Mumia abu-jamal health

Mumia Abu-Jamal born Wesley Cook ; [ 3 ] April 24, is an American political activist and journalist who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in for the murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. While on death row, he wrote and commented on the criminal justice system in the United States. After numerous appeals, his death sentence was overturned by a federal court.

In , the prosecution agreed to a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. He entered the general prison population early the following year. Beginning at the age of 14 in , Abu-Jamal became involved with the Black Panther Party and was a member until October , leaving the party at age After leaving, he completed his high school education, and later became a radio reporter.

He eventually served as president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists — He supported MOVE , a Philadelphia -based organization, and covered the confrontation in which one police officer was killed. Since , the murder trial of Abu-Jamal has been seriously criticized for constitutional failings; [ 4 ] some have claimed that he is innocent, and many opposed his death sentence.

Mumia abu-jamal children

When his death sentence was overturned by a federal court in , he was described as "perhaps the world's best-known death-row inmate" by The New York Times. He has a younger brother named William. They attended local public schools. In , a high school teacher, a Kenyan man instructing a class on African cultures , encouraged the students to take African or Arabic names for classroom use; he gave Cook the name "Mumia".

Abu-Jamal has described being "kicked He was appointed as the chapter's "Lieutenant of Information," responsible for writing information and news communications. In an interview in the early years, Abu-Jamal quoted Mao Zedong , saying, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun".