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A tale of two villages
Over which small town will the first American sunrise of the 21st century shine?
By Charles Graeber
[12/24/99]

The hall of shame
From the murder to a football star's pregnant girlfriend to the retirement of four sports icons, 1999 was a bad year to be a sports fan.
By Julian Rubinstein
[12/23/99]

Jerusalem braces for Christian pilgrims
Hordes of tourists are coming to the holy city for millennial celebrations, but a clash between Orthodox and secular Jews has created a ban on Christmas in the city's kosher hotels.
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[12/23/99]

A new way to spend money
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By Anthony York
[12/22/99]

Sick of the health care debate?
Neither Bradley nor Gore is telling the whole truth about what it will take to reform the system.
By Jake Tapper
[12/21/99]

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The Confessions

"I shot the motherfucker, and I hope the motherfucker dies."

Two months after the shooting, hospital security guard Priscilla Durham reported to police that she had heard Abu-Jamal yell out this dramatic confession twice from the emergency room floor while about 14 or so police officers tried to subdue him the night of the crime. None of the police officers had reported Abu-Jamal's incriminating statement.

Officer Gary Wakshul, who had ridden with Abu-Jamal to the hospital, at first reported that the suspect had "made no comments." Two months days later, however, Wakshul stated that Abu-Jamal had in fact confessed to him that night. The police officer explained that he hadn't realized at first that the confession was of any importance.

It took Officer Gary Bell, Faulkner's former partner and best friend, about two and a half months to remember that he, too, had heard Abu-Jamal confess. He said that had initially been too traumatized at his friend's brutal murder to appreciate the importance of what he had heard on the night of the crime.

The Witnesses

As an outspoken political radical and a Black Panther, Abu-Jamal had been monitored by police since his early teens. He had a mammoth FBI dossier, and he claims to have been beaten by police numerous times. Yet, he had never been charged previously with committing an act of violence. When I asked Assistant D.A. Burns why he thought the heretofore non-violent Abu-Jamal would callously execute Faulkner and then brag about it, the question seemed to surprise him.

"I don't know. He was well known for having a grudge against the system, being anti-police. [Officer Faulkner] had hit -- subdued -- Jamal's brother, who had been resisting arrest, striking an officer." (A charge to which the brother subsequently pled guilty.)

Of course, proof beyond a reasonable doubt of malicious, unprovoked killing with "deliberation and premeditation" are required for a first-degree murder conviction -- the charge which sent Abu-Jamal to death row. What Burns is describing is not premeditated and, as he seems to implictly admit, defending one's brother is a natural human impulse. In the eyes of the law, this is not first-degree murder.

According to the prosecution's reconstruction of the case, Abu-Jamal decided in an instant to shoot Faulkner in the back from close range, then did nothing while the wounded officer (who was facing at least two assailants and wielding either a flashlight or billy club) turned, unholstered his weapon and fired, striking Jamal in the chest. Faulkner fell to the ground whereupon Abu-Jamal fired more shots at his upper body before coolly finishing the prone officer off with a bullet between the eyes.

"Its not my theory, I don't need a theory," Burns says forcefully. "That's eyewitness testimony."

At the scene, cab-driver eyewitness Robert Chobert at first told police he'd seen the shooter run away but subsequently identified Abu-Jamal in the paddy wagon. Other witnesses say Abu-Jamal never ran; he was found 4 feet from Faulkner, gravely wounded. Later, Chobert altered his story, saying the shooter didn't get far, maybe 30 or 35 steps (about 100 feet).

Neither could Chobert consistently identify the shooter's physical characteristics or his clothing. The jury never learned of his first statement, wherein the shooter "ran away". Even more damning, the jury was not told that Chobert had a drunk-driving record for which his license was suspended both on the night of the murder and during the trial. The jury also didn't learn that Chobert was on probation for arson-for-hire and had asked the authorities for help with his various legal problems. (Abu-Jamal's defense didn't know some of these things either.)

Prostitute Veronica Jones attempted to testify, according to Jamal's former counsel, Anthony Jackson, that the police had offered to let her work unmolested if she'd finger Mumia. She claimed that was the same deal police had given Cynthia White, one of their star witnesses. The Judge barred all such testimony and struck the portion Jones had managed to blurt out from the record. Jones, the Faulkner Web site details, was a heavy drug user with a hefty rap sheet.

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