Your cause celebre is a crap one. Mumia Abu Jamal is a murderer, as evidenced by many trials and appeals over the years, and a huge body of evidence. The fact he is black and left wing is all the convincing a lot of people on here will need. For interests of justice, balance is needed.

WHAT HAPPENED ON
DECEMBER 9TH, 1981

These are the events of the morning of December 9, 1981 as they have been testified to in the initial 1982 Trial and the subsequent 1995 and 1996 PCRA (Post Conviction Collateral Relief Hearings.) These facts have withstood direct appeal and they represent the testimony of numerous witnesses to this crime that have been deemed "credible" by the court.

At 3:55 AM on December 9, 1981 Daniel Faulkner, a twenty five year old police Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner observed a light blue Volkswagen driving down 13th Street (a one way street) the wrong way and then turning east onto Locust Street. Officer Faulkner then pulled the Volkswagen over in view of several eyewitnesses.

Prior to leaving his car, Faulkner radioed for a police wagon to back him up. Unknown to him, this would later help preserve the scene of his own murder. Officer Faulkner exited his vehicle and approached the driver's side of the Volkswagen, which was being driven by Mr. William Cook. Officer Faulkner asked Mr. Cook to exit his car. As the officer was looking away, several witnesses stated that they saw Mr. Cook punch Officer Faulkner in the face, violently attacking him. The officer responded by striking Cook, apparently with his flashlight, and then turned Cook towards the car attempting to subdue him.

For reasons that remain unknown today, sitting in a taxicab across the narrow street and watching the events as they unfolded, was William Cook's older brother, Wesley Cook (AKA Mumia Abu Jamal). According to witnesses, Mr. Jamal exited his taxi and ran across the street toward the Officer and his brother, William Cook. While Officer Faulkner was distracted by Mr. Cook, with his back turned to Mr. Jamal, Mr. Jamal was seen raising his arm and then firing one shot that found it's mark in Officer Faulkner's back. A tract Metal Test for Primer Lead done before the trial positively showed that the shot was fired from approximately 10- 12 inches.

Officer Faulkner was able to draw his gun and fire one return shot at his assailant, Mumia Abu-Jamal. This bullet was later extracted from Mr. Jamal's upper abdomen. Having fired this shot, Officer Faulkner fell to the sidewalk. While the wounded officer lay helpless and unarmed on his back, Mr. Jamal was seen by four individuals standing over the Officer with his five shot, .38 caliber Charter Arms revolver in his hand. From approximately 3 feet, Jamal began to fire at the officer's upper body.

Officer Faulkner is believed to have been conscious at this point and to be looking up at his assailant, who was later identified by several people at the crime scene as Mumia Abu Jamal. It's believed that in an attempt to save his life, Faulkner began to roll from side to side as Jamal fired at him. Jamal missed his first several shots. He then moved closer to Faulkner and bent down over him. Mr. Jamal put the muzzle of his gun within inches of Officer Faulkner's face, and squeezed off the final, and fatal, shot. The bullet entered the officer's face slightly above the eye and came to rest in his brain, killing him instantly.

JUSTICE FOR OFFICER FAULKNER!
 http://www.danielfaulkner.com/

I tend to agree with the second poster.

I am morally opposed to the death penalty and believe that advocating for it to be removed as a sentencing option should be championed at all times, however I find it offensive that certain indiduals are played up to be innocent victims of the system and marketed by groups with certain agendas.

Mumia killed a cop, that in itself shouldnt have any special weight, taking another persons life regardless of whom and why, unless in clear self defence from an immediate serious harm to oneself or another is unacceptable in any circumstance.

A clear body of evidence indicates mumia did shoot dead an individual in a cold and callous manner and he does/did deserve jail time for that. Does he deserve the death penalty, certainly not. Did he deserve to be imprisoned, certainly so.

Mumia might be a photogenic individual but it doesnt detract from the fact he murdered someone in cold blood and was a habitual carrier of a firearm.

The death penalty should be opposed for sure, but it should be opposed on principle.

It would be interesting to know what a passionate anti death penalty comment was removed from here today.

The poster made it clear that the death penalty is never acceptable, but questioned using mumia as a figure head for the cause when he himself is a convicted murderer.

They said it should be argued against on principal not on propaganda... actually a pretty fair argument, yet someone on the editorial staff removed it...