- Von: < RobertRBryan >
Betreff: Mumia Abu-Jamal – NBC’s „Today Show“; pending decision
[PLEASE CIRCULATE]
- Datum: Montag, 17. Dezember 2007 15:02
- Dear Friends:
- Many people have contacted my office asking about the reaction of my client,
- Mumia Abu-Jamal, to the NBC „Today Show“ segment on the case that was
- broadcast throughout the United States on December 6. The program has great
- credibility. Recently in a legal conference Mumia summed up his feelings to me:
- „For once the treatment was fair and balanced.“ I fully agree, for all that
- we have ever asked by the media is to be treated fairly. The transcript of
- the program is below.
- There has still been no decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third
- Circuit, Philadelphia, even though we presented oral argument over seven
- months ago. It is impossible to know how the court will rule, even though the
- hearing went exceptionally well. If the court follows the mandate of the U.S.
- Constitution, based upon my experience in handling many capital murder cases,
- the ruling will be favorable. However, courts are unpredictable and do not
- always do what is right. Mumia thus remains in great danger.
- The scenarios of how the federal court might rule, include: (1) grant an
- entirely new jury trial; (2) order a new jury trial limited to the issue of
- life or death; (3) remand the case back to the U.S. District Court for further
- proceedings; or (4) deny all relief. Racism, fraud, and politics are
- threads that have run through this case since his 1981 arrest. The issues concern
- the right to a fair trial, the struggle against the death penalty, and the
- political repression of a courageous writer and journalist.
- My goal remains a new jury trial in which Mumia will be found „not guilty“
- so that he can return home to his family.
- The ongoing concern by so many people for human rights is appreciated.
- Yours very truly,
- Robert R. Bryan
- Frankfurt Airport, Germany
- —————————————
- [Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan
- 2088 Union Street, Suite 4
- San Francisco, California 94123]
- Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal
- ==========================
- NBC’s „Today Show“, December 6, 2007
- MATT LAUER: On December 9th, 1981 a Philadelphia police officer was shot
- and killed while serving in the line of duty. A man named Mumia Abu-Jamal was
- convicted of the murder and sentenced to death. To this day he maintains his
- innocence. To some he is a cold-blooded killer, to others he’s a political
- prisoner. Here’s NBC’s Rehema Ellis.
- [On screen headline: „Murdered By Mumia, Police Widow’s Fight For
- Justice.“]
- Offscreen Voice #1 (From file footage): Police tell us that Officer Daniel
- Faulkner was shot down at 13th and Locust.
- REHEMA ELLIS: When Officer Daniel Faulkner, a 25-year-old newlywed was
- gunned down on a Philadelphia street following a traffic stop no one knew it
- would ignite a debate that would be heard around the world.
- UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER #1: Free Mumia now!
- UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER #2: Kill Mumia now!
- ELLIS: Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther, radio journalist and taxi
- driver was arrested, charged and convicted of murder. For 25 years now he’s
- been on death row for a crime, he says, he did not commit.
- PROTESTORS (Chanting): Free Mumia! Free Mumia! Free Mumia now!
- ELLIS: He’s attracted Hollywood stars and gained international fame.
- UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: It’s a righteous cause! That’s why you see people
- right here from Belgium, from France, from Germany, from South Africa, here!
- ELLIS: There have been rallies and fundraisers for a man many say was
- framed by a racist legal system but Officer Faulkner’s family has a different
- view.
- TOM FAULKNER (brother): He’s no damn martyr. He assassinated my brother.
- ELLIS: Over the years Abu-Jamal’s advocates have tried but failed to
- overturn his conviction. Now supporters say there is new photographic evidence
- that should lead to a new trial.
- ROBERT R. BRYAN (Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal): The jury only saw one
- side of the coin.
- Offscreen Voice #2: Do you believe you will, one day, be a free man or do
- you believe, one day, you will be put to death?
- MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: I’m working for the former, not the latter.
- ELLIS: In May Abu-Jamal’s defense team argued he should be set free while
- prosecutors still insisted he should be executed. As everyone awaits a
- court’s decision 53-year-old Mumia Abu-Jamal remains on death row and the debate
- over what happened that night, almost 26 years ago, continues. For Today,
- Rehema Ellis, NBC News, New York.
- LAUER: Maureen Faulkner is the widow of slain police officer Danny
- Faulkner, Michael Smerconish is a conservative radio host and columnist based in
- Philadelphia. Their new book is called Murdered By Mumia: A Life Sentence of
- Loss, Pain and Injustice. Good morning to both of you.
- MAUREEN FAULKNER: Good morning Matt.
- MICHAEL SMERCONISH: Good morning.
- LAUER: I was struck, Maureen, I was watching that piece and I’m trying to
- think if you could have ever imagined 26 years ago, when this first happened
- that, that 26 years later you’d still be in the midst of debate over this
- case?
- FAULKNER: No, Matt, absolutely not. After Danny was murdered in 1981 and he
- was buried and the case was over I thought I could go on with my life and
- try to rebuild and have a new life. But for the past 26 years I’ve just been
- haunted by the Free Mumia movement.
- LAUER: And, and in some ways it seems the debate over guilt or innocence or
- racism or injustice has somehow left Danny out. And, and, at times when I
- hear this debate I don’t hear people remembering that a police officer was
- murdered by someone.
- FAULKNER: So often they do not mention Danny’s name. And that’s what they
- need to do. I mean he was a young police officer, he was 25-years-old and he
- was brutally murdered by Mumia.
- LAUER: I want to show people a live shot outside our studio right now and
- show them that there is a fairly substantial protest right across the street
- from our studio. These people got up early in the morning, came from some
- place to express their views that this man is innocent. How do you feel, why do
- you think they’re here, if they don’t truly believe that?
- FAULKNER: They are trying the case in the court of public opinion and not
- in the court of law and that’s why I think people need to read the book. It’s
- all there. My life, the facts, what happened the night my husband was
- murdered is all in the book.
- LAUER: Michael, Abu-Jamal’s attorney since 2003 is a guy named Robert
- Bryan. He says that when the conviction and sentence came down in 1982 there were
- constitutional issues, there was racism, there was injustice, there was
- evidence tampering. He also says, by the way, that you’re a guy who’s involved
- in this for your own personal gain because you didn’t try this case, you’re
- not a lawyer. Why, why are you involved in this?
- SMERCONISH: Well I resent that charge and obviously Mr. Bryan hasn’t read
- the inside flap of the book. „The author’s proceeds from the sale of this
- book are being donated to a not-for-profit,“ that Maureen has established for
- the benefit of murder victim children. This is a three-year investment.
- LAUER: Maybe he’s not talking about financial personal gain. Maybe he’s
- talking about for status and, and, and attention.
- SMERCONISH: There’s, there’s no upside. There’s a tremendous drain on my
- time to write this but America needs to know the story of an unbelievable woman
- who for 26 years has fought the fight when I think most of us would’ve
- washed our hands of it and walked away.
- LAUER: If, if there is something new in this case and for so many years
- there really hasn’t been an awful lot new, there’s just been heated debate but
- there are some photographs that have been released by supporters of Mumia and,
- and they were taken by a freelancer named Pedro Polokoff. They say, the
- supporters say, these photos show a policeman holding two guns in his bare hand,
- contradicting what officers trial testimony was that he had preserved,
- ballistics evidence. Another shows Faulkner’s hat, your husband’s hat on top of a
- car, not on the sidewalk, as in the official police photo of the crime
- scene. And the third shows a blood-stained sidewalk where the shooting took place
- but does not show any signs of marks in the concrete that might have
- occurred if, if your husband had been shot from above as prosecutors contended. The
- defense attorney says he can have a field day with these photographs if a
- new trial is-
- SMERCONISH: But this is the outrage. For 26 years these canards have
- enabled the manipulation of the process. I mean it’s as reliable as the fact that
- Christmas is on the 25th on December that they will come up with something
- every year. One year it was a guy who stood up and said, „I know who murdered
- Danny Faulkner! I did it!“ And the defense lawyers thought he was
- preposterous. Another year it was a guy who said that he was there and that the dying
- words of Danny Faulkner were, „Get Maureen, get the children!“ When
- everybody agrees he died instantly and unfortunately she never had the chance to have
- children with Danny I mean it’s, where does it stop?
- FAULKNER: Where have these pictures been for 26 years? I mean where have
- they been? Why hasn’t this man come forth sooner than now?
- LAUER: Maureen, when you’re ever, when you’re alone, when you’re alone with
- your thoughts at night, when you even see pictures of the protest like the
- one we have across the street, does it ever cross your mind that perhaps
- they’re right? Do you ever allow yourself to consider the fact that perhaps he
- didn’t do this?
- FAULKNER: He murdered my husband in cold blood and there is no doubt in my
- mind. Absolutely no doubt. And I wrote this book, it, it was a therapy for
- me to get my life in black and white so people can read it. And Michael,
- thank you Michael. Michael has been with me for 15 years helping me and standing
- up and speaking out for me, 15 years.
- LAUER: The emotions of this case run very high and, and I’m sure we’re not
- gonna have an answer today, that’s for sure. But Michael thank you for being
- here. Maureen thanks so much, it’s nice to meet you.
- SMERCONISH: Thank you, Matt, thank you.
- FAULKNER: Thank you, Matt.
- LAUER: We appreciate it. The book is called „Murdered By Mumia“ and an
- excerpt can be found todayshow.com.