It’s December 9th, 1981 on a dark, quiet night on the streets of Philadelphia.  Maybe you hear a soft siren sound somewhere in the distance.  25-year-old police officer Daniel Faulkner steers his car to an abrupt halt.  A blue Volkswagen is driving the wrong way down a one-way street.  Faulkner pulls the car over and radios for backup, asking the man to exit the vehicle.
Suddenly, the man attacks Faulkner, delivering several blows to his head.  He uses his flashlight to retaliate, desperately trying to subdue the man.  A shot rings out from behind the two men.  An oblivious Faulkner sinks slowly to the ground, slipping toward unconsciousness.  Instinctively, he draws his pistol and fires upward, hitting his unknown assailant in the abdomen.
After firing three more times, the third man squats menacingly over Faulkner.  He lowers his .38 caliber Charter Arms revolver to within an inch of Faulkner's head, pulls the trigger and ends Daniel Faulkner’s life, instantly.
 Unfortunately for the assailant, several other individuals were witness to the happening.  It was by their testimony, a powerful motive and overwhelming physical evidence that the perpetrator, Mumia Abu-Jamal, was convicted of first-degree murder.  On July 3rd, 1982, Jamal was sentenced to death.
 A disturbing story, obviously, but a least justice was served, right?
 No.  Seventeen years following the murder, Jamal lives.  Not only does he live, but he lives well.  He’s an international hero with millions of followers. He has written several books and publishes a weekly column.  He’s earned the support of international scholars and philanthropists. To some he’s almost a god.
 While difficult to determine exactly how or when, it’s obvious that Mumia’s “cause” has gone the way of the spotted owl.  Since the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court denied Jamal’s direct appeal for release in 1989, his support has become “the thing to do” in Hollywood.  When a cause becomes “en vogue” among Hollywood hotshots; well, look out.
 And apparently, some of those supporters scarcely even know why they support Jamal.  Ed Asner, when interviewed for a story on 20/20, based his beliefs on falsehoods advanced by Jamal’s defense lawyer.  Asner also conceded that first, and foremost, he thinks the death penalty “is a farce.”  Here’s more of the exchange from a transcript of the show:
SAM DONALDSON: “Even if he were guilty of shooting Officer Faulkner and even if you thought that was the case, you would say...
ED ASNER: I would not want him to die.
 The man doesn’t even care about the case.
This attitude of supporting a convicted cop killer simply as a noble cause is evident elsewhere.  Jamal was a member of the militant civil rights group, MOVE, before the murder.  In an official statement, the group advanced the following opinion: "As long as we are alive, we will never abandon our innocent brothers and sisters in jail . . . And this city gonna always have a problem until every last one of our brothers and sisters is home."
 In other words, their “brothers and sisters” are all innocent regardless of their crimes.  At the time Jamal killed Faulkner, there were several MOVE members in jail for the murder of another Philadelphia police officer.  It’s no wonder with statements like, “This city gonna always have a problem until very last one of our brothers and sisters is home,” that members of MOVE like Jamal end up cop killers.
 Another follower of Jamal’s made this statement on 20/20:  “People are not just going to sit back and let another Malcolm X be murdered, you know, another Martin Luther King. Just like Jesus Christ, they were all freedom fighters, and they were all killed by this government.”
 Does this bother you?  A man kills a cop and becomes Jesus Christ?  Or Martin Luther King?  Is this the sort of nation we live in?  Is this the kind of nation we want our children to live in?
My plea and ultimate argument is please to don’t give in to this.  We can’t let justice rot right in front of our faces.  But when we subscribe to the idiocy and immorality that people like that killer and his disciples demand, that’s exactly what we do.
The appeals process has finally failed and Jamal may die as soon as May.  I guarantee that if, and when, he does, the international outcry will be too loud to ignore.  When the time comes, don’t just take everything you hear on the news as gospel.  I admonish you, in the words of Jamal supporters, Public Enemy:  “Don’t believe the hype!”