Word: jamal
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Jamal was found at the scene, wounded, his pistol lying nearby. Three eyewitnesses in the immediate vicinity gave nearly identical statements to the arresting officers describing how Jamal had run from across the street, shot Faulkner in the back and then executed him. Ballistic tests proved that the bullet which killed Faulkner was fired by a .38 caliber revolver, a match with Jamal's gun. Finally, three people at the hospital where Jamal was taken that night, two security guards and a police officer, testified that Jamal had confessed to the shooting, stating "I shot the motherfucker and I hope...
...July 3, 1982, on the basis of this overwhelming evidence, Jamal was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Officer Faulkner. Since that judgement was handed down by a jury, his cause has been embraced by a circus of characters, from the entertainment industry to anti-death-penalty activists to the radical left. Of course, to call the plight of Jamal a "cause" is a generous concession. Those who champion his innocence stand on shaky ground at best...
...Jamal's legal defense is headed by Leonard Weinglass, a longtime champion of the so-called oppressed. Over the years he has presented a variety of crackpot theories that ostensibly seek to exonerate Jamal. One defense "witness" came forward a decade after the original trial to declare that a mysterious man shot Faulkner and fled just before Jamal arrived to help and was accidentally shot when Faulkner's gun inexplicably discharged. Another defense asset, Veronica Jones, remained silent for 14 years until declaring that she saw two men fleeing from the murder. She recalls that at the time...
...these and similarly flimsy grounds (he's also claimed that the presiding judge was racist and that the trial procedure was improper) have been rejected by two separate appeals courts in the last three years. So, why are there benefit concerts and international student walkouts being sponsored on Jamal's behalf? In the case of the Hollywood celebrities who have lined up behind Jamal, the best explanation seems to be outright ignorance. Most have not critically examined the facts of the case, and when pushed to explain their association with Jamal, most resort to explaining their general opposition...
Principled objection to capital punishment is a legitimate political position that is shared by significant portion of this country's electorate. Supporting the murderer of a police officer is a lot harder for Middle America to swallow. Death penalty opponents do themselves no favors by making Jamal their poster child. Then again, it's hard to see how anyone benefits from their association with Jamal, but it is easiest to understand why the radical left can't help itself...