Mumia Abu-Jamal Trial: 1982 - Black Panther Activist

A Philadelphia native, Abu-Jamal had cofounded a chapter of the Black Panthers in 1969, when he was 15 years old. Expelled from high school for radicalism, he had since become a radio journalist, well known for his smooth, resonant voice and on-the-air ambience. He was also known as a harsh critic of the police. However, since 1979, when he had joined a local public radio station, and especially since January 1981, his colleagues had noticed a deterioration in the quality of his work. He was also accused of biased reporting. Finally, asked to resign, he took to driving a taxi.

Hospitalized with a severe chest wound from a bullet fired by Officer Faulkner's gun, Abu-Jamal was arrested for murder. The bullet recovered from the policeman's skull was too fragmented to be identified as having come from Abu-Jamal's gun, which held five empty cartridges, but it was consistent with its type.