what happened next.

The prosecution also presented two witnesses who were present at the hospital after the altercation. Hospital security guard Priscilla Durham and Police Officer Garry Bell testified that Abu-Jamal confessed in the hospital by saying, "I shot the mother fucker, and I hope the mother fucker dies."

A .38 caliber revolver, belonging to Abu-Jamal, with five spent cartridges was retrieved at the scene. The shell casings and rifling characteristics of the weapon were consistent with bullet fragments taken from Faulkner's body. Tests to confirm Abu-Jamal had handled and fired the weapon were not performed; Abu-Jamal's struggle with the police during his arrest would have made the potential results scientifically unreliable.

Defense case

This is the case as presented by the defense at the trial. It does not include any counter arguments made by the prosecution or information revealed after the trial.

The defense maintained that Abu-Jamal was innocent of the charges and the testimony of the prosecution's witnesses was unreliable.

The defense presented nine character witnesses, including poet Sonia Sanchez who testified that Abu-Jamal was "viewed by the black community as a creative, articulate, peaceful, genial man". Another defense witness, Dessie Hightower, testified that he saw a man running along the street shortly after the shooting. This became known as the "running man theory", based on the possibility that a "running man" may have been the actual shooter. Veronica Jones also testified for the defense but she did not see anyone running. Debbie Kordansky and other potential defense witnesses refused to appear in court. Abu-Jamal did not testify in his own defense.

Verdict and sentence

The jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict after three hours of deliberations.

In the sentencing phase of the trial Abu-Jamal read to the jury from a prepared statement and was then sworn and cross-examined about issues relevant to the assessment of his character by Joseph McGill, the prosecuting attorney. In his statement Abu-Jamal criticized his attorney as a "legal trained lawyer" who was imposed on him against his will who "knew he was inadequate to the task and chose to follow the directions of this black-robed conspirator, Albert Sabo, even if it meant ignoring my directions". He claimed that his rights had been "deceitfully stolen" from him by the Judge, particularly focusing on the denial of his request to receive defense assistance from John Africa (who was not an attorney) and his being prevented from proceeding pro se. He quoted remarks of John Africa and declared himself "innocent of these charges".

Abu-Jamal was subsequently sentenced to death by the unanimous decision of the jury.

Further developments

Since the sentence, new information which contradicts the trial evidence has surfaced.

In 1999, Arnold Beverly claimed that, "wearing a green (camouflage) army jacket", he had run across the street and shot Daniel Faulkner as part of a contract killing because Faulkner was interfering with graft and payoff to corrupt police. Private investigator George Newman claimed in 2001 that Chobert had recanted his testimony. Cynthia White died in 1992, before being able to respond to claims that she falsified her testimony. Kenneth Pate, a step-brother of Priscilla Durham who was imprisoned with Abu-Jamal on other charges, has since claimed that Durham admitted to not hearing the hospital confession. The hospital doctors have claimed that Abu-Jamal was not capable of making such a dramatic bedside confession at that time.

In his version of events, detailed in a sworn statement almost 20 years afterwards, Abu-Jamal claimed that he was sitting in his cab across the street when he heard shouting, then saw a police vehicle, then heard the sound of gunshots. 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. William Cook did not testify or make any statement until 2001 when he claimed that he had not seen who had shot Faulkner.

Appeals and review

1983–1999 State appeals

Direct appeal of his conviction was considered and denied by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on March 6, 1989, subsequently denying rehearing. On October 1, 1990, the Supreme Court of the United States denied his petition for writ of certiorari, and his petition for rehearing twice up to June 10, 1991.

On June 1, 1995 his death warrant was signed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Its execution was suspended while Abu-Jamal pursued state post-conviction review. At the post-conviction review hearings, new witnesses were called. William "Dales" Singletary testified that he saw the shooting and that the gunman was the passenger in Cook's car. Singletary's account contained discrepancies which render it "not credible". William Harmon, a convicted fraudster, testified that Faulkner's murdered fled in a car which pulled up at the crimescene, and could not have been Abu-Jamal. However, Robert Harkins testified that he had witnessed a man stand over Faulkner as the latter lay wounded on the ground, who shot him point-blank in the face and then "walked and sat down on the curb".

The six judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled unanimously that all issues raised by Abu-Jamal, including the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, were without merit. The Supreme Court of the United States denied a petition for certiorari against that decision on October 4, 1999, enabling Governor Ridge to sign a second death warrant on October 13, 1999. Its execution in turn was stayed as Abu-Jamal commenced his pursuit of federal habeus corpus review.

2001 Federal ruling directing resentencing

Judge William H. Yohn Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania upheld the conviction but voided the sentence of death on December 18, 2001, citing irregularities in the original process of sentencing. Particularly,

"...the jury instructions and verdict sheet in this case involved an unreasonable application of federal law. The charge and verdict form created a reasonable likelihood that the jury believed it was precluded from considering any mitigating circumstance that had not been found unanimously to exist."

He ordered the State of Pennsylvania to commence new sentencing proceedings within 180 days and ruled that it was unconstitutional to require that a jury's finding of circumstances mitigating against determining a sentence of death be unanimous. Eliot Grossman and Marlene Kamish, attorneys for Abu-Jamal, criticized the ruling on the grounds that it denied the possibility of a trial de novo at which they could introduce evidence that their client had been the subject of a frameup. Prosecutors also criticized the ruling; Maureen Faulkner described Abu-Jamal as a "remorseless, hate-filled killer" who would "be permitted to enjoy the pleasures that come from simply being alive" on the basis of the judgement. Both parties appealed.

2005 Federal higher appeal

On December 6, 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit admitted four issues for appeal of the ruling of the United States District Court:

in relation to sentencing, whether the jury verdict form had been flawed and the judge's instructions to the jury had been confusing;
in relation to conviction and sentencing, whether racial bias in jury selection existed to an extent tending to produce an inherently biased jury and therefore an unfair trial (the Batson claim);
in relation to conviction, whether the prosecutor improperly attempted to reduce jurors' sense of responsibility by telling them that a guilty verdict would be subsequently vetted and subject to appeal;
in relation to post-conviction review hearings in 1995–6, whether the presiding Judge—who had also presided at the trial—demonstrated unacceptable bias in his conduct.

The Third Circuit Court heard oral arguments in the appeals on May 17, 2007, at the United States Courthouse in Philadelphia. The appeal panel consisted of Chief Judge Anthony Joseph Scirica, Judge Thomas Ambro, and Judge Robert Cowen. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sought to reinstate the sentence of death, on the basis that Yohn's ruling was flawed, as he should have deferred to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which had already ruled on the issue of sentencing, and the Batson claim was invalid because Abu-Jamal made no complaints during the original jury selection. Abu-Jamal's counsel told the Third Circuit Court that Abu-Jamal did not get a fair trial because the jury was both racially-biased and misinformed, and the judge was a racist. (Court stenographer Terri Maurer-Carter stated in a 2001 affidavit that the presiding Judge had exclaimed, "Yeah, and I'm going to help them fry the nigger", in the course of a conversation regarding Abu-Jamal's case. Judge Sabo denied making such a comment.)

Life as a prisoner

In May 1994, he was commercially engaged by National Public Radio's All Things Considered program to deliver a series of monthly 3-minute commentaries addressing issues of crime and punishment. The broadcast plans and commercial arrangement were cancelled following condemnations from, amongst others, the Fraternal Order of Police and US Senator Bob Dole (R-KS). The commentaries later appeared in print in May 1995 as part of Live From Death Row.

In 1999, he was invited to deliver the keynote address for the graduating class at The Evergreen State College. The event was protested heavily. In 2000, he gave a commencement address at Antioch College. The New College of California School of Law has presented him with an honorary degree.

While his spoken word commentaries are recorded regularly, and may be listened to online at Prison Radio, and he continues to write a Saturday weekly column for the German language Marxist newspaper junge Welt, restrictions have at times been imposed upon his activities. In 1995, he was punished with solitary confinement for engaging in entrepreneurship contrary to prison regulations. Subsequent to the airing of the 1996 HBO documentary Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt?, which included footage from visitation interviews conducted with him, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections acted to ban outsiders from using any recording equipment in state prisons. In litigation before the US Court of Appeals in 1998 he successfully established his right to write for reward in prison. The same litigation also established that the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections had illegally opened his mail in an attempt to establish whether he was writing for financial gain. When, for a brief time in August 1999, he began delivering his radio commentaries live on the Pacifica Network's Democracy Now! weekday radio newsmagazine, local prison authorities severed the connecting wires of his telephone from their mounting in mid-performance.

In his poetry book Death Blossoms, he expresses his belief, which follows no denomination, in a Mother God who coexists with all male religious understandings and which he refers to by the name of "Mama".

Popular support and opposition

A broad international movement has allied in support of Abu-Jamal's cause with opposition coalesced about the family of Daniel Faulkner, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Fraternal Order of Police, which in August 1999 called for an economic boycott against all individuals and organizations that have expressed sympathy for Abu-Jamal.

His supporters protest at perceived injustice or deplore the death penalty in his and other cases, and encompass prominent American labor unions and congresses; endorsees of the Partisan Defense Committee's campaign; US and foreign city governments; politicians; advocates; educators; the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and human rights advocacy organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Honors and controversy

Abu-Jamal has been made an honorary citizen of about 25 cities around the world, including Paris, Montreal and Palermo. In 2001, he received the biannual Lübeck Erich Mühsam Prize, awarded by Frank-Thomas Gaulin of Kunsthaus Lübeck, for special commitment to human rights. In October 2002, he was conferred honorary membership of the Berlin-based Association of Those Persecuted by the Nazi Regime - Federation of Antifascists and Antifascist Groups (VVN-BdA).

On April 29, 2006, a newly-paved road in the Parisian suburb of St Denis was named Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal in his honour. In protest of the street-naming, US Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Senator Richard Santorum (R-PA) introduced resolutions in both Houses of Congress condemning the action. The House of Representatives voted 368-31 in favor of the resolution. On the 25th anniversary of the murder, the executive committee of the Republican Party for the 59th Ward of the City of Philadelphia (covering approximately Germantown, Philadelphia), filed two criminal complaints in the French legal system against the city of Paris and the city of Saint-Denis citing the wrong of those municipalities' actions in "glorifying" Abu-Jamal and alleging the offense "apology or denial of crime" in respect of their actions.

References

Footnotes

"Mumia Abu-Jamal". Seven Stories Press. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
^ Burroughs, Todd Steven (December 2001). "Mumia Abu-Jamal's Family Faces Future While Fighting Fear 20th Anniversary of 1981 Shooting Approaches". NNPA News Service. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
See General Docket, Abu-Jamal v. Horn, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Case Nos. 01-9014, 02-9001.
^ "A Life in the Balance: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal". Amnesty International. February 17 2000. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Taylor Jr., Stuart (December 1995). "Guilty and Framed". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
^ "European Parliament resolution 9(f) B4-1170/95 (p. 39 of original, 49 of pdf)" (pdf). European Parliament. September 21 1995. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Smith, Laura (October 27, 2007). "'I spend my days preparing for life, not for death'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-10-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Burroughs, Todd Steven (2004). "Prologue: Joining the Party". Ready to Party: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party. The College of New Jersey. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
^ Burroughs, Todd Steven (2004). "Part IV: Leaving the Party". Ready to Party: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party. The College of New Jersey. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
Abu-Jamal, Mumia (February 7, 2003). "Question for Mumia: Tell Me About Your Name". Mumia Abu-Jamal Radio Broadcast. Prison Radio. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Bisson, p.119 quoted at "The Religious Affiliation of Mumia Abu-Jamal". Adherents.com. September 3 2005. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
See ages given in: Vann, Bill (April 27, 1999). "Tens of thousands rally in Philadelphia for political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal". World Socialist Web Site news. International Committee of the Fourth International. Retrieved 2007-10-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) and Erard, Michael (July 4, 2003). "A Radical in the Family". The Texas Observer. Retrieved 2007-10-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Hill, Craig (November 6, 1993). "The fight to save Mumia Abd-Jamal: Wadiya Jamal at NYC Rally". The Michigan Citizen. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Burroughs, Todd Steven (2004). "Part I: "Do Something, Nigger!"". Ready to Party: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party. The College of New Jersey. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
Burroughs, Todd Steven (2004). "Epilogue: The Barrel of a Gun". Ready to Party: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party. The College of New Jersey. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
Burroughs, Todd Steven (2004). "Part II: The Party in Philadelphia". Ready to Party: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party. The College of New Jersey. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
Burroughs, Todd Steven (2004). "Part III: 'Armed and Dangerous': Tracked by the FBI". Ready to Party: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party. The College of New Jersey. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
^ Shaw, Theodore M. (July 27, 2007). "Brief of amicus curiae" (pdf). Mumia Abu-Jamal v. Martin Horn, Pennsylvania Director of Corrections, et al. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Burroughs, Todd Steven (September-October, 2004), "Mumia's voice: confined to Pennsylvania's death row, Mumia Abu-Jamal remains at the center of debate as he continues to write and options to appeal his police murder conviction dwindle", Black Issues Book Review, retrieved 2007-10-18 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ "The Suspect - One Who Raised His Voice". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 10, 1981. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Abu-Jamal, Mumia. All Things Censored
"30 Moments in Journalism". National Association of Black Journalists. December 2, 2005. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Philadelphia AM Radio History". Radio-History.com. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
"Trial and Post-Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) hearing transcripts" (pdf). Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
"Trial transcript §1.72–§1.73". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Trial Division. June 17, 1982. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript §3.210–§3.211". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Trial Division. June 19, 1982. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript pp.94–95". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Trial Division. June 21, 1982. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript pp.5–75". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Trial Division. June 25, 1982. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript pp.75 ff". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Trial Division. June 25, 1982. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript pp.29, 31, 34, 137, 162 and 164". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Trial Division. June 24, 1982. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript p.169". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Trial Division. June 23, 1982. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"PCRA hearing transcript, pp.118–122". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Criminal Trial Division. August 2, 1995. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript p.19". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Trial Division. June 30, 1982. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript p.127". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Trial Division. June 28, 1982. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript pp.99–100". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Trial Division. June 29, 1982. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Post-Trial Motions transcript p.29". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Criminal Trial Division. May 25, 1983. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript, pp.3–34". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Please, Philadelphia Criminal Trial Division. July 3, 1982. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript, pp.10–16". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Please, Philadelphia Criminal Trial Division. July 3, 1982. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Trial transcript, pp.100–103". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Please, Philadelphia Criminal Trial Division. July 3, 1982. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Beverly, Arnold (June 8, 1999). "Affidavit of Arnold Beverly". Free Mumia Coalition. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Newman, George Michael (September 25, 2001), Affidavit of George Michael Newman, Free Mumia Coalition, retrieved 2007-10-31 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"PCRA hearing transcript p.144". Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Criminal Trial Division. June 26, 1997. Retrieved 2007-10-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Williams, Yvette (January 28, 2002), Declaration of Yvette Williams, Free Mumia Coalition, retrieved 2007-10-31 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Pate, Kenneth (April 18, 2003). "Declaration of Kenneth Pate". Free Mumia Coalition. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Abu-Jamal, Mumia (May 3, 2001). "Declaration of Mumia Abu-Jamal". Chicago Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Cook, William (April 29, 2001). "Declaration of William Cook". Free Mumia Coalition. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Pennsylvania v. Abu-Jamal, 555 A.2d 846 (1989).
Pennsylvania v. Abu-Jamal, 569 A.2d 915 (1990).
Abu-Jamal v. Pennsylvania, 498 U.S. 881 (1990).
Abu-Jamal v. Pennsylvania, 501 U.S. 1214 (1991).
^ Yohn, William H., Jr. (December 2001). "Memorandum and Order" (pdf). Mumia Abu-Jamal, Petitioner, vs. Martin Horn, Commissioner, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al., Respondents. US District Court for the Eastern District of Philadelphia. Retrieved 2007-10-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
"PCRA hearing transcript pp.204 ff". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Criminal Trial Division. August 11, 1995. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"PCRA hearing transcript pp.16 ff". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Criminal Trial Division. August 14, 1995. Retrieved 2007-11-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"PCRA hearing transcript pp.45 ff". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Criminal Trial Division. August 10, 1995. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"PCRA hearing transcript". Commonwealth vs. Mumia Abu-Jamal aka Wesley Cook. Court of the Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Criminal Trials Division. August 2, 1995. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Faulkner, Maureen (December 8–14, 1999). "Running From The Truth". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
Pennsylvania v. Abu-Jamal, 720 A.2d 79 (1998).
"Abu-Jamal's death sentence overturned". BBC News. December 18, 2001. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
See p.70 of the July 2006 appeal brief for Mumia Abu-Jamal before the US Court of Appeal citing the ruling of Judge Yohn in the US District Court, the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the United States Supreme Court precedent of Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367 (1988)
"Mumia still waiting for due process". International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal. March 6, 2003. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "Piette, Betsey" ignored (help)
Rimer, Sara (December 19, 2001). "Death sentence overturned in 1981 killing of officer". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Lindorff, Dave (December 8, 2005). "A victory for Mumia". Salon.com. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Duffy, Shannon P. (May 18, 2007). "Spectators Pack Courtroom as 3rd Circuit Hears Appeal in Mumia Abu-Jamal Case". The Legal Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Maurer-Carter, Terri (August 21, 2001). "Declaration of Terri Maurer-Carter". Free Mumia Coalition. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Bryan, Robert R. (July 20, 2006). "Brief on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal to the US Court of Appeal" (pdf). Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Conroy, Theresa (September 4, 2001), "She's 'scared' by impact of her allegation - Says Mumia judge made a racist remark", Philadelphia Daily News {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Carter, Kevin L (May 16, 1994). "A voice of Death Row to be heard on NPR". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Carter, Kevin L (May 17, 1994). "Inmate's broadcasts cancelled". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Mumia Abu-Jamal Sues NPR, Claiming Censorship". Court TV. March 26, 1996. Retrieved 2007-10-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Inmate's commentaries, dropped by NPR, will appear in print". The Philadelphia Inquirer. March 6, 1995. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Mumia Abu-Jamal to Speak at College Graduation Ceremonies" (Press release). Peter Bohmer of Evergreen State College, Washington State. May 26, 1999. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Reynolds, Mark (June 2, 2004). "Whatever Happened to Mumia Abu-Jamal?". PopMatters. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Honorary Degrees". New College of California School of Law. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
Abu-Jamal, Mumia. "Mumia Abu-Jamal's Radio Broadcasts - essay transcripts and archived mp3". PrisonRadio.org. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
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"San Francisco [[ILWU]] Local 10 Executive Board Resolution - Support for April 24, 1999 demonstrations in favor of the cause of Mumia Abu-Jamal (also describing support of other named labor union groups)" (Press release). ILWU. February 9, 1999. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
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"Partial list of individuals, labor organizations, and other groups which have signed the Partisan Defense Committee's Demand for the Immediate Freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal". Partisan Defense Committee. October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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Elijah, Jill Soffiyah (July 26, 2006). "Brief of [[Amicus Curiae|Amici Curiae]] National Lawyers Guild, National Conference of Black Lawyers, International Association of Democratic Lawyers et al in support of Mumia Abu Jamal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit" (pdf). National Lawyers Guild. Retrieved 2007-11-30. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
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^ Ceïbe, Cathy (November 13, 2006). "USA Sues Paris: From Death Row, Mumia Stirs Up More Controversy" (in English and translated from French). L'Humanité. Retrieved 2007-10-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
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Simons, Stefan (June 29, 2006). "Paris Street for Mumia Abu-Jamal Sparks Trans-Atlantic Row". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2007-10-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"HR 407, [[109th US Congress]]". GovTrack.us. May 19, 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
"SR 102, 109th US Congress". GovTrack.us. June 15, 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"HR 1082, 109th US Congress". GovTrack.us. December 6, 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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Sources and further reading

Abu-Jamal, Mumia.
- Live from Death Row. HarperTrade, 1996. ISBN 0-380-72766-8
- Ich Schreibe um zu Leben. Zeugnisse eines zum Tode Verurteilten (I Write to live. Testimonies of a Person Sentenced to Death). Atlantik (Bremen), 1997. ISBN 3-926529-20-2
- All Things Censored. Seven Stories Press, 2000. ISBN 1-58322-022-4
- Das Imperium kennt kein Gesetz (The Empire Knows No Law). Atlantik (Bremen), 2002. ISBN 3-926529-59-8
- Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner of Conscience. South End Press, 2003. ISBN 0-89608-699-2
- Faith of Our Fathers: An Examination of the Spiritual Life of African and African-American People. Africa World Press, 2003. ISBN 1-59221-019-8
- We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party. South End Press, 2004. ISBN 0-89608-718-2
Amnesty International. The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Life in the Balance (Open Media Pamphlet Series). Open Media, 2001. ISBN 1-58322-081-X
Bisson, Terry On a Move: The Story of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Litmus Books, 2000. ISBN 0-87486-901-3
Faulkner, Maureen; Smerconish, Michael A.. Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice. The Lyons Press, 2007. ISBN 1-59921-376-1
Lindorff, David. Killing Time. Common Courage Press, 2002. ISBN 1-56751-228-3
Schiffmann, Michael. Wettlauf Gegen Den Todd. Mumia Abu-Jamal: Ein Schwarzer Revolutionär im Weiβen Amerika (Race Against Death. Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Black Revolutionary in White America). Promedia, 2006. ISBN 3-85371-258-4
Weinglass, Leonard. Race for Justice: Mumia Abu-Jamal's Fight Against the Death Penalty. Common Courage Press, 1995. ISBN 1-56751-070-1
Williams, Daniel R. Executing Justice: An Inside Account of the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. St. Martin's Press, 2002. ISBN 0-375-76124-1

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