Mumia Abu-Jamal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mumia Abu-Jamal
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Abu-Jamal c. 1980
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Wesley Cook
April 24, 1954 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Occupation | Activist, journalist |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 8 |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death; commuted to life imprisonment without parole |
Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook; April 24, 1954) is an American activist and journalist. He was found guilty in 1982 for the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. He was given a very serious sentence.
While in prison, he wrote and shared his thoughts about the justice system in the United States. After many appeals, his original sentence was changed by a federal court. In 2011, prosecutors agreed to a sentence of life imprisonment without the chance of leaving prison early. He joined the regular prison population the next year.
Mumia Abu-Jamal became involved with the Black Panther Party when he was 14 years old in 1968. He was a member until he was 16. After leaving the group, he finished high school and became a radio reporter. He later became the president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists (1978–1980). He supported MOVE, a group in Philadelphia, and reported on a 1978 event where a police officer died.
Since 1982, many people have questioned if Abu-Jamal's trial was fair. Some believe he is innocent, and many were against his original sentence. However, Officer Faulkner's family, politicians, and law enforcement groups believe his trial was fair, that he was guilty, and that his original sentence was right.
When his original sentence was changed in 2001, The New York Times called him "perhaps the world's best-known death-row inmate." While in prison, Abu-Jamal has published books and articles about social and political topics. His first book was Live from Death Row (1995).
Contents
Early Life and Activism
Mumia Abu-Jamal was born Wesley Cook in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up there with his younger brother, William. They both went to local public schools.
In 1968, a high school teacher from Kenya taught a class about African cultures. He encouraged students to choose African or Arabic names for class. He gave Cook the name "Mumia." According to Abu-Jamal, "Mumia" means "Prince." It was the name of a Kenyan anti-colonial leader who fought against the British before Kenya became independent.
Joining the Black Panthers
Abu-Jamal joined the Black Panther Party as a teenager. He helped start the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panther Party with other members. He was put in charge of writing news and information for the group. He left Benjamin Franklin High School and began living at the group's headquarters.
He spent time in New York City in late 1969 and in Oakland in early 1970. He lived and worked with other Black Panther members in those cities. The party was started in Oakland. He was a member from May 1969 to October 1970. During this time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) watched him secretly as part of a program called COINTELPRO. The Philadelphia police helped the FBI. The FBI tried to get into Black activist groups and cause problems within them.
Returning to School
After leaving the Black Panthers, Abu-Jamal went back to his old high school. He was suspended for giving out papers that called for "black revolutionary student power." He led protests to try and change the school's name to Malcolm X High, but it didn't happen.
After getting his GED (a high school equivalency diploma), Abu-Jamal studied for a short time at Goddard College in rural Vermont. He then returned to Philadelphia.
Marriages and Family
Wesley Cook took the name Abu-Jamal ("father of Jamal" in Arabic) after his first child, Jamal, was born on July 18, 1971. He married Jamal's mother, Biba, in 1973, but they did not stay together long. Their daughter, Lateefa, was born soon after their wedding. The couple later divorced.
In 1977, Abu-Jamal married his second wife, Marilyn, who was known as "Peachie." Their son, Mazi, was born in early 1978. By 1981, Abu-Jamal had divorced Peachie and married his third and last wife, Wadiya. She passed away on December 27, 2022.
Radio Journalism Career
By 1975, Abu-Jamal was working in radio news. He started at Temple University's WRTI and then worked for commercial radio stations. In 1975, he worked at radio station WHAT. In 1978, he hosted a weekly show at WCAU-FM. He also worked for short times at radio station WPEN.
From 1979 to 1981, he worked at National Public Radio (NPR) station WHYY. The station management asked him to leave. They said he was not objective enough in his news reporting. As a radio journalist, Abu-Jamal was known for covering the MOVE group in West Philadelphia's Powelton Village neighborhood. He reported on the 1979–80 trial of the "MOVE Nine." These individuals were found guilty of killing police officer James Ramp.
Abu-Jamal had several important interviews, including with basketball player Julius Erving, musician Bob Marley, and author Alex Haley. He was chosen as president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists.
Before joining MOVE, Abu-Jamal reported on the group. When he joined MOVE, he said it was because he cared about the people in the organization. Looking back 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. This helped him earn more money. He had also been working part-time as a reporter for WDAS. This was a radio station that focused on African American listeners.
Traffic Stop and Officer Faulkner's Death
At 3:55 AM on December 9, 1981, in Philadelphia, near 13th and Locust Streets, Philadelphia Police Department officer Daniel Faulkner stopped a car. The car belonged to and was driven by William Cook, Abu-Jamal's younger brother. Officer Faulkner and Cook got into a physical fight. Abu-Jamal was driving his taxi nearby and saw the fight. He parked his taxi and ran across the street toward Cook's car. Officer Faulkner was hurt and died at the scene.
Arrest and Trial
Police arrived and arrested Abu-Jamal. He was taken from the scene of the shooting to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. There, he received treatment for his wound. He was then taken to Police Headquarters. He was charged and held for trial for the serious crime of killing Officer Faulkner.
Verdict and Sentence
After three hours of thinking, the jury decided that Abu-Jamal was guilty. All jury members agreed.
During the part of the trial where the sentence was decided, Abu-Jamal read a statement to the jury. Joseph McGill, the prosecuting attorney, then asked him questions about his character.
In his statement, Abu-Jamal said that his lawyer was forced on him and that the lawyer did not follow his wishes. He claimed that his rights were "stolen" from him by the judge. He especially focused on not being allowed to get help from John Africa, who was not a lawyer. He also said he was stopped from defending himself. He quoted John Africa and said:
Does it matter whether a white man is charged with killing a black man or a black man is charged with killing a white man? As for justice when the prosecutor represents the Commonwealth the Judge represents the Commonwealth and the court-appointed lawyer is paid and supported by the Commonwealth, who follows the wishes of the defendant, the man charged with the crime? If the court-appointed lawyer ignores, or goes against the wishes of the man he is charged with representing, whose wishes does he follow? Who does he truly represent or work for? ... I am innocent of these charges that I have been charged of and convicted of and despite the connivance of Sabo, McGill and Jackson to deny me my so-called rights to represent myself, to assistance of my choice, to personally select a jury who is totally of my peers, to cross-examine witnesses, and to make both opening and closing arguments, I am still innocent of these charges.
The jury decided that Abu-Jamal should receive the death sentence. All jury members agreed.
Amnesty International is a human rights group. They said it was wrong that the prosecution used statements from when Abu-Jamal was a young activist during his sentencing. They also said the trial was too political. They noted that Philadelphia had a history of police problems and corruption. This included fake evidence and too much force. Amnesty International concluded that the trial "violated basic international rules for fair trials and the use of the death penalty."
Appeals and Review
State Appeals
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania heard and rejected Abu-Jamal's first appeal on March 6, 1989. They later refused to hear it again. The Supreme Court of the United States also refused his request for a review on October 1, 1990. They refused again twice until June 10, 1991.
On June 1, 1995, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge signed a paper to carry out Abu-Jamal's death sentence. But this was stopped while Abu-Jamal tried to get his case reviewed again in the state courts. During these reviews, new witnesses were called. One witness, William "Dales" Singletary, said he saw the shooting and that the person who shot was a passenger in Cook's car. The court found Singletary's story "not believable" because it had many differences.
The six judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania all agreed that all of Abu-Jamal's arguments, including that his lawyer did not help him enough, were not strong enough. The Supreme Court of the United States refused another request for review on October 4, 1999. This allowed Governor Ridge to sign a second death warrant on October 13, 1999. But this was also stopped as Abu-Jamal began to seek review in federal courts.
In 2001, a private investigator named George Newman claimed that a witness named Chobert had changed his story. People pointed out that police photos of the crime scene did not show Chobert's taxi. Also, Cynthia White, the only witness at the first trial who said she saw the taxi, had previously described the crime scene without mentioning it. Cynthia White was declared dead in 1992, but Pamela Jenkins claimed she saw White alive as late as 1997. The Free Mumia Coalition has said that White was a police informant and that she lied in her testimony against Abu-Jamal.
Kenneth Pate, who was in prison with Abu-Jamal, has since claimed that his step-sister, Priscilla Durham, a hospital security guard, later admitted she did not hear a "hospital confession" that she had testified about at trial. The hospital doctors said that Abu-Jamal was "about to faint" when he was brought in. They did not hear any such confession.
In 2008, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected another request from Abu-Jamal for a hearing. This was about claims that trial witnesses lied. The court said he had waited too long to file the appeal.
On March 26, 2012, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected his appeal for a new trial. His defense had argued that evidence presented by the prosecution in the original trial was not reliable. This was based on a 2009 report by the National Academy of Sciences. This was reported as Abu-Jamal's last legal appeal.
On April 30, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that Abu-Jamal would not immediately get another appeal. They said the process had to continue until August 30 of that year. The defense argued that former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille should not have been involved in the 2012 appeals decision. This was because he had been Philadelphia District Attorney (DA) during the 1989 appeal. Both sides in the 2018 proceedings often mentioned a 1990 letter from Castille to then-Governor Bob Casey. In the letter, Castille urged Casey to sign the execution papers for those found guilty of killing police officers. This letter, which demanded Casey send "a clear and dramatic message to all cop killers," was given as a reason to suspect Castille was biased. Philadelphia's current DA Larry Krasner said he could not find any document supporting the defense's claim. On August 30, 2018, the process to decide on another appeal was extended again. A decision was delayed for at least 60 more days.
Federal Court Ruling in 2001
The Free Mumia Coalition published statements from William Cook and his brother Abu-Jamal in the spring of 2001. Cook, who was stopped by the police officer, had not made any statement before April 29, 2001. He also did not testify at his brother's trial. In 2001, he said he had not seen who killed Faulkner. Abu-Jamal did not make any public statements about Faulkner's death until May 4, 2001. In his story, he claimed he was sitting in his taxi across the street. He heard shouting, saw a police car, and heard gunshots. When he saw his brother looking confused across the street, Abu-Jamal ran to him from the parking lot and was wounded by a police officer.
In 2001, Judge William H. Yohn, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania supported the conviction. He said that Abu-Jamal did not have the right to a new trial. However, he canceled the death sentence on December 18, 2001. He pointed to problems in the sentencing part of the trial and the original sentencing process. He said that "the jury instructions and verdict sheet in this case involved an unfair use of federal law. The instructions and form made it very likely that the jury thought they could not consider any reason to lessen the sentence unless everyone agreed on it." He ordered the State of Pennsylvania to start new sentencing procedures within 180 days. He also ruled that the rule requiring a jury to agree completely on reasons to lessen a death sentence was against the Constitution.
Eliot Grossman and Marlene Kamish, Abu-Jamal's lawyers, criticized the ruling. They said it did not allow for a completely new trial where they could show evidence that their client was framed. Prosecutors also criticized the ruling. Officer Faulkner's widow, Maureen, said the decision would allow Abu-Jamal, whom she called a "remorseless, hate-filled killer," to "enjoy the pleasures that come from simply being alive." Both sides appealed.
Federal Appeal and Review
On December 6, 2005, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to hear appeals on four issues from the District Court's ruling:
- Regarding sentencing: Was the jury's verdict form flawed, and were the judge's instructions to the jury confusing?
- Regarding conviction and sentencing: Was there racial bias in jury selection that made the jury unfair and the trial unjust? (This is called the Batson claim.)
- Regarding conviction: Did the prosecutor unfairly try to make jurors feel less responsible by telling them that a guilty verdict would be checked later and could be appealed?
- Regarding post-conviction review hearings in 1995–1996: Did the judge, who also led the original trial, show unacceptable bias in his actions?
The Third Circuit Court heard arguments for the appeals on May 17, 2007, in Philadelphia. The judges on the appeal panel were Chief Judge Anthony Joseph Scirica, Judge Thomas Ambro, and Judge Robert Cowen. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania wanted to bring back the death sentence. They argued that Judge Yohn's ruling was wrong because he should have followed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's earlier decision on sentencing. The prosecution said the Batson claim was not valid because Abu-Jamal did not complain during the original jury selection.
The jury that was chosen had a mix of races, with 2 Black members and 10 White members when Abu-Jamal was found guilty. But the defense lawyer told the Third Circuit Court that Abu-Jamal did not get a fair trial. This was because the jury was racially biased, misinformed, and the judge was racist. He noted that the prosecution used eleven out of fourteen chances to remove potential Black jurors.
On March 27, 2008, the three judges gave their decision. Two judges agreed with Yohn's 2001 decision, but they rejected the claims of bias and the Batson claim. Judge Ambro disagreed on the Batson issue. On July 22, 2008, Abu-Jamal's request for the full Third Circuit panel of 12 judges to rethink the decision was denied. On April 6, 2009, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear Abu-Jamal's appeal, allowing his conviction to remain.
On January 19, 2010, the Supreme Court told the appeals court to reconsider its decision to cancel the death penalty. The same three judges met again in Philadelphia on November 9, 2010, to hear arguments. On April 26, 2011, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals again said it would cancel the death sentence. This was because the jury instructions and verdict form were unclear and confusing. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case in October.
Death Penalty Removed
On December 7, 2011, District Attorney of Philadelphia R. Seth Williams announced that prosecutors would no longer seek the death penalty for Abu-Jamal. This decision had the support of the victim's family. They would accept a sentence of life in prison without the chance of leaving early. This sentence was confirmed by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania on July 9, 2013.
After the press conference about the sentence, Maureen Faulkner, Officer Faulkner's widow, said she did not want to go through the pain of another trial. She understood that it would be very hard to present the case against Abu-Jamal again. This was because 30 years had passed, and several important witnesses had died. She also repeated her belief that Abu-Jamal will be punished further after death.
Life as a Prisoner
In 1991, Abu-Jamal wrote an essay in the Yale Law Journal. It was about the death penalty and his experiences in prison. In May 1994, NPR's All Things Considered program hired Abu-Jamal. He was to give a series of three-minute talks each month about crime and punishment. But the plans were canceled after groups like the Fraternal Order of Police and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole spoke out against it. Abu-Jamal sued NPR for not airing his work, but a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit. His talks were later published in May 1995 as part of his first book, Live from Death Row.
In 1996, he earned a B.A. degree through correspondence classes from Goddard College. He had attended this college for a short time when he was young. He has been asked to give graduation speeches at several colleges and has done so through recordings. In 1999, Abu-Jamal was asked to record a main speech for the graduating class at Evergreen State College in Washington State. Some people protested this event. In 2000, he recorded a graduation speech for Antioch College. The now-closed New College of California School of Law gave him an honorary degree "for his fight against the death penalty."
On October 5, 2014, he gave the graduation speech at Goddard College through a recording. As before, the choice of Abu-Jamal was controversial. Ten days later, the Pennsylvania legislature passed a new part of the Crime Victims Act called "Revictimization Relief." This new rule was meant to stop actions that cause "a temporary or permanent state of mental anguish" to people who have been victims of crime. Republican governor Tom Corbett signed it five days later. People who commented on it suggested that the bill was aimed at controlling Abu-Jamal's journalism, book publishing, and public speaking. They also thought it would be challenged because of free speech rights.
With some breaks due to prison rules, Abu-Jamal has been a regular speaker on an online broadcast for many years. This broadcast is supported by Prison Radio. He also writes regularly for Junge Welt, a Marxist newspaper in Germany. For almost ten years, Abu-Jamal taught basic courses in Georgist economics by mail to other prisoners around the world.
He has also written and published several books: Live From Death Row (1995), which is like a diary of life in prison; All Things Censored (2000), a collection of essays about crime and punishment; Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner of Conscience (2003), where he explores religious ideas; and We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party (2004), a history of the Black Panthers that uses his own experiences and research. This book also talks about the government's program called COINTELPRO to disrupt Black activist groups.
In 1995, Abu-Jamal was punished with solitary confinement for trying to make money in ways that were against prison rules. After the 1996 HBO documentary Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case For Reasonable Doubt? was shown, which included videos from his prison visits, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections banned outsiders from using any recording equipment in state prisons.
In a legal case before the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1998, Abu-Jamal successfully proved his right to write for money while in prison. The same case also showed that the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections had illegally opened his mail to try and find out if he was earning money from his writing.
For a short time in August 1999, Abu-Jamal began giving his radio talks live on the Pacifica Network's Democracy Now! radio news show. Prison staff cut the phone wires during his broadcast. He was later allowed to continue his broadcasts, and hundreds of his talks have been aired on Pacifica Radio.
After his death sentence was changed, Abu-Jamal was sentenced to life in prison in December 2011. At the end of January 2012, he was moved from the isolated death row section to the general prison population at State Correctional Institution – Mahanoy.
In August 2015, his lawyers filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. They claimed he was not getting proper medical care for his serious health problems. In April 2021, he tested positive for COVID-19. He was also scheduled for heart surgery to clear blocked arteries.
In 2022, Brown University's John Hay Library bought Abu-Jamal's personal papers. This was part of their project to collect stories about people in prison. According to a Brown University archivist, the Abu-Jamal collection "is the largest and only collection related to a person who is still in prison."
Popular Support and Opposition
Labor unions, politicians, supporters, teachers, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and human rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have expressed worries about whether Abu-Jamal's trial was fair. Amnesty International does not say if Abu-Jamal is guilty or innocent. They also do not call him a political prisoner.
Daniel Faulkner's family, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia, politicians, and the Fraternal Order of Police continue to support the original trial and sentence. In August 1999, the Fraternal Order of Police called for people to stop buying from or working with any individuals and groups that support Abu-Jamal. Many such groups work within the Prison-Industrial Complex, a system that Abu-Jamal has often criticized.
Because of his own writings, Abu-Jamal and his case have become well-known around the world. Other groups have called him a political prisoner. About 25 cities, including Montreal, Palermo, and Paris, have made him an honorary citizen.
In 2001, he received the sixth Erich Mühsam Prize. This award is named after an essay writer and recognizes activism like his. In October 2002, he was made an honorary member of the German political group Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime.
On April 29, 2006, a new road in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis was named Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal in his honor. To protest the street naming, U.S. Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick and Senator Rick Santorum, both from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, introduced resolutions in both Houses of Congress condemning the decision. The House of Representatives voted 368–31 in favor of Fitzpatrick's resolution. In December 2006, on the 25th anniversary of the murder, the Republican Party committee for the 59th Ward of Philadelphia filed two criminal complaints in the French legal system. They accused the city of Paris and the city of Saint-Denis of "glorifying" Abu-Jamal. They claimed this was an offense of "apology or denial of crime."
In 2007, Officer Faulkner's widow wrote a book with Philadelphia radio journalist Michael Smerconish. It was called Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Pain, Loss, and Injustice. The book was part memoir by Faulkner's widow and part discussion. They wrote about Abu-Jamal's trial and discussed evidence for his conviction. They also talked about supporting the death penalty.
In early 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Debo Adegbile, a former lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He was nominated to lead the civil rights division of the Justice Department. He had worked on Abu-Jamal's case, and his nomination was rejected by the U.S. Senate from both parties because of that.
After Goddard College invited Abu-Jamal to give a recorded graduation speech in 2014, police unions protested. Because of this, the Revictimization Relief Act was created, passed, and signed into Pennsylvania law. It allowed victims and prosecutors to sue if a person who committed a crime caused "a state of mental anguish" by continuing to talk about "the continuing effect of a crime on the victim." The law was struck down in April 2015. It was found to be too vague and to limit free speech too much.
On April 10, 2015, Marylin Zuniga, a teacher at Forest Street Elementary School in Orange, New Jersey, was suspended without pay. This happened after she asked her students to write cards to Abu-Jamal, who was sick in prison from diabetes, without getting approval from the school or parents. Some parents and police leaders criticized her actions. On the other hand, some community members, parents, teachers, and professors supported Zuniga and criticized her suspension. Scholars and educators from across the country, including Noam Chomsky, Chris Hedges and Cornel West, signed a letter asking for her to be allowed to teach again immediately. On May 13, 2015, the Orange Preparatory Academy board voted to fire Marylin Zuniga after hearing from her and her supporters.
Written Works
- Beneath the Mountain: An Anti-Prison Reader, City Lights Publishers (2024), ISBN: 9780872869264
- Murder Incorporated - Dreaming of Empire: Book One (Empire, Genocide, and Manifest Destiny) (2018), Prison Radio, ISBN: 9780998960012, co-authored by Stephen Vittoria
- Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? City Lights Publishers (2017), ISBN: 9780872867383
- Writing on the Wall: Selected Prison Writings of Mumia Abu-Jamal, City Lights Publishers (2015), ISBN: 978-0872866751
- The Classroom and the Cell: Conversations on Black Life in America, Third World Press (2011), ISBN: 978-0883783375
- Jailhouse Lawyers: Prisoners Defending Prisoners v. the U.S.A., City Lights Publishers (2009), ISBN: 978-0872864696
- We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party, South End Press (2008), ISBN: 978-0896087187
- Faith of Our Fathers: An Examination of the Spiritual Life of African and African-American People, Africa World Press (2003), ISBN: 978-1592210190
- All Things Censored, Seven Stories Press (2000), ISBN: 978-1583220221
- Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner of Conscience, Plough Publishing House (1997), ISBN: 978-0874860863
- Live from Death Row, Harper Perennial (1996), ISBN: 978-0380727667
Images for kids
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Abu-Jamal c. 1980
See also
In Spanish: Mumia Abu-Jamal para niños
- Sundiata Acoli, murdered a New Jersey state trooper in 1974
