Execute the Cop Killer

Last week, in East Rutherford, N.J., 16,000 screaming teenagers attended a benefit concert in support of a convicted cop killer. Rage Against the Machine and the Beastie Boys, popular musical artists and, no doubt, sophisticated observers of our criminal justice system, were the headline performers. Also last week, on this campus, posters began appearing in support of the very same murderer, touting an upcoming "Worldwide Student Walkout" on his behalf. The posters, sporting a grinning photo of the condemned, describe him as an "African American Political Prisoner." They encourage public protests and, of course, donations to his legal defense fund.

The smiling face on the posters belongs to Mumia Abu Jamal, and while the explanation for his status as a beloved martyr is quite complex, the facts of his case are quite simple. On Dec. 9, 1981, Officer Daniel Faulkner of the Philadelphia Police Department stopped a Volkswagen, driven by Mr. William Cook, for a routine traffic violation. When he approached the car he was attacked by Cook, and a scuffle ensued. While Faulkner tried to subdue his assailant, Jamal, Cook's brother, approached the scene from across the street and shot Faulkner in the back, at point blank range. As Faulkner fell to the ground, he managed to wound Jamal in the stomach. Jamal then stood over the dying officer, held his gun inches from his face and fired a final, fatal shot.

Jamal was found at the scene, wounded, his pistol lying nearby. Three eyewitnesses in the immediate vicinity gave nearly identical statements to the arresting officers describing how Jamal had run from across the street, shot Faulkner in the back and then executed him. Ballistic tests proved that the bullet which killed Faulkner was fired by a .38 caliber revolver, a match with Jamal's gun. Finally, three people at the hospital where Jamal was taken that night, two security guards and a police officer, testified that Jamal had confessed to the shooting, stating "I shot the motherfucker and I hope the motherfucker dies."

On July 3, 1982, on the basis of this overwhelming evidence, Jamal was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Officer Faulkner. Since that judgement was handed down by a jury, his cause has been embraced by a circus of characters, from the entertainment industry to anti-death-penalty activists to the radical left. Of course, to call the plight of Jamal a "cause" is a generous concession. Those who champion his innocence stand on shaky ground at best.

Jamal's legal defense is headed by Leonard Weinglass, a longtime champion of the so-called oppressed. Over the years he has presented a variety of crackpot theories that ostensibly seek to exonerate Jamal. One defense "witness" came forward a decade after the original trial to declare that a mysterious man shot Faulkner and fled just before Jamal arrived to help and was accidentally shot when Faulkner's gun inexplicably discharged. Another defense asset, Veronica Jones, remained silent for 14 years until declaring that she saw two men fleeing from the murder. She recalls that at the time she was two blocks away from the actual crime scene and "half a nickel bag high."

Weinglass's appeals on these and similarly flimsy grounds (he's also claimed that the presiding judge was racist and that the trial procedure was improper) have been rejected by two separate appeals courts in the last three years. So, why are there benefit concerts and international student walkouts being sponsored on Jamal's behalf? In the case of the Hollywood celebrities who have lined up behind Jamal, the best explanation seems to be outright ignorance. Most have not critically examined the facts of the case, and when pushed to explain their association with Jamal, most resort to explaining their general opposition to the death penalty. But this raises another question: Why have death penalty opponents embraced this case in the first place?

Principled objection to capital punishment is a legitimate political position that is shared by significant portion of this country's electorate. Supporting the murderer of a police officer is a lot harder for Middle America to swallow. Death penalty opponents do themselves no favors by making Jamal their poster child. Then again, it's hard to see how anyone benefits from their association with Jamal, but it is easiest to understand why the radical left can't help itself.

Before he decided to specialize in homicide, Jamal was a revolutionary in the broader sense. He joined the Black Panther party and rose to a prominent ministerial position. He became a reporter and radio talk show host where he espoused his black separatist ideology and generally encouraged the overthrow of authority. Once in prison, his status as an anti-establishment agitator only blossomed. He wrote a book and recorded radio programs, skillfully drawing attention to himself and drumming up support for his cause. And, in short order, all those who feel neglected and victimized by the system assembled behind him. Latinos for Mumia, Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgendered for Mumia, Labor for Mumia--you name the minority, there's some organization championing Jamal's struggle.

In the end, when the facts of the situation are considered with an objective eye, these activists, The Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine and all those concertgoers last week, simply look like fools. They've all been enchanted by a charismatic criminal and their own romantic delusions that they are fighting a great populist battle against the injustice of The Man. In reality, they've senselessly allied themselves with a cold-blooded sociopath who deserves the sentence that was handed him. They can hang all the "Free Mumia" posters they want, but Mumia Abu Jamal is a cop killer and Mumia should fry.

Noah D. Oppenheim '00 is a social studies concentrator in Adams House. His column appears on alternate Fridays.