Philly's fallen heroes: the true injustice surrounding MOVE
Patrick DiMauro
Issue date: 9/26/08 Section: Ed-Op
Zaller also twists the truth in his portrayal of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner's murder, as he defends Mumia Abu-Jamal with conspiracy-theory logic and few facts. A quick recitation of the evidence should overwhelmingly point toward Abu-Jamal's guilt.
Five eyewitnesses have testified that they saw Abu-Jamal shoot Faulkner as the police officer attempted to arrest Abu-Jamal's brother, William Cook. Abu-Jamal was apprehended just 10 feet away from Faulkner's body. In Abu-Jamal's chest was a bullet fired from Faulkner's gun. A gun registered to Abu-Jamal was found right next to him when police arrived. The bullet that killed Faulkner was linked though ballistics to Abu-Jamal's gun. Finally, in the 25 plus years since this murder, neither Abu-Jamal nor his brother has ever taken the stand to claim his innocence.
Zaller was correct about two things in his commentary. First, the 1985 bombing of the MOVE house was a dreadful example of excessive force and a disgrace for the Philadelphia Police Department. I find it very hypocritical, however, that Zaller criticized Frank Rizzo for being mayor during the 1978 incident, which was handled with restraint, yet he doesn't once mention Mayor Wilson Goode who presided as mayor during the police action that resulted in 11 individuals being burned alive.
The second thing that Zaller was correct about was his allegation that there is no justice in Philadelphia. I would take this one step further and suggest that there really is no justice on this planet. The evidence of this, however, is not that cold-blooded murderers cannot seem to find their way out of prison. The true proof is that if the world was a just place, Officers James Ramp and Daniel Faulkner would have returned safely to their loved ones on those tragic nights.
Patrick DiMauro is an alumnus of the 2008 graduating class. He can be reached at op-ed@thetriangle.org.
Five eyewitnesses have testified that they saw Abu-Jamal shoot Faulkner as the police officer attempted to arrest Abu-Jamal's brother, William Cook. Abu-Jamal was apprehended just 10 feet away from Faulkner's body. In Abu-Jamal's chest was a bullet fired from Faulkner's gun. A gun registered to Abu-Jamal was found right next to him when police arrived. The bullet that killed Faulkner was linked though ballistics to Abu-Jamal's gun. Finally, in the 25 plus years since this murder, neither Abu-Jamal nor his brother has ever taken the stand to claim his innocence.
Zaller was correct about two things in his commentary. First, the 1985 bombing of the MOVE house was a dreadful example of excessive force and a disgrace for the Philadelphia Police Department. I find it very hypocritical, however, that Zaller criticized Frank Rizzo for being mayor during the 1978 incident, which was handled with restraint, yet he doesn't once mention Mayor Wilson Goode who presided as mayor during the police action that resulted in 11 individuals being burned alive.
The second thing that Zaller was correct about was his allegation that there is no justice in Philadelphia. I would take this one step further and suggest that there really is no justice on this planet. The evidence of this, however, is not that cold-blooded murderers cannot seem to find their way out of prison. The true proof is that if the world was a just place, Officers James Ramp and Daniel Faulkner would have returned safely to their loved ones on those tragic nights.
Patrick DiMauro is an alumnus of the 2008 graduating class. He can be reached at op-ed@thetriangle.org.
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