Who is Mumia Abu-Jamal?
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a renowned journalist from Philadelphia who has been in prison since 1981 and on death row since 1983 for allegedly shooting Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. He is known as the Voice of the Voiceless for his award- winning reporting on police brutality and other social and racial epidemics that plague communities of color in Philadelphia and throughout the world. Mumia has received international support over the years in his efforts to overturn his unjust conviction. Mumia Abu-Jamal was serving as the President of the 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. Years later he began reporting professionally on radio stations such as NPR, and was the news director of Philadelphia station WHAT. Much of his journalism called attention to the blatant injustice and brutality he watched happen on a daily basis to MOVE, a revolutionary organization that
Born Wesley Cook, Mumia Abu-Jamal took his first breath on 24 April 1954. He is a former Black Panther and journalist, who often moonlighted as a cab driver. Mumia Abu-Jamal is most famous for the murder of a police officer named Daniel Faulkner in 1981. Though he was convicted of murdering Faulkner, Mumia Abu-Jamal has maintained that he is innocent since his conviction. Mumia Abu-Jamal was originally sentenced to death for the murder of Officer Faulkner. However, his sentence was overturned in December 2001, and a judge ordered repeat sentencing at the same time. He appealed that ruling, as did the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Since then, both sides have tried to make changes to his sentence. Despite the fact that the murder occurred in Philadelphia, the Mumia Abu-Jamal case has garnered international attention. Supporters around the world steadfastly assert that he is innocent while human-rights activists oppose the death-penalty sentence. Many claim that the murder of Faulkner was
Mumia Abu-Jamal is an award-winning Pennsylvania journalist who exposed police violence against minority communities. On death row since 1982, he was wrongfully sentenced for the shooting of a police officer. New evidence, including the recantation of a key eyewitness, new ballistic and forensic evidence and a confession from Arnold Beverly (one of the two killers of Officer Faulkner) points to his innocence! Mumia had no criminal record. For the last 23 years, Abu-Jamal has been locked up 23 hours a day, denied contact visits with his family, had his confidential legal mail illegally opened by prison authorities, and put into punitive detention for writing his first of three books while in prison, Live From Death Row. His case is currently on appeal before the Federal District Court in Philadelphia. Mumia’s fight for a new trial has won the support of tens of thousands around the world, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, The European Parliament, Alice Walker, Paul Newm
Mumia Abu-Jamal was a radio journalist in Philadelphia during the 1970s, the years of Mayor Frank Rizzo. A member of the Black Panther Party from age 14 and later a supporter of the MOVE organization, he was known as the voice of the voiceless” on Philly air waves. He was the recipient of a Major Armstrong Award for radio journalism, and was named one of Philadelphia’s people to watch” in 1981 by Philadelphia magazine. He was president of the Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia. He had no prior criminal record. In December of 1981, Mumia was shot by a Philadelphia cop and almost died when he intervened in a street incident where his own brother was being beaten by the same cop. The police officer was also shot and killed, and witnesses saw other men run from the scene. When more police arrived, they beat Mumia before taking him to the hospital, and he was immediately charged with murder. Mumia’s brother and another key eyewitness were later harassed by police and driven ou
