D.A. Larry Krasner Drop The Case Against Mumia Abu-Jamal
April 19, 2024
District Attorney Larry Krasner
Three South Penn Square
Philadelphia, PA 19107-3499
Dear D.A. Krasner:
This year marks the 41st anniversary of Mumia Abu-Jamal's fraudulent first-degree murder conviction. As you are aware, his case is one of the most notable cases in Philadelphia's recent history. Most, if not all, of the voters who elected you, would support the D.A.'s office, dropping the case against Mumia Abu-Jamal. Thankfully, your Conviction Integrity Unit CIU has led to the release of over 44 wrongfully incarcerated people, but Mumia should have been among them. There is not a shred of valid evidence that Mr. Jamal is guilty of murder, therefore, it is time to uphold justice by dropping the case against him now. He has already served over 40 years despite new evidence proving his innocence.
As you are aware, Mumia is an award-winning journalist, then and now, recognized by Columbia's University Major Armstrong Award in 1981for his coverage of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Philadelphia. How many journalists become cop killers overnight? Answer – None!
In 1979, prior to Mr. Jamal's trial, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an unprecedented lawsuit against Philadelphia’s mayor, Frank Rizzo, and 18 top city and police officials. They concluded, the Police Department’s behavior, which included shooting nonviolent suspects, abusing handcuffed prisoners, and tampering with evidence, “shocks the conscience.” The officers who arrested and brutalized Mumia on December 9, 1981 came from the Central Division, which was under federal investigation for police corruption at the time of Officer Faulkner's death. It is likely that Mr. Jamal was one of those victims, due to his unrelenting reporting on rampant police brutality against Black and Brown people, his support for MOVE, who are home now, and his past membership in the Black Panther Party.
As a result of the federal investigation, over one-third of the 35 officers involved in Mumia's case, including the top officer at the crime scene, Inspector Alfonso Giordano, were subsequently convicted of rank corruption, extortion, and tampering with evidence to obtain convictions. Giordano was a former captain of the so-called civil defense unit of the Philadelphia Police “red squad” that for years harassed the Black Panthers and other radical groups. Giordano, a long time favorite and confidante of former police chief and Mayor Frank Rizzo, claimed he heard Mr. Jamal confess to the crime in the ambulance. However, Giordano’s report was never admitted in court because he resigned after learning he was under federal investigation for bribery and extortion. Several years later, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of tax evasion relating to $55,000 in income gained from extortion.
Dr. Anthony Coletta, the emergency room physician who attempted to save Faulkner and treated Mr. Jamal, categorically stated that Abu-Jamal was about to go into shock from blood loss. He suffered internal bleeding, his lungs were full of blood, and could not have shouted out anything. “I can't say what happened outside the medical emergency room, but from the moment he came through the hospital doors into the emergency room, I was with him, and he said nothing,” said Coletta. In the official police report, Officer Gary Wakshul wrote, “The negro male made no comment.”
Documentary evidence discovered approximately three years ago indicates that two key witnesses were bribed to testify against Mr. Jamal. Cynthia White, a prostitute with many pending criminal cases against her, testified in court that she witnessed Abu-Jamal shoot Officer Faulkner. We now know Assistant District Attorney Joseph McGill, arranged to have all her pending cases suddenly dropped after her testimony. We also know that McGill tracked the race of all potential jurors, writing W for White and B for Black next to their names, which is a Batson violation. Robert Chobert, another so-called eyewitness, claimed he saw Abu-Jamal shoot Officer Faulkner at point-blank range. However, Chobert had a pending criminal case against him for tossing a Molotov co*cktail inside a school yard and driving without a license. The recently discovered documents reveal that Chobert wrote a note to ADA McGill asking “Where is my money?” Clearly, this previously unrevealed information is a Brady violation.
The Polakoff photos, taken the night of the crime, clearly show Chobert’s cab was nowhere near the crime scene. These same photos show Faulkner's hat on the passenger side of the VW Billy Cook (Mumia's brother) was driving that night, indicating there was a fourth person at the crime scene that the jury never heard about during the original 1982 trial. Officer Faulkner also had a driver's license application in his shirt pocket. The photos also show cops mishandling evidence.
Mumia never confessed to the crime, nor did he commit it. The FBI 7000-page redacted file notes, “The negro male showed no propensity toward violence.” Moreover, a courtroom stenographer overheard the original trial judge, Albert Sabo, telling another judge, Richard Klein, “I'm gonna help them fry the nigg*r.” There is no physical evidence to tie Mumia to the death of Officer Daniel Faulkner. Although Mumia was a veteran Black Panther accused of murdering a cop, the police claimed, unbelievably, that no gunpowder residue test was done on Mumia's hands or his registered 38 pistol.
By some miracle and self-determination, Mumia Abu-Jamal has resisted letting the time do him, writing thousands of radio commentaries for Prisonradio.org, writing 12 books to date, in America’s modern-day gulag/prison. The evidence of Mumia's innocence is overwhelming. His case mirrors 95% of the wrongful convictions. Now is the time to drop the case against Mumia Ab-Jamal. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Cordially,
Gwendolyn Debrow
