This coming tuesday, the SCOTUS will issue its ruling on the most recent of dozens of endless appeals by convicted cop killer Wesley Cook, also known as Mumia Abdul-Jabaar.  This is the fith time that the Cook case has gone to the Supreme Court.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100117/ts_nm/us_usa_court_deathpenalty

This appeal does not seek to overturn his conviction but rather to vacate the death sentence.  However, if the sentence is vacated, a new sentencing hearing can be conducted by the Commonwealth and he could again receive a condemnation.

Even if one accepts the various points that are raised by Cook's attorneys, there is even then, considerable evidence indicating his guilt, not the least of which is that his gun was used in the crime (found at the scene with 5 spent shells), that the cop fired back at him, and, of course, that he was at the scene of the crime to start with.  The likely scenario of this crime is that Cook saw that his brother's car had been pulled over by the cop, and then Cook "flipped out" and started blasting away.

One thing is for sure, there is very little likelihood that Cook will ever get executed, as he has an endless stream of sympathizers funding his sham.  But it is almost impossible that he will ever see the light of day again, either.  So he'll be "Live from Death Row" for quite some time.

If it's been to the SCOTUS for 4 times already, I'd say he's guilty.

No death penalty for Mumia.  No death penalty for anybody.  Period.  I'm sick of living in a country that metes out medieval punishments and treats people like sh*t because of the color of their skin. 

No death penalty for Mumia.  No death penalty for anybody.  Period.  I'm sick of living in a country that metes out medieval punishments and treats people like sh*t because of the color of their skin. 


So if you're black and you shoot a cop, you should get a pass?

So if you're black and you shoot a cop, you should get a pass?


I think Max is against the death penalty regardless of what race the perp is.  Which of course is how it should be (race-blind, that is).

So if you're black and you shoot a cop, you should get a pass?


Do you really think that's what I said?  Come on, don't be silly.

I don't think Mumia is some kind of saint as many people who live in this most liberal region of Massachusetts do.  I have heard many of his commentaries from death row and found him to be cogent and insightful, but this does not speak to his guilt or innocence in the shooting death of Officer Faulkner.  The prosecution's evidence in the case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Mumia Abu-Jamal is not rock solid.  The eyewitness accounts are contentious.  Mumia was caught with a .38 and officer Faulker was shot with a .38, but only some of the forensic testing was consistent with the ballistics. 

A dude named Arnold Beverly came forward in 1999 and confessed to killing Faulkner as a mob hit.  He signed an affidavit, but neither side wanted anything to do with him.

The case inflames passions on both sides.  Those in favor of the prosecution are indignant that Mumia has not been put to death and he gets to mouth off from death row.  Those in favor of the defense are enraged the courts have not commuted Mumia's death sentence; in fact, most of his supporters believe he is a righteous dude and should be pardoned and compensated. 

I don't know.

What I do know from accounts of people who experienced the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia, where the shooting occurred, was a miasma of poverty, gangs, organized crime, prostitution, drug pushers, and fear.  The cops were little more than a corrupt army of occupation who took bribes, forced extortion, beat people up, and sometimes shot people -- usually young black men -- dead in the streets.  Even this kind of violent anarchy doesn't make it okay to kill people, but such a demoralized state makes homicides a likely outcome.  I gather Center City is better than it was 30 years ago, but North Philly is one of the scariest places in the entire country.

The case of Mumia, whether he is guilty or innocent, speaks to a need for this country to take up the cause of social justice and eradication of poverty.  Unfortunately, the plutocratic priorities of our government shows contempt for humanity.  In fact, it was 1981 when Ronnie Reagan, Grandpa Caligula, was inaugurated with his platform of retrograde greed and phony populism, which has become the creed of our political class...and that includes you, Barack Obama!
::)

And yes, I am against capital punishment regardless of the crime, who committed the crime, or why.

Seems that the Supreme Court was not moved by Wesley Cook's arguments, and has tossed out a lower court ruling that had vacated his death sentence.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/19/scotus.abu.jamal/

According to the article, the Third US Circuit Court whose ruling was vacated has but two choices:  (a) let the death sentence stand or (b) grant a FEDERAL retrial.

My guess?  The Third Circuit will wash its hands of this matter, and "Mumia Abdul Jabaar" and his legal racketeers will have to pursue appeals in some other venue.

Seems that the Supreme Court was not moved by Wesley Cook's arguments, and has tossed out a lower court ruling that had vacated his death sentence.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/19/scotus.abu.jamal/

According to the article, the Third US Circuit Court whose ruling was vacated has but two choices:  (a) let the death sentence stand or (b) grant a FEDERAL retrial.

My guess?  The Third Circuit will wash its hands of this matter, and "Mumia Abdul Jabaar" and his legal racketeers will have to pursue appeals in some other venue.




You're mixing him up with Kareem, ya mo-ron!
;)

Anyway, I think Mumia will either get the hot shot or he'll die on death row.  The preponderance of evidence is still against him in the case.  I was speaking more to the social justice issues surrounding the case.  Up here in the Happy Valley they've put Mumia in the same esteem as MLK and Gandhi.  I don't see that.  I don't see him as the cop-killing thug the Right likes to call him either.  It's more complex than that. 

You're mixing him up with Kareem, ya mo-ron!
;)



Hehehheh... I also occasionally refer to him as Mumia Paula-Abdul,  Mumia Abu Dhabi, and Mumia Yabba Dabba Du.

Nevertheless, his legal name at the time of his conviction was Wesley Cook.  But 'tis harder to get bleeding hearts to swoon over Wesley Cook, while a name like Mumia Scooby Doo makes celebrities swoon. 

Hehehheh... I also occasionally refer to him as Mumia Paula-Abdul,  Mumia Abu Dhabi, and Mumia Yabba Dabba Du.

Nevertheless, his legal name at the time of his conviction was Wesley Cook.  But 'tis harder to get bleeding hearts to swoon over Wesley Cook, while a name like Mumia Scooby Doo makes celebrities swoon. 


Mumia Abu-Jamal translates literally to Prince, Father of Beauty.  There's still a small measure of radical chic on the Left, but I think it gets oversold by the Ann Coulters of the chattering class.  The thing about Mumia is he does not come across like some gangsta rapper.  I have always been impressed with his "Live from Death Row" commentaries.  Then again, you and I depart on politics a great deal, but if you listen to what he's got to say, you might see a few things differently. 

Mumia Abu-Jamal translates literally to Prince, Father of Beauty.  There's still a small measure of radical chic on the Left, but I think it gets oversold by the Ann Coulters of the chattering class.  The thing about Mumia is he does not come across like some gangsta rapper.  I have always been impressed with his "Live from Death Row" commentaries.  Then again, you and I depart on politics a great deal, but if you listen to what he's got to say, you might see a few things differently. 


Actually he started using the Mumia alias back in the 60's.  After he had his first child at the age of 17, whom he named Jamal, he then appended the "Abu Jamal" suffix which means "father of Jamal". 

I agree with you that in his various media endeavors, Wes sounds quite erudite and comes across as very smart.  I think his personal history is basically of a guy who was very intelligent but for whatever reason, valid or not, got a huge chip on his shoulder, and F-ed up in a major way.

Heck, in his various writings he may be making a number of great points.  Nevertheless, that does not change the fact that he shot a cop because he was PO'd that the cop pulled over his brother. If he had "manned up" and admitted his deed in the beginning, chances would have been much greater that he coulda dodged the death penalty (although for cop killers such deals are admittedly rare, and especially in Pennsylvania).

He's definitely smart enough to know that if his public persona/schtick was one of a street thug, he would not get very far.  His "Rasta man" look is definitely an eye catcher.  Heck, if I were on Death Row I'd put up whatever act I could too, to stay away from Mr. Needle.

While he'd like to think that he is on Death Row because he is black, the truth of the matter is that Pennsylvania is about the last state in the Union (maybe other than Texas) in which one wants to run around killing cops.  We've had a spate of cop killings this year and in every case the perp (who as often as not is a white guy) is facing a capital trial. However somebody in Harrisburg has lost the keys to the execution chamber, as it has been 15 years since the last execution was actually carried out, a mockery of the criminal justice system.

Four years ago a complete scum bag and career criminal wrested a PA State Cop's sidearm from him during a traffic stop and shot him dead, execution style (three head shots) after the first shot, leaving Cpl Pokorny's two young children without a father anymore.  Dirt bag only got a life sentence.  He happened to be a black dude, but I don't care what color he was, he shoulda gotten the death penalty.  Cpl Pokorny was a member of my Boy Scout troop back in the day.

Actually he started using the Mumia alias back in the 60's.  After he had his first child at the age of 17, whom he named Jamal, he then appended the "Abu Jamal" suffix which means "father of Jamal". 

I agree with you that in his various media endeavors, Wes sounds quite erudite and comes across as very smart.  I think his personal history is basically of a guy who was very intelligent but for whatever reason, valid or not, got a huge chip on his shoulder, and F-ed up in a major way.

Heck, in his various writings he may be making a number of great points.  Nevertheless, that does not change the fact that he shot a cop because he was PO'd that the cop pulled over his brother. If he had "manned up" and admitted his deed in the beginning, chances would have been much greater that he coulda dodged the death penalty (although for cop killers such deals are admittedly rare, and especially in Pennsylvania).

He's definitely smart enough to know that if his public persona/schtick was one of a street thug, he would not get very far.  His "Rasta man" look is definitely an eye catcher.  Heck, if I were on Death Row I'd put up whatever act I could too, to stay away from Mr. Needle.

While he'd like to think that he is on Death Row because he is black, the truth of the matter is that Pennsylvania is about the last state in the Union (maybe other than Texas) in which one wants to run around killing cops.  We've had a spate of cop killings this year and in every case the perp (who as often as not is a white guy) is facing a capital trial. However somebody in Harrisburg has lost the keys to the execution chamber, as it has been 15 years since the last execution was actually carried out, a mockery of the criminal justice system.

Four years ago a complete scum bag and career criminal wrested a PA State Cop's sidearm from him during a traffic stop and shot him dead, execution style (three head shots) after the first shot, leaving Cpl Pokorny's two young children without a father anymore.   Dirt bag only got a life sentence.  He happened to be a black dude, but I don't care what color he was, he shoulda gotten the death penalty.  Cpl Pokorny was a member of my Boy Scout troop back in the day.


I think life without parole is a suitable punishment for the above scumbag.  Killing the perp isn't going to bring those kids their father back.  Furthermore, I would say life without parole whether Pokorny was a police officer or a wino in an alley.  It stings you personally because you knew the guy when you were kids, I can dig that,  but I still see a difference between justice and revenge.

The pragmatic argument I have against the death penalty is it is immutable.  Once the guy is dead, you can't bring him back.  A lot of these convicts who end up on death row are poor folks who can't afford good lawyers.  Sometimes the truth doesn't come out until later.  Maybe the convict is completely exonerated, or perhaps mitigating evidence comes to light and requires the state to commute the sentence to life in prison.  In most states, like PA, it takes 15 or 20+ years before the convict goes to the death house, but even with all that time to re-examine the case, you still shouldn't take the chance.

I forgot the exact numbers, but in PA you've had 3 men executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, and you've got something like 300 prisoners on death row.  Death penalty advocates say why have it if you're not going to use it?  They just love Texas because they have an express lane to the executioner.  However, the more you use it, the more likely you are to kill the wrong guy.

I say it's impractical to have the death penalty at all considering how much it costs, let alone moral considerations. 

But if we must allow the death penalty, I say bring back the firing squad.  Why?  It's more humane than lethal injection.  They got rid of hanging, electrocution, and lethal gas because of the horror shows of botched executions.  However, lethal injection also turns out to be a nightmare in many cases.  A lot of guys on death row were IV drug users, so their veins are all screwed up.  They had to stick the needle in the guy's foot one time.  It took him an hour to die!  Another time some hack paramedic stuck the needle in the condemned man's arm facing the hand, not the heart, so he lay their groaning for several minutes before he even lost consciousness.  With the firing squad, you take three expert marksman and the guy's going to die instantly.   

I think life without parole is a suitable punishment for the above scumbag.  Killing the perp isn't going to bring those kids their father back. 


Yeah, but dead convicts do not escape from prison and murder again, such as the Texas Seven did.


But if we must allow the death penalty, I say bring back the firing squad.  Why?  It's more humane than lethal injection.  They got rid of hanging, electrocution, and lethal gas because of the horror shows of botched executions.  However, lethal injection also turns out to be a nightmare in many cases.  A lot of guys on death row were IV drug users, so their veins are all screwed up.  They had to stick the needle in the guy's foot one time.  It took him an hour to die!  Another time some hack paramedic stuck the needle in the condemned man's arm facing the hand, not the heart, so he lay their groaning for several minutes before he even lost consciousness.  With the firing squad, you take three expert marksman and the guy's going to die instantly.   


I'm with you there.  All this nonsense about injection or electrocution or the gas chamber being "cruel and unusual" punishment is a bunch of poppycock, and is really just a diversion from the core issue.  Geeze Louise, the guy is getting EXECUTED, of course it's gonna hurt!  The perp did not get into that position because he talked with his mouth full or ate with his elbows on the table.

My belief is that electrocution is botched these days because they do not use enough current and/or voltage.  Hook the guy up to a 500,000 volt high tension power line, and when you throw the switch he'll not only be executed, he'll be creamated and vaporized.

As to firing squad (the method of choice by Gary Gilmore) I would improve the reliability of this method by increasing the caliber of the marksmen's rifles to .50BMG.  (Anything bigger might cause problems for the existing executon sites). This would ensure that the wounds are indeed lethal and quick.  You don't want a guy who'd just faced the firing squad to come out of it like Fifty Cent did with his nine wounds.

Yeah, but dead convicts do not escape from prison and murder again, such as the Texas Seven did.

This is a question of who is likely to murder again.  First degree murder is a capital crime.  Joe Schmoe murders his wife to get at her insurance benefits.  He's on death row.  John Doe is a mob hitman who got busted for intent to commit murder.  He's in general population.  Joe Schmoe wanted to kill his wife and ONLY his wife.  He's not likely to kill anybody else.  John Doe kills people for a living, but he didn't get convicted for it.  Thus, the most dangerous people in prisons aren't necessarily the ones who were convicted of capital crimes. 

I'm with you there.  All this nonsense about injection or electrocution or the gas chamber being "cruel and unusual" punishment is a bunch of poppycock, and is really just a diversion from the core issue.  Geeze Louise, the guy is getting EXECUTED, of course it's gonna hurt!  The perp did not get into that position because he talked with his mouth full or ate with his elbows on the table.
Would have been if my grandmother had been in charge!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/11/confused2.gif

My belief is that electrocution is botched these days because they do not use enough current and/or voltage.  Hook the guy up to a 500,000 volt high tension power line, and when you throw the switch he'll not only be executed, he'll be creamated and vaporized.

As to firing squad (the method of choice by Gary Gilmore) I would improve the reliability of this method by increasing the caliber of the marksmen's rifles to .50BMG.  (Anything bigger might cause problems for the existing executon sites). This would ensure that the wounds are indeed lethal and quick.  You don't want a guy who'd just faced the firing squad to come out of it like Fifty Cent did with his nine wounds.


I said expert marksmen, not drive-by gangbangers!  OK, raise the caliber to .50BMG and blow a hole in him just as big as the sky, but you gotta be the mop-up boy afterwards.

The horror stories of Old Sparky in Florida where you had flames shooting out of the guy's head turned a lot of legislators off to execution.  Now, you go with a half-million volts, you better not screw it up, 'cos that level of current running in the wrong direction could make the execute the executioners too!  And once again, you gotta go mop up once the place cools down!

I said expert marksmen, not drive-by gangbangers!  OK, raise the caliber to .50BMG and blow a hole in him just as big as the sky, but you gotta be the mop-up boy afterwards.



We'll hire whatever service Gallagher uses after his performances.

http://www.uncoached.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/gallagher.jpg