Mumia abu-Jamal & Ted Stevens (the ex-Senator from Alaska) -- Two Sagas with Amazing Similarities

Margaret Stewart, despite the heavy original media manipulation against her, won the public’s respect. Most cheer the fact that she is now richer and more famous then before the government prosecuted her for insider trading.

The exact opposite is true when it comes to the prosecution of radicals in the past. Some are extremely angry that William Ayers, a former convicted member of the Weathermen organization is now considered a respectable college professor, rather than a dangerous ex-con and that Mumia abu-Jamal, who was out of work except for driving a cab, right before he was accused of murder, but is now a world renowned commentator. Thousands around the world anxiously await hearing or reading each of his latest essays or commentaries phoned out from his prison cell. This makes some people extremely angry. However, it really doesn’t make sense to assume that Mumia who was know as the “Voice of the Voiceless” career as a journalist and a writer would have been permanently over, had he not been arrested. He was heavily involved in defending the then locally unpopular Move back-to-nature sect. One way or another, he would have been back in his career as a journalist and writer.

People who feel solidarity for Ted Stevens (old time Alaskans voted for him overwhelmingly, only the new Alaskans didn’t) don’t have any simpathy for Mumia and vice versa. This I think is a mistake. Mumia’s and Ted Steven’s early life were very similar. They both were desperately poor. They both were from broken homes, Mumia due to the death of his father, Ted Stevens due to a divorce. They both during their early life had an ability to excel despite facing extreme hardship. They both at one point in their lives could have been a poster child for a Save the Children ad.

Ted Stevens had it worse. After the divorce from her husband, Steven’s mother had to give her kids to her paternal grandparents to take care of to prevent them from starving. Sending for them one at a time when she could afford to. However when Ted Stevens father developed eye problems Ted went to care for him and his mentally disabled cousin, somehow supported all of them on his newsboy earnings.

Ted attended Redondo Union high school, and despite continuing long hours as a newsboy, participated in a lot of extra-curricular activities. Somehow also attending the same High School, was Russell Green, son of the president of Signal Gas and Oil Company. Russell helped Ted out and Ted found ways to return the favor.

Ted Stevens was a pilot during World War II, and as usual scored near the top of his class. Then he went on to law school. Later as Senator he had a habit of lavishing favors on his friends as they lavished favors back. Never selling a vote or in advance making any tit for tat wheeler dealings. The Feds were frustrated in trying to charge him with anything until they came up with failure to properly report gifts.

Mumia abu-Jamal’s father died when he was nine years old, and his mother had to work long hours at low pay to keep the family from starving. So mostly his older sister Teresa raised him. After a meal at the Black Panther soup kitchen, he would run to the Panther library instead of out to play with the other kids. His sister Teresa said he was called a little nerd because he always had a book in his face. He used to sit on the steps reading to other kids.

Mumia left high school to live with the Black Panthers while volunteering with them. When he went back to high school he was voted most likely to succeed. Instead he was kicked out twice once for handing out radical literature, and once as part of an effort to change the school’s name to Malcolm X High.

Amazingly in 1981, despite Black Panthers having been arrested all around him, he still hadn’t ever been in trouble with the law and still had a legal right to carry a gun.

Then on December 9, 1981, Mumia lay severely wounded and soon to be unconscious, and Officer Danny Faulkner lay dead, one shot from a distance and the second one a point blank shot to the side of his head. In Officer Faulkner’s pocket was a driver’s license belonging to Arnold Howard. When the police grilled Howard, he said he lent his license to Kenneth Freeman, who lost his right to drive. The same Kenneth Freeman that Billy, Mumia’s brother, claimed shot Faulkner than ran away. Neither brother mentioned the second shot in their affidavits. The prosecutor convinced the jury that the shot to the side of the head was a cold-blooded execution. Anti-Mumia web sites now have Officer Faulkner squirming to get away, pointing his head directly in the line of fire. Anyway it appeared from a distance, especially to people who find Mumia’s commentaries inspiring, that some Philadelphians are bloodthirsty, and the explanation that Philadelphians were afraid to protest didn’t help Philly’s image either. Pax Christi, a peace group, and Philadelphians United held their conventions in Philly since Mumia is off of death-row. But now there is an attempt to put a gambling casino in a building in sight of the Liberty Bell pavilion changing if not disrupting Philly’s new wholesome image.

In 1991 Arnold Beverly claimed responsibility for the second shot to the side of Faulkner’s head. Claiming he was part of a Mafia hit teem because Faulkner was squealing to the feds about corruption. Mumia fired his attorney and he and his brother jumped at the new evidence, Mumia stopped claiming that Officer Faulkner was assassinated to prevent John Africa’s truths from being known. But Mumia’s supporters abandoned him and the court ruled the new evidence to be non-credible. And Mumia went back to his tradition stance, as much a slave to his image as he is the master of it.

Cases with prosecutor and judge misconduct similar to Mumia’s were thrown out by the Supreme Court, but in Mumia’s case the Supreme Court only threw out the death sentence, changing his punishment to life imprisonment, where Mumia phones out essays that Mumia haters never read or listen to.

Mumia can continue inspiring poor peasants in Southern Mexico and people all over western Europe, and some in the US as well. But he is going to stay in jail unless people start seeing similarities in what happened to Ted Stevens and to Mumia abu-Jamal at the same time. Most of us looked at ACLU tracks talking about such things as the right of the Klan to march and of free speech at the same time. We tend to ignore the ACLU’s generic definition of freedom. But after one has been around a long time they seem to make more and more sense after all. We should stop cheering aggressive selective prosecution and prosecutorial manipulation of the media, no matter how much one may think a defendant deserves to be punished. If a lot of new people got involved in either Mumia or Ted Steven’s defense it may or may not change anything but it sure would shake up the political climate and make a lot more people respect what the ACLU does by standing up for everyone’s freedoms and everyone’s rights in a generic way.

Comments

mumia

Submitted by jon peppers (not verified) on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 5:31pm

here you go again with your misinformation Rich. Officer Faulkner was shot in the BACK from less than TWO FEET...not a "distance". He was also shot in the forehead and NOT in the side of the head. I STRONGLY suggest you read the book Murdered bu Mumia and get your FACTS straight. Also, FYI, Mumia is STILL on death row where he belongs.

Jon Pisano
DanielFaulkner.com for the TRUE facts

Interesting discussion...

Submitted by Baja (not verified) on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 2:02am

There's no such person as Margaret Stewart (in this context)...and what diagnostic and witness evidence exists for distance of gun from Officer Faulkner do not confirm the prosecution's case.
Cripes...no evidence even exists that proves Mumia even fired a gun let along shot anyone. No evidence exists to prove his gun was even fired. The police, utterly derelict in their duties to check such things...about the murder of one of their own...were not even sent to Desk Duty for this inexcusable oversight.

Better to read Patrick O'Connor's "The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal" than the Smerconish/Maureen Faulkner thing.

http://www.amazon.com/Framing-Mumia-Abu-Jamal-Patrick-OConnor/dp/1556527446 Plus a ton of other hits on "OConnor Framing of Mumia Abu Jamal". Maybe some Faulkner/FOP website or other has the "real truth" about some of O'Connor's documented findings.

By the way, some say that MOVE, the group Mumia defended so eloquently, is "cult" in the bad sense. The Romans once called the Catholic Church a "cult". It seems that the persistent cult of the charismatic, though racist and violent, Frank Rizzo,like the Cult of Ronald Reagan, is a thing of more interest.

Also, those who so zealously defend the "Faulkner side" of this issue, really ought know that no one in the Free Mumia movement (disregarding marginal un-informed tag-along demonstrators and infiltrators) is about shooting or harming of police officers. There ought to be more attention given to the extrajudicial "trial" and execution of Kenneth Freeman, the apparent real killer of Officer Faulkner. How that clear and obvious murder slipped under the radar of local Law Enforcement detectives is a question.
Pretty much, it can be said that the only person who did not commit some crime here is Mumia.

It is too often forgotten that there are police on the side of supporting a Fair Trial for Mumia. Mumia supporters 'anti police'? Not hardly.
Against Police abuses, that's different.

Interesting discussion response

Submitted by jon peppers (not verified) on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 11:33am

As to distance of the murder weapon, there WAS gun powder residue on the back of Officer Faulkners coat which indicates the weapon was fired from less than 2 feet. Mumia's gun WAS fired so how do you explain 5 empty shells?. There is NO SUCH THING as a sniff test. Test were not done on Mumia's hands. The test would have been compromised due to the fact Mumia was on the ground and there was a struggle. There WERE eyewitnesses to the murder...read the TRUE transcripts. Also, Forbes and Shoemaker were driving West on Locust st in response to Faulkners call for backup and arrived SECONDS after Mumia killed Faulkner...SECONDS. Remember Billy Cook,Mumia's brother who stated "I ain't got nothing to do with this" not my brother didn't do it or Freeman did it and ran. You forgot Arnold Beverly and his bogus taped confession.

As to Police supporting a new trial, don't think so in Phila. As to O'Connor, selling books is his priority. A point should be made regarding your misinformation as to evidence and fair trial in that ALL of the COURTS, State and FEDERAL who reviewed this case and taking YEARS before ruling, AFFIRMED Mumia's guilt...got that..GUILTY and the EVIDENCE stands. So the bottom line is YOU and O'Connor and or the J4M group know more than those learned in the Law. Shame

Daniel Faulkner.com
jon pisano

I meant to say Martha Steward, by have delexia

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/20/2008 - 12:52am

Sorry I made a few minor mistakes. Why was Arnold Howard's drivers license in Officer Faulkner's shirt pocket and if Forbes and Shoemaker arrived seconds after Office Faulkner was killed, why didn't they testify in court, and why did the police bother to grill Arnold Howard to find out why his drivers license was in Danny Faulkner's pocket.

No one seems to really know exactly what happened but the anti-Mumia people seem to be doing the most imagining.

I just happened to have know Mumia in 1979 - 1981. And have no particular ax to grind.

By the way in Ted Steven's trial, the prosecutor was admanished and criticized instead of the case being dismissed for withholding evidence from the defense. A a jury was critcized instead of being dismissed for wrong wrong doing, which would have been usually the case. We all seem to love aggressive prosecution if we think a defendant belongs in jail. I wish Ted Steven’s supporters will get involved in the discussion

Sincerely, Richard Kane of PA, RichardKanePA

William Ayers...is now considered a respectable college professo

Submitted by Rich Gardner on Sat, 12/20/2008 - 1:46am

William Ayers was not "considered" to be "a respectable college professor," he WAS and IS a "respectable college professor." He's done a great deal of commendable work in the educational field. Back when I was in the Navy, we transferred people from one station to another all the time. If a sailor committed an act three or more years earlier, remained in the Navy and has been on good behavior ever since, the act is not considered part of the sailor's record and no one is informed of the record save for the very top executives on station. Obviously, documentation of the improper/illegal act is kept, but the sailor's immediate supervisor and shipmates don't need to know and aren't told of the earlier act. The reason for this is that people can change and often deserve a second chance. Note of course, that the act is not considered irrelevant until it's three years in the past. If a sailor is going to prove him or herself to be a "dirtbag," they usually do so very quickly after the first act.
Your comparison of Ted Stevens, a corrupt politician about whom there is simply no doubt about his guilt and Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is fighting his conviction for a one-time act that he says he didn't commit, is a real apples-and-oranges comparison. Sorry, but you're comparing two very unalike things. The similarities are not even convincing, let alone "amazing."
Rich

Richard Kanegis seems well intentioned

Submitted by Free Mumia (not verified) on Sun, 12/21/2008 - 4:33pm

However, he does also seem to get many of his facts confused, and this arguably can serve to discredit the movement supporting Mumia.

LETS START WITH THE BEGINING:

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 10:36am

On December 9 at 4 am, I happened to be listening to KWY 24 hour all-news-radio and never left the radio that morning. Part of the time Mumia was dead and his brother Billy charged with murder, and part of the time Mumia was alive and charged with murder. I, and everyone I know, assumed that Mumia acted under esteem distress and payed no attention to the claims he had no involvement, that it was instead a dark conspiracy. Only after I saw Mumia’s and his brother’s reaction the Arnold Beverly’s confession did I become thoroughly convinced that he had nothing to do with any killings.

Some people hear or read one or more of Mumia’s essays and instantly believe that these aren’t the words of a murderer, others don’t like blacks and especially not Black Panthers, or any troublemakers so they believe Mumia is guilty.

As for new evidence goes. On the side of guilt supposedly Forbes and Shoemaker and were on the scene seconds after Faulkner was dead. This despite the fact that the police made a determined effort to grill Arnold Howard to find out what his driver’s license was doing in Officer Faulkner’s pocket, and neither Officer testified in court.

As for innocence, J. Patrick O’Connor comes up with brand-new evidence that Kenneth Freeman did it, only I heard it before O’Connor declared it bland-new. And as for a local black out on him goes. I looked for the NY Times expose but instead I found Jon Hurdle, on May 2, 2008 announce that J. Patrick O'Connor wrote the “Framing of Mumia abu-Jamal” adding a few disrupt words pro and con, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/us/02philadelphia.html?_r=1

No one could possibly be convinced that Mumia is either guilty or innocent by happening to read those words. Sly members of Move come out for a big Mumia demonstration, and one shy Move member demands that the photographer stop taking his picture, while Pam starts screaming to make the photographer notice her instead. Pam is a busy grandmother with her grandchildren, feeling obligated to pretend to be in charge of a big organization, with poorly laid out computer graphics to try to prove it. Meanwhile someone could start investigating to see what Officer Faulkner’s relationship with the FBI was and scourging around for bits of real new information. But I guess in the meantime new people will be inspired by Mumia’s essays or they won’t, while both sides think they are talking to others while they are only talking at themselves. Since I think Mumia is innocent, by presenting a new perspective I was hoping to get new people involved. But so far even the Ted Steven’s supporters haven’t been returning my emails.

RichardKanePA

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