Mumia
Abu-Jamal not the victim
The other day as I was walking to class,
I noticed a “Free Mumia” patch on a student’s
backpack. I had the urge to confront this
person right there and ask them why in the
world they would have compassion for a convicted
cop-killer, but I didn’t, as I was already
late. Instead, I just let them go on their
ignorant way, supporting this waste of human
life, Mumia Abu-Jamal. Today, however, I
will present to you the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal,
and why he should never leave prison alive.
On Dec. 9, 1981, a Philadelphia police officer
by the name of Daniel Faulkner pulled over
a car that was driving the wrong way. The
man inside, William Cook, exited his car
at the request of Officer Faulkner, yet
as Faulkner turned his head, Cook assaulted
him and punched him in the face. Cook’s
brother, Wesley, who is also known as Mumia
Abu-Jamal, happened to be watching the event
unfold from his taxicab across the street.
After Faulkner struck Cook in self-defense,
Abu-Jamal exited the cab, approached Faulkner
and shot him in the back with his .38 caliber
revolver. He proceeded to shoot Faulkner
repeatedly, finally killing him with a shot
to his head.
First of all, knowing what happened by eyewitness
accounts, why would anyone in their right
mind side with this barbarian? There are
several reasons why this man is indefinitely
guilty and should be executed, yet people
seem to disregard these facts and love to
turn this into a purely racial issue, since
Abu-Jamal is black and Officer Faulkner
was white. Abu-Jamal has even become a sort
of symbol for people wanting so-called “racial
justice,” meaning that, to them, he was
wrongly accused and jailed simply because
of the color of his skin. It’s amazing to
me how the real issues are ignored, and
people believe simply what they want to
believe.
Many people argue that Abu-Jamal did not
have enough money to hire experts to fight
for him; they claim that he only had $150
to allocate to his entire defense. The truth
is Abu-Jamal actually had more than $13,000,
thanks to public funds from his wacko supporters!
He was even supported by numerous professionals,
such as a ballistics expert, legal advisors,
and a personal court stenographer!
Even with this 1982 dream team, he still
lost, which says something about his supporters’
credibility.
Another common misconception by supporters
of this man is that he was “denied of his
right to represent himself.” Abu-Jamal,
in actuality, chose to represent himself
at the beginning of the ordeal, and failed
miserably. He presented asinine arguments,
facilitated lengthy delays, and even acted
in contempt of court, until finally the
judge ordered Abu-Jamal’s co-counsel to
take control of the defense. Laughably,
Abu-Jamal even planned for the head of the
radical and violent group M.O.V.E., John
Africa, to defend him, a man who was openly
anti-government and not even a lawyer!
I could go on and on with common misconceptions
about Abu-Jamal’s case and why he is guilty
and should be dealt with accordingly, but
I don’t have the space to do so. I instead
urge you to go to http://www.danielfaulkner.com
and read the facts for yourself about why
this man, Mumia Abu-Jamal, is one of the
biggest wastes of human life on this planet.
Gerry Wachovsky is a business major at
Cal State Long Beach.
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