Mumia Abu-Jamal

Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook; April 24, 1954) is an American activist and journalist. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. After numerous appeals, his sentence was commuted in 2001 to life imprisonment without parole. This was affirmed through appeals in 2011. Abu-Jamal became involved in black nationalism in his youth and was a member of the Black Panther Party until October 1970. He left the party and became a radio journalist, eventually becoming president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. On December 9, 1981, Faulkner was fatally shot while conducting a routine traffic stop of Abu-Jamal's brother, William Cook. Abu-Jamal was found at the scene with a bullet wound from Faulkner's gun and his own discharged revolver a short distance away. He was arrested and charged with Faulkner's murder. Prosecution witnesses identified Abu-Jamal as the shooter, and two persons testified that he had confessed to shooting Faulkne