Abu-Jamal Hearing Fuels Emotions Over Case

CENTER CITY: August 17, 2001 — Convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal had an appeal hearing Friday, sparking a major protest that attracted celebrities and thousands of activists to the City of Philadelphia.

At one point at least 1,000 anti-death penalty activists marched from City Hall to 8th and Market Streets to the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert Streets. Celebrities including the Reverend Jesse Jackson and actor-activist Ossie Davis were on hand as Abu-Jamal's attorneys were in Common Pleas Court making a last-ditch appeal of his case.

Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. He was barred from today's 30 minute status hearing, reportedly because an official said there was no room for him in the city's crowded jails. Abu-Jamal complained of being barred through a statement read by one of his attorneys.

Meanwhile, the widow of the Philadelphia police officer doesn't think much of the protesters who gathered outside the court hearing. Maureen Faulkner looked on as the protesters shouted, "No justice, no peace." She says they're focusing on the wrong man, and Mumia Abu-Jamal should get no sympathy. Her husband was killed in the line of duty twenty years ago this December.

In a tense hearing lasting about 30 minutes, Judge Pamela Dembe refused a request by Abu-Jamal's attorneys to schedule oral arguments, and directed lawyers for both sides to file briefs on whether she should have jurisdiction over Abu-Jamal's petition for a new trial.

Abu-Jamal complained about not being able to attend the hearing, saying in a statement read by one of his attorneys, "The right to be present in the courtroom has been denied through no fault of my own." Assistant District Attorney Hugh Burns said defendants are almost never present for such status hearings, however.

Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther and radio journalist, was sentenced to death for the 1981 shooting death of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. His jailhouse writings have attracted worldwide attention from celebrities, death-penalty opponents and foreign politicians.

Police Commissioner John Timoney estimated the crowd of protesters at 1,000. Demonstrators held signs and banners as they gathered in an area behind metal barricades just outside the Criminal Justice Center, then blocked traffic as they marched by the district attorney's office chanting, "No justice, no peace." Faulkner's widow, Maureen, watched the protest through the DA's window.

"I think today was a pathetic attempt to delay the appeal process," Faulkner said. "It's a disgrace that we have to go through this emotional turmoil."

But the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was among those in the courtroom, said: "In the case of Mumia, there is no absolute certainty that he did the killing in the first place."

Defense attorney Elliot Lee Grossman emerged from the hearing to address a loud and supportive crowd. "Even though there was all this evidence, the prosecution says, 'It's too late. We don't care if he is innocent. We are going to execute him anyway,"' he said.

"Only a tyrant or a madman would execute an innocent person," Grossman said.

Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Pamela Dembe had asked that Abu-Jamal be brought to Philadelphia for the hearing, but a city official decided there was no room for him in the overcrowded jails. Abu-Jamal's attorneys wanted Dembe to find the official in contempt of court, but the judge denied the request Wednesday.

"People are just so enraged," said Suzanne Ross, co-chair of New York-based Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition. "People couldn't believe that the state of Pennsylvania once again so openly violated the rights of somebody on death row."

Taking the opposite viewpoint, construction workers hung signs on scaffolding across the street on City Hall, including one reading "Fry Mumia." "He killed a cop," said construction worker Danny Brown. "Why should they free him?"

Abu-Jamal lost his first round of state appeals, but his latest petition argues that the defense has new evidence to clear him, including a confession by a man named Arnold Beverly.

In a 1999 affidavit, Beverly said he was hired by the mob to kill Faulkner because the 25-year-old officer had interfered with mob payoffs to police. But last month a federal judge refused to order Beverly to testify on Abu-Jamal's behalf.

Abu-Jamal fired his longtime attorneys in May after one published a book about the case.

The brief hearing with his new attorneys was contentious, with the judge telling Grossman at one point: "You and I will not do well together if you twist my words."

Dembe had cited logistical problems, including the need to deal with street demonstrations, in refusing to schedule oral arguments Friday. Grossman then said that demonstrations shouldn't figure into determining whether to hold arguments, provoking the judge's ire.

Dembe also questioned whether Abu-Jamal's request for a post-conviction hearing was valid, saying, "There is a serious question of whether or not this petition was timely filed."

Defendants normally have 60 days to file such a request after obtaining new information that would justify overturning a conviction. Abu-Jamal's former attorneys knew about the Beverly affidavit in 1999.

Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Last Updated: Aug 17, 2001

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001