US Supreme Court Rejects New Trial for Former Black Panther
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AFP, October 6, 2008
The US Supreme Court Monday refused to hear arguments for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther accused of killing a police officer who has become an icon for anti-capital punishment campaigners.
His lawyer Robert Bryan has already said he will seek to bring a second Supreme Court appeal—on the grounds of racism—for the 54-year-old former radio journalist accused of the 1981 murder of Daniel Faulkner.
Abu-Jamal’s death sentence was overturned in March by a federal court in Philadelphia, which found that the jury in the case had been incorrectly instructed. The judges voted two-to-one to uphold his conviction, however.
Having escaped death row, his lawyers are now fighting a life sentence and want to bring him back before a jury for a new trial.
They had asked the Supreme Court to approve a re-trial because of unreliable testimony from witnesses.
Bryan has said he will not rest until his client is freed. “Even though the federal court granted a new trial on the question of the death penalty, we want a complete reversal of the conviction,” he said in July.
As part of his defense, Abu-Jamal has argued he was denied a fair trial in 1982 because the prosecution barred 10 qualified African-Americans from sitting on the jury, which in the end consisted of 10 whites and two blacks.
The Philadelphia appeals court had rejected his arguments on lack of evidence of any racist intent on the part of the prosecution.
The US penal code bans the exclusion of potential jurists because of the colour of their skin.
Abu-Jamal’s campaign has attracted support from Nelson Mandela, Hollywood celebrities Danny Glover and Susan Sarandon and British parliamentarians, according to campaign group Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition.
Abu-Jamal was serving as the president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists at the time of his arrest. He was a founding member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Black Panther Party as a teenager.
The Black Panther Party was a Leftist African-American organization from the 1960s and 70s established to promote black power and self-defense.
(Posted on October 6, 2008)
Comments
“Abu-Jamal’s campaign has attracted support from Nelson Mandela, Hollywood celebrities Danny Glover and Susan Sarandon and British parliamentarians, according to campaign group Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition.”
This is proof positive that black-criminals are the liberals’ favorite heroes.
Posted by DJ at 5:52 PM on October 6
The US penal code bans the exclusion of potential jurists because of the colour of their skin.
It’s worse than that — if the defendant is a minority, then the lawyers for the prosecution cannot preemptorily dismiss prospective jurors of the same race as the defendant.
Philadelphia, with its Quaker roots and history, has a long legacy of racial pandering and egalitarianism. Therefore, it’s civic elite are as “anti-racist” as any can be. So, if its justice system doesn’t believe Mumia’s lawyers’ arguments, then they really don’t hold water.
Posted by Question Diversity at 6:00 PM on October 6
This thug and miscreant will die of old age before he is executed. The Racist Redneck Rebels have a song about him where they make the only valid argument for his release. Listen, learn, and laugh.
Posted by Flamethrower at 6:32 PM on October 6
I wonder why the state of Pennsylvania hasn’t appealed the federal court’s overturning of his death sentence? Isn’t that eligible for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court?
The Abu-Jamal case is one of the most stomach-churning of all those in which a black has managed to kill a White person, then beat the system. Mumia Abu-Jamal is as guilty as Cain, and should have been fried years ago. Yet here he still sits in jail, fat and sassy, the idol of millions of numbskulls throughout the liberal, bleeding-heart world. What a travesty of justice!
Posted by Wayne Engle at 6:44 PM on October 6
Somehow, I think, the current make up of the Supreme Court won’t be very open to this argument.
That could change over the coming decade but I rather think not. The US is at a crossroads with this bologna. If Obama wins, this attitude will control and dominate politics, probably for the rest of our lifetime (and could easily lead to civil war, I might add).
But I doubt Obama will be elected. Our communist controlled media (and I mean that LITERALLY….people who own most of our media are card carrying communists) puts on a big show of showing McCain and Obama being neck and neck and then, suddenly, Obama pulls ahead. But, whenever you conduct an uncontrolled poll (ie a non-faked poll) it shows McCain wins in an unprecedented landslide.
A good example of this is the AOL straw poll. Reset every weak and controlled to allow people to only vote once per account, it samples tens to hundreds of thousands of people across all states. The result is almost always the same. McCain wins by 60% and all states are red (well, this last time, Washington DC turned out blue, but nothing else).
http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/09/25/aol-straw-poll-sept-25-oct-2/
Note that the last two elections, so called polls by the MSM showed democrats winning while straw polls correctly predicted republican wins. The last election was extreme. All polls but ones like this, showing a landslide win for Kerry….yet the elections was won by Bush, by more popular votes than any other in American history. Obviously, the MSM polls are fabricated. Not just biased….they are made up. An attempt to manipulate the elections. It always fails. But the very attempt is chilling.
I think the landslide victory of McCain, this election is going to fracture the unholy alliance between blacks and liberals. Blacks will no longer see any white as anything but a racist enemy. And liberals will finally understand that blacks are worthless in pursuit of power, political or otherwise….a complete failure.
Racism just won’t be taken seriously as an issue anymore.
Posted by at 8:03 PM on October 6
He sounds like he was pretty successful why would he kill an officer?
Posted by pat at 11:53 PM on October 6
I’ve read a lot of articles on this guy Abu-Jamal and there’s nothing to indicate that the guy isn’t anything but guilty as sin, literally caught with a smoking gun in his hand. Still, whether it be his own hubris, shenanigans by lawyers or idiot white liberals pushing his “cause” he continues to claim innocence. It’s astounding that he’s still playing the system, and God only knows what the wife of the cop he killed must think. But there’s one thing that I will always remember in reading about this: Up to this point, and in every article I’ve read, Jamal has never come out and said he didn’t do it. Never. I may be wrong, and would welcome hearing from anyone who can prove otherwise.
Posted by Veritas at 9:50 AM on October 7
2 out of 12 comes out to 16.6%. If a jury is truely meant to be a representitive sample of the population, 16.6% is perfect in a society that is 13% black is it not?
Posted by at 11:08 AM on October 7
He should have written a children’s book, like Tookie.
Posted by at 2:15 PM on October 7
“He sounds like he was pretty successful why would he kill an officer?”
Posted by pat at 11:53 PM on October 6
Black evil, and anti-white hatred.
Trying to figure out why blacks are filled with so much hate when they have more priveleges and advantages than any race in America is an effort in futility.
Stupidity certainly is one factor.
Posted by ice at 2:37 PM on October 7
He may have been pretty successful as a radio journalist, Pat, but he was also a member of the Black Panthers, an anti-white, anti-US radical domestic terrorist organization. Are you trying to suggest that a Black Panther *wouldn’t* shoot a white cop?
Posted by Michael C. Scott at 2:47 PM on October 7
to pat….he killed cause he wanted to kill, it’s in their culture to do things on the spur of the moment, cause they think they can get away with it!
Posted by at 3:00 PM on October 7
There ain’t gonna be no landslide for McCain. The only way McCain wins is if he loses the popular vote but steals the election anyway, like Bush in 2000.
Bush stole 3 million votes with computer voting machines in 2004 to steal the election from Kerry. Polling outfits do very well, except when there is massive vote theft.
Obama is probably going to win by way too many votes for the Republicans to e-vote rob the election. They can only do that where it’s close.
A lot of those polls showing Obama now way ahead are run by Republicans and tend to be biased towards Republicans. Even they can’t hide it.
It’s the economy. It’s not really anything else. This is looking like a landslide of epic proportions. Think 1964.
I thought Mumia was guilty as Hell for a long time, until I finally really, really dug into the case. There’s really only one eyewitness who saw the whole thing, and he’s been hounded by the prosecution and the cops for decades. The guy has insisted all along the Mumia is innocent.
I’m pretty sure right now that Mumia is innocent, but the case looks bad. Cop got shot by criminal, others take off, Mumia comes on the scene, cop is deadly wounded by wakes up a bit, sees a Black guy standing near him, pulls up his gun and shoots him. The lone eyewitness sees all of this. This is how Mumia gets shot. This ain’t no OJ case.
Posted by Robert Lindsay at 6:04 PM on October 7
Poor fella, he might never get a chance to visit that street outside Paris, France named after him.
Posted by ZKR at 8:21 PM on October 7
“…God only knows what the wife of the cop he killed must think…”
There are few other cases that frost me as much as this one. Yeah, just one more black railroaded by the unjust, racist American justice system, same as OJ. Good reason to make this convicted cop killer an honored icon of the left—college commencement speaker, honorary citizen of Paris, radio-talk show host, supported by the likes of Michael Moore, Ed Asner, and Alec Baldwin, bankrolled by the NAACP.
Can you imagine how Daniel Faulker’s young wife must have felt?
The following is from an interview with Maureen Faulker:
“…In the early morning hours of Dec. 9, 1981, a young bride named Maureen Faulkner was awakened by a knock at her door. Standing outside were three members of the Philadelphia Police Department. They were there to inform Maureen that her husband of just more than one year, Officer Danny Faulkner, had been shot in the line of duty. Maureen didn’t know it yet, but her husband was already dead, and she had just taken the first step in a 26-year-plus odyssey — which continues today — in search of justice for her husband’s murderer…”
How do you think she felt in court when:
“…Two policemen and one hospital security guard testified…that while Abu Jamal was being brought into the hospital following the altercation with Faulkner, he shouted repeatedly, ‘I shot the mother f, and I hope the mother f-er dies’….”
Maureen Faulkner says she, “…watched the opposition, the Mumia supporters, scream at me … I was actually spit on during the 1982 trial.. all the anguish you’ve gone through, because all we ever hear is, ‘Free Mumia!’ but no one ever talks about those who are left behind to pick up the pieces…. This is what the family and I have been going through. I was back in court in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and again in 2001. It just goes on and on and on. It never ends…”
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=25396
http://www.danielfaulkner.com/
“…He sounds like he was pretty successful why would he kill an officer?…”
Posted by pat at 11:53 PM on October 6
Because he is a radical leftist black panther who believes killing cops is justified.
The following is from the excellent site, Discover the Network.com:
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1330
“… Mumia Abu Jamal was a member of the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panthers…Well known for referring to police officers as ‘pigs,’ a young Abu Jamal was a supporter of MOVE, a Philadelphia-based Black Power cult known for its demonstrations against local residents and its incitements against police..”
Also:
“…As Eldridge Cleaver told Reason magazine in 1986: ‘We [Panthers] would go out and ambush cops, but if we got caught we would blame it on them and claim innocence…During BPP’s years as an active entity, its members and former members would kill at least 15 law-enforcement officers and would injure dozens more…”
I don’t understand how anyone ANYONE could support this truly evil cop killer. I just learned that another mumia supporter is Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. I will make a point of boycotting that business for the rest of my life and Spreading the Word to everyone I know.
What has happened to our justice system? I have a feeling things are about to get a whole lot worse.
Bon
Posted by BonBon at 8:39 PM on October 7
”..There’s really only one eyewitness who saw the whole thing, and he’s been hounded by the prosecution and the cops for decades. The guy has insisted all along the Mumia is innocent….”
Robert:
The facts of the case speak differently:
From HumanEvents.com:
“…Mumia Abu-Jamal — was found guilty of that crime by a racially mixed jury on the basis of a multitude of physical evidence and SEVERAL independent eyewitness accounts. One prosecutor called the murder case against Abu-Jamal the strongest he had ever seen…”
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=25396
From DiscoverTheNetwork.com:
“…The body of evidence placing Mumia Abu Jamal at the scene of Faulkner’s killing was overwhelming. There were THREE eyewitnesses who testified that Abu Jamal was the killer…Abu Jamal himself never once claimed his innocence at his own trial. … The bullet in Faulkner’s brain came from Abu Jamal’s gun, which had five empty cartridges when investigators found it..”
And:
“…After court reviews, the verdict was affirmed in 1998 by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court…”
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1330
Later:
“…Beginning in 1995, the seven member Supreme Court of Pennsylvania afforded Mumia Abu-Jamal and his attorneys three separate opportunities (PCRA - Post Conviction Collateral Relief hearings) to factually prove their allegations of innocence, prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, police intimidation and coercion of witnesses. Having completed their exhaustive three year review of the facts surrounding these allegations, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania unanimously upheld Mumia Abu-Jamal’s conviction and the fairness of the 1982 trial proceedings. While repeatedly chastising Jamal’s attorneys for ‘misrepresenting the record’ to support their allegations, the Supreme Court also stated that these allegations are ‘without merit.’…”
http://www.danielfaulkner.com/original/index.html
Present your evidence M. Lindsay. Convince us that mumia is innocent.
Bon
Posted by BonBon at 10:00 PM on October 7
Ok, now I’m confused again. I really don’t know this case in tremendous depth. I’m going back to undecided.
Posted by Robert Lindsay at 6:24 AM on October 8
“I thought Mumia was guilty as Hell for a long time, until I finally really, really dug into the case. There’s really only one eyewitness who saw the whole thing, and he’s been hounded by the prosecution and the cops for decades. The guy has insisted all along the Mumia is innocent.”
Robert, if Mumia is innocent as you contend, for what reason(s) do you suppose law enforcement would settle for prosecuting an “innocent” man and neglect pursuing the “real cop killer”?
Other than the questionable eyewitness (as you describe him), what other credible evidence are you aware of that leads you to believe the defendant was falsely accused? Absent any other exculpatory evidence, your conclusion is based purly on what seems to be emotion rather than logic and reason - it just doesn’t square with reality. With all due respect, maybe you should re-question your premises before you draw your conclusions.
Posted by DJ at 9:50 AM on October 8
” Pat, but he was also a member of the Black Panthers, an anti-white, anti-US radical domestic terrorist organization.”
He was never a member of the Black Panthers. The Pennsylvania Black Panthers disbanded and ended their non profit corporation when Mumbia was 5 years old. Various members of the PA and Philly Black Panthers have repeatedly denied that Mumbia was ever one of their members or associated in any way with any members of the PA and Philly Black Panthers.
How could he have, when the Panthers disbanded when he was 5 years old. But every supporter of Mumbai firmly believes that he was unjustly accused because he was a Black Panther.
Posted by margaret at 3:54 PM on October 8
Hey Bon Bon. Thanks for your comments questioning my views. After you wrote that, I fired off an email to a Leftwing author who wrote a book saying Mumia was guilty. Then I went to Amazon.com and read through scores of book reviews of books on Mumia case.
My God! Good Lord, this guy is guilty as Hell! I’m against the death penalty, but this con artist is a lousy poster boy for the movement. He killed a cop. That’s all there is to it. Why? The cop and Mumia’s brother got into it and the cop was apparently beating Mumia’s brother over the head with a flashlight. I guess that set Mumia off and Mumia shot the cop. The cop whirled around, and shot Mumia. Mumia walked over the cop on the ground and delivered a coup de grace to the head. There were 5 eyewitnesses and Mumia confessed two times that nite. His brother saw the whole thing and he ain’t talking. Mumia refuses to say what really happened that nite. The cop was shot with a bullet from Mumia’s gun, which was fired five times. Mumia was literally caught with a smoking gun in his hand!
I thought he was innocent because I got conned. I think a lot of the rest of the “Free Mumia” crowd got conned too. Let’s get the word out about this lying clown. This really should not be a Right-Left thing. That’s just embarrassing.
Posted by at 11:48 PM on October 8
DJ, cops do go after innocent guys at times, especially when a cop gets killed. Close the case.
I’ve now reviewed the evidence and I am embarrassed. This is an airtight homicide conviction for the prosecution. The guy was literally caught with a smoking gun in his hand.
A lot of “Free Mumia” types have been taken in by the extremely clever propaganda from the slick Free Mumia campaign. The people of Philly all know this guy is guilty as Hell. But they say that the farther you get away from Philly, the more likely you are to think Mumia is innocent. I heard a long radio show on the case (1-2 hours) and that’s what swayed me. Other than that, I had not looked into it much.
Posted by Robert Lindsay at 11:53 PM on October 8
“…How could he have, when the Panthers disbanded when he was 5 years old…”
Margaret:
Discover the Network reports:
“…Born Wesley Cook in 1954, the man currently known as Mumia Abu Jamal was a member of the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panthers; he served as that group’s Information Minister when he was just 15 years old…”
and:
“…As of 1970, BPP consisted of approximately 2,000 members spread across the United States. The following year, Newton ordered all BPP chapters nationwide to close their offices and consolidate their efforts by relocating to Oakland…”
I couldn’t find anything about the BPP of Philadelphia breaking up when mumia was five years old.
Is Discover the Network wrong?
I’ll be happy to read anything you have so I can add it to my arsenal.
BTW: Where have you been?
Bon
Posted by BonBon at 12:25 AM on October 9
“…Hey Bon Bon. Thanks for your comments questioning my views…”
Thank you for the acknowledgement.
This is why the Internet has been a G-d-send for us—it beats spending hours in the library researching topics and affords us many different voices and points of view that were previously unavailable to us. I believe this is one of the reasons the left-leaning MSM—who before the Internet unquestionably had the national stage to pontificate as they saw fit—is sinking.
This case (and OJ) has angered me to no end—I’ve read the odious rhetoric from the ‘other side’ who truly want to set this cop-killer free. Fortunately, the courts (at the moment) haven’t bought any of it. If Leonard Weinglass is not evil incarnate I don’t know who is. What he and all the other advocates are fighting for is unconscionable
Can you imagine how the Faulkner (or Goldman) family must feel about these slimy lawyers and advocacy groups who fight mightily to free the murderers of their loved ones?
I fear in the new age we’re entering, we will lose our justice system; it is already damaged enough as it is.
You wrote:
“…the cop was apparently beating Mumia’s brother over the head with a flashlight…”
Not according to the site “Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner” which carefully debunks every lie and myth Weinglass has come up with:
From Myth #8:
“…Leonard Weinglass states in his article, ‘The Trial of Mumia Abu Jamal’, ‘Mumia arrived at the scene only moments after the officer had pummeled his brother with his flashlight.’…”
Here are the facts:
“…In 1982 William Cook entered a guilty plea to the charge of physically assaulting Officer Daniel Faulkner on December 9, 1981.
Several witnesses to the murder of Officer Faulkner have all testified that they saw William Cook initiate his attack on Officer Faulkner prior to the officer ever touching him.
Michael Scanlan, who witnessed the entire course of events, stated:
‘They were talking, the black man [Cook] spread-eagle in front of the car…swung around and struck the officer in the face with his fist…’
In fact, there was no brutal beating. Nor did Officer Faulkner ‘pummel’ William Cook, as Mr. Weinglass suggests:
At the crime scene, William Cook was treated for a cut on his ear so minor that there was no need to take him to the hospital.
…pictures taken on the morning of the killing of Cook’s injured ear were introduced into evidence at trial…”
http://www.danielfaulkner.com/original/index.html
I highly recommend the above site—it will dispel any myths or lies dispensed by the cop killer’s specious advocates.
And, as always, Long Live the Internet!
Bon
Posted by BonBon at 1:42 PM on October 9
Thx. More lies. The brother punched a cop in the face. Damn right if I or anyone else does that I’m going to get my butt kicked. I don’t care if it’s legal or not. Punch a cop and you’re lucky to be alive afterward. That’s how the world works. I’m actually starting to feel sorry for cop’s widow. She’s written a whole book on the subject that is supposedly one of the best reviews of this out there.
Posted by Robert Lindsay at 5:17 PM on October 9