kookbreaker
Evil Fokker
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2001
- Messages
- 15,888
On December 9th, a few hours from this writing. Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner was issuing a traffic citation to a wrong way driver who attempted to puch him. Faulkner had subdued the man with minimal violence when he was shot in the back by another man. Drawing his own weapon, Faulkner was able to shoot his assailant before collapsing, wherupon the assailant shot Faulkner several times in the face, killing him outright.
Faulkner's murderer was one Wesley Cook, better known to the world as Mumia Abu Jamal. Unable to escape due to the gunshot wound, Mumia was quickly picked up by police only a few yards away from his victim. Witnesses were able to identify him at the site.
Mumia had his day in court. Since every single piece of evidence pointed to his guilt, Mumia attempted to turn his court case into a Chicago 7 radical madhouse in an effort to get some kind of mistrial The judge would not have any of it, and the case proceeded depsite his and his allies attempts at disruption. His lawyer, hampered already with a loser of a case and by Mumia's withholding of critical files, did his best, but the outcome was inevitable: Guilty. Mumia would be sentenced to death.
Several years passed, and somehow, perhaps due to some alleged skill at writing, Mumia became a cause celebre amongst the College socialist/activist/anti-globalist set. The 'Free Mumia' T-shirt in its time was perhaps more popular than the Che shirt worn by the same crowd.
Word spread, and myths were invented by Mumia's new lawyers. Despite his being found guilty, neither Mumia, nor his own brother (the person Faulkner was citing for driving the wrong way) gave an explanation for the events of that day until very recently, and then it was a tale that made not a bit of sense.
The myths became legends in the Mumia supporters, despite their total lack of truth. Even worse was how the 'Free Mumia' crowd loved to play the conspiracy game boths ways: Mumia didn't do it, but he had a right to kill Faulkner anyway. Mumia's most ardent supporters were all too happy to slander Faulkner in any way possible, one vocal supporter even calling Faulkner a child prostitute pimp.
But often this level of attitude was rare. Many college students who donned the infamous T-shirts were unaware there was a real murder victim in this case. If you were to ask one, the better odds were that they didn't even know Faulkner's name. Many just heard from a friend that Mumia was a 'political prisoner' and thought it would be cool to support a guy like that. The ones that did know were often unaware of basic legal concepts, or were clueless about the evidence in the trial.
None of the myths started by Mumia's lawyers held any water. The most famous was that the shell found in Faulkner was from a .45, when Mumia had a .38. in an appeal trial even Mumia's own ballistics expert had to admit that was not true, and the evidence was that the bullets found in Faulkner matched the ammo in Mumia's gun. Other myths, such as claims that Mumia's lawyer was inept (he wasn't he was a very good murder trial lawyer) or that no money was given for Mumia's defense (untrue) plus dozens of others myths all made for a deliberately constructed conspriacy theory. Mumia-mania hit such a stride that the citizens of Paris named a city street after him. Thanks guys, next time someone kills a gendarme perhaps Philly should name an alley after the killer?
Several appeals fell flat, mostly due to lack of anything resembling a half-way decent reason for anyone to consider the trial or the case improper in any manner. When the main appeal reached the PA supreme court, a group that cannot agree on anything (much like the SCOTUS) they voted unanimously against the appeal, pointing out the sloppy and useless 'evidence' brought to the trial. Mumia supporters were shocked, after all myths they beleived had to be true, but of course they weren't. Mumia's lawyers built a house of media-straw that could not withstand even light court-based scrutiny. But the faithful still held on.
In what would have been his final days, Mumia latched onto a crazy confessor's wild and impossible story as the 'real tale' of what happened to Faulkner. It was a pathetic attempt, and in fact was still not a tale written by Mumia or his brother. They merely signed their names to the bottom of the crazy confessor's fairy tale. Oddly enough, the lawyers who had worked so hard to spread myths about the case had previously sung praises of Mumia for his prior unwillingness to use the laughable tale.
Mumia still lingers on Death Row. But a 2001 judgement (hailed incorrectly by Mumia lovers as something equal to a mistrial) put his death sentence in suspension due to a procedural problem. Mumia is in limbo
and has been for the past five years.
Mumia-mania went into decline in early 2001 with that court decision. Since then, the events of 9-11 took even more attention away from Mumia. At first due to shock, but then by the 911 conspiracies appealing to the same college world-saver crowd. They apparently decided that it was easier to turn Bush/Cheney into overwrought cartoon supervillains than it was to explain why so much effort had been made to frame a Taxi cab driver.
Twenty-five years ago today, Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner was killed...by Mumia Abu Jamal.
Faulkner's murderer was one Wesley Cook, better known to the world as Mumia Abu Jamal. Unable to escape due to the gunshot wound, Mumia was quickly picked up by police only a few yards away from his victim. Witnesses were able to identify him at the site.
Mumia had his day in court. Since every single piece of evidence pointed to his guilt, Mumia attempted to turn his court case into a Chicago 7 radical madhouse in an effort to get some kind of mistrial The judge would not have any of it, and the case proceeded depsite his and his allies attempts at disruption. His lawyer, hampered already with a loser of a case and by Mumia's withholding of critical files, did his best, but the outcome was inevitable: Guilty. Mumia would be sentenced to death.
Several years passed, and somehow, perhaps due to some alleged skill at writing, Mumia became a cause celebre amongst the College socialist/activist/anti-globalist set. The 'Free Mumia' T-shirt in its time was perhaps more popular than the Che shirt worn by the same crowd.
Word spread, and myths were invented by Mumia's new lawyers. Despite his being found guilty, neither Mumia, nor his own brother (the person Faulkner was citing for driving the wrong way) gave an explanation for the events of that day until very recently, and then it was a tale that made not a bit of sense.
The myths became legends in the Mumia supporters, despite their total lack of truth. Even worse was how the 'Free Mumia' crowd loved to play the conspiracy game boths ways: Mumia didn't do it, but he had a right to kill Faulkner anyway. Mumia's most ardent supporters were all too happy to slander Faulkner in any way possible, one vocal supporter even calling Faulkner a child prostitute pimp.
But often this level of attitude was rare. Many college students who donned the infamous T-shirts were unaware there was a real murder victim in this case. If you were to ask one, the better odds were that they didn't even know Faulkner's name. Many just heard from a friend that Mumia was a 'political prisoner' and thought it would be cool to support a guy like that. The ones that did know were often unaware of basic legal concepts, or were clueless about the evidence in the trial.
None of the myths started by Mumia's lawyers held any water. The most famous was that the shell found in Faulkner was from a .45, when Mumia had a .38. in an appeal trial even Mumia's own ballistics expert had to admit that was not true, and the evidence was that the bullets found in Faulkner matched the ammo in Mumia's gun. Other myths, such as claims that Mumia's lawyer was inept (he wasn't he was a very good murder trial lawyer) or that no money was given for Mumia's defense (untrue) plus dozens of others myths all made for a deliberately constructed conspriacy theory. Mumia-mania hit such a stride that the citizens of Paris named a city street after him. Thanks guys, next time someone kills a gendarme perhaps Philly should name an alley after the killer?
Several appeals fell flat, mostly due to lack of anything resembling a half-way decent reason for anyone to consider the trial or the case improper in any manner. When the main appeal reached the PA supreme court, a group that cannot agree on anything (much like the SCOTUS) they voted unanimously against the appeal, pointing out the sloppy and useless 'evidence' brought to the trial. Mumia supporters were shocked, after all myths they beleived had to be true, but of course they weren't. Mumia's lawyers built a house of media-straw that could not withstand even light court-based scrutiny. But the faithful still held on.
In what would have been his final days, Mumia latched onto a crazy confessor's wild and impossible story as the 'real tale' of what happened to Faulkner. It was a pathetic attempt, and in fact was still not a tale written by Mumia or his brother. They merely signed their names to the bottom of the crazy confessor's fairy tale. Oddly enough, the lawyers who had worked so hard to spread myths about the case had previously sung praises of Mumia for his prior unwillingness to use the laughable tale.
Mumia still lingers on Death Row. But a 2001 judgement (hailed incorrectly by Mumia lovers as something equal to a mistrial) put his death sentence in suspension due to a procedural problem. Mumia is in limbo
and has been for the past five years.
Mumia-mania went into decline in early 2001 with that court decision. Since then, the events of 9-11 took even more attention away from Mumia. At first due to shock, but then by the 911 conspiracies appealing to the same college world-saver crowd. They apparently decided that it was easier to turn Bush/Cheney into overwrought cartoon supervillains than it was to explain why so much effort had been made to frame a Taxi cab driver.
Twenty-five years ago today, Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner was killed...by Mumia Abu Jamal.
