Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Mumia Abu Jamal Fair Trial - 1,254 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

On December 9, 1981, Wesley Cook, a. k. a. Mumia Abu-Jamal, was driving his taxi in Philadelphia when he saw that police had pulled his brother over. Jamal stopped to see why his brother was being pulled over. An altercation followed leaving Officer Daniel Faulkner dead and Jamal critically wounded.

Jamal is currently on Death Row awaiting execution. Jamal's trial was held in 1981 and since then there has been much controversy about whether the trial was fair or not. Much evidence has recently been brought forward such as witnesses were coerced and given favors, important defense witnesses and ballistics evidence were not allowed to be submitted to the jury, and Jamal's confession that was fabricated. It is imperative that Jamal gets a new and fair trial, what every citizen is promised by the U. S. Constitution, because of this evidence that could possibly free him.

Mumia Abu-Jamal's trial began on July 18, 1982 in Pennsylvania, where he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges. A guilty verdict was returned at 5: 30 pm on Friday July 2, 1982. The State issued his death warrant on October 13, 1982 for an execution date of December 2 that same year, but Mumia was granted a stay of execution. Since then, there have been many people and groups that have been supporting Mumia and his fight for a fair trial, such as the band Rage Against the Machine. They held a benefit concert in the spring of 1999 to help raise funds for trial costs. There have also been numerous protests, marches, and even student walkouts by supporters.

On May 7, 2000, a very large fundraiser is being held at Madison Square Garden to raise more money to help this man get a new trial. One claim by the prosecution was that in the hospital, Mumia confessed to murdering Officer Faulkner to Officer Gary Bell. While lying nearly unconscious on the hospital emergency room floor Jamal exclaimed he had shot the deceased officer (referring to him as a mother censored er) and hoped that the officer would die (academia. org). This statement was a lie, though, now proven from other peoples statements. During the course of the trial, the jury never heard from Officer Gary Waksul, the officer who guarded Jamal at the hospital.

Waksul made and signed a report that stated We stayed with the male at Jefferson until we were relieved. During this time, the Negro male made no comments (ia center. org). Even others reported that Mumia made no comments in the emergency room such as the attending physician and Waksul's partner, P. O. Trombetta.

Trombetta stated that if anybody was in the position to hear an argument, it was his partner. When called as a defense witness, the prosecution argued that Waksul was on vacation and unavailable when in fact he was home at this time. Judge Sabo would not allow a continuance so the defense could locate him. Waksul's testimony was very important because it discredited the prosecution witness testimony of Priscilla Durham, who claimed to have heard the confession. P. O.

Waksul did not see Officer Bell among the officers who were present nor did he see any hospital employees close to Jamal. The police officers and hospital guards who claimed to have heard this confession did not make any reports of it until two months after it allegedly occurred and Jamal filed police brutality reports. His (Waksul) testimony would have shown that law enforcement and the prosecution itself, was willing to use perjured testimony to secure a confession (amnesty. org). There were several witnesses that claimed to have seen the shooting or to have been in the area at the time of it: Cynthia White, Robert Chobert, Veronica Jones, William Singletary, Despite Hightower, Deborah Kordansky, and William Cook. Within minutes of the shooting four witnesses, each unknown to the others, independently reported to police that a black male had fled the scene.

Each gave precisely the same details as to where the fleeing man fled. They told police that the fleeing man ran eastbound about thirty feet from the slain officer to an alleyway, which provided an obvious escape route (mumia 911. org). The main prosecution witness was a prostitute named Cynthia White. Her testimony was important because she was the only witness claiming to have seen Jamal shoot Faulkner.

There has been much evidence that contradict her testimony. Lawrence Boston, a retired police officer, testified that White was receiving favors after the shooting and that officers commonly use prostitutes as witnesses. Favors to White continued through 1987; she was never prosecuted for three pending prostitution charges and a serious felony charge because a homicide detective informed the judge of her role in the case and she was released (ia center. org).

Since then, White has not appeared in any Pennsylvania court and police have made no attempt to find her. Another witness, Veronica Jones, testified in the 1982 trial that police had told her that White was receiving favors for providing a testimony (ia center. org). Also, the defense investigator could not interview White because two officers guarded her.

All of this information about White was never released to the jury. Another prosecution witness was Robert Chobert. Chobert testified in court that he saw Jamal standing over Faulkner and previously heard shots fired. In his first interview, he told police that he saw the shooter run away describing him as about six foot and two-hundred to two-hundred twenty five pounds, admitting that Jamal didnt fit this profile.

Chobert's testimony mysteriously changed monthly to favor the prosecution, however, the defense was blocked at trial from showing his incentive to favor the prosecution (ia center. org). He changed his testimony to that the shooter only moved ten feet from the previous testimony that the shooter ran thirty feet to the alleyway. Perhaps the most glaring evidence of police manipulation of witnesses to deprive the defense of evidence concerning the flight of a third person from the scene came from the PCRA hearing testimony of Veronica Jones (grinned. edu). Jones originally reported to police that she had seen two black men jogging from the scene, which was put into a report.

Having possession of this police report, the defense questioned Jones about her observation while under oath. She denied ever seeing anyone run from the scene and claimed that she was high on marijuana at the time of her interview. At the 1996 PCRA hearing, Jones explained that her story had changed because she had little choice. Shortly before Jamal's trial, Jones was arrested on serious felony robbery and gun charges. While in jail, Jones received a visit from two police detectives who had urged her to change her testimony to aid the prosecution. They told her that she face at least one decade in prison, a scenario she regarded as unimaginable, particularly because such a sentence would separate her from her three infant children (free mumia.

org). The detectives then told her if she testified that Jamal was the shooter her charges would be dropped. During the 1982 trial, Jones decided to take the middle path. She testified that she saw a fleeing man and pinned blame on no one, which obviously made police happy because she never served a prison term. However, at the 1996 hearing Jones confessed all of this and said she was finished lying. Witness William Singletary, a black Philadelphia businessman and decorated Vietnam veteran with friends on the police force, reported to police at the...


Free research essays on topics related to: mumia abu jamal, p o, emergency room, fair trial, jamal

Research essay sample on Mumia Abu Jamal Fair Trial

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com