Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury in Philadelphia & Northeast http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19887037 en Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:55:36 EDT Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:55:36 EDT Re: Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19899298 CtrlAltDel : I would prefer that Gary's killer gets the same as Mudman: »query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h···nted=all

The true story of what happened that day are known to a few select people, and it can happen again.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19899298 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:17:09 EDT Re: Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19898512 howrman :
said by CtrlAltDel See Profile :

The DA made a deal with the murderer [of Officer Skerski] and the guy gets life without parole. Here's a guy who should have received the death sentence, but that's justice. :uhh:
Your characterization of an unjust "deal" with Officer Skerski's killer is a little misleading. On October 31, 2007, the Daily News reported that Officer Skerski's family wanted him to be sentenced to life because they did not want to go through the ordeal of a trial:

Prosecutor Jude Conroy told reporters after the court proceeding that Skerski 's family members agreed to the plea so that they would not have to go through a painful trial. "After weighing all the options, they were in full agreement with the plea," he said.
As a friend of Officer Skerski, would you have preferred it if, against the wishes of the family, the DA had forced them to endure a trial?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19898512 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:14:13 EDT Re: Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19898155 CtrlAltDel : I stand corrected. (I should never type before breakfast) Cook's staunchest backers claimed that the city was 40% black and there were "not enough" black jurors. Color never mattered to me and juries should be blind to it also. This doesn't mean the trial was unfair because of the numbers. And don't believe everything Ed Asner and the liberals write about the DA's office.

I once went to a luncheon at an exclusive private Philadelphia club and sat with a judge who heard murder trials in the city. After a few drinks, this judge said "I don't have to hear any testimony in my courtroom. I can tell if a person is guilty or not just by looking at him". I was totally taken aback, but didn't say a word. When I asked my brother-in-law, who took me to the affair, if the judge was joking he said NO! That is justice and it will never change, even with the Innocence Project freeing innocent people. You may be found guilty in a court of law even if you are not. That's life and life can be harsh.

My friend, Gary Skerski, was a community relations officer in the 15th district. He could "talk a dog off of a meat truck" and he was a kind, gentle, family man. He decided to work overtime to help with Catholic School tuition for his 2 kids when he was gunned down while responding to a robbery call. The DA made a deal with the murderer and the guy gets life without parole. Here's a guy who should have received the death sentence, but that's justice. :uhh: ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19898155 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:22:30 EDT Re: Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19897850 howrman :
said by CtrlAltDel See Profile :

I closely watched the happenings of that trial and it was fair. . . . Having no blacks on the jury doesn't make for an unfair trial.
For someone who has "closely watch the happenings of that trial," I'm a little surprised you don't know that there were two blacks on the jury. The problem, concluded the US District Court, is that the prosecutor improperly excluded other blacks from the jury simply because of their race. If that's true, according to the US Supreme Court, that makes the trial unconstitutional.

While I happen to agree with you that Abu-Jamal is probably guilty, I doubt that Judge Sabo ever gave any criminal defendant a fair trial. And, while I'm usually strongly opposed to capital punishment, in my mind, the murder of a police officer comes pretty close to deserving it. Nevertheless, until Abu Jamal gets a fair trial, he shouldn't be executed. I would think that even staunch death penalty advocates would want to avoid the type of errors that, thanks to DNA evidence, have freed over 100 innocent people from death row. The first step to doing that is to make sure that they have all received fair trials.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19897850 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:32:57 EDT Re: Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19894619 CtrlAltDel :
said by howrman See Profile :

said by CtrlAltDel See Profile :

I say we should fry the bastard now.
Sorry to ruin your fun, but don't you think it's important for us to make sure that the guy got a fair trial before we decide whether he should be "fried?" (By the way, since Pennsylvania now uses lethal injection for executions, that term is a little dated.)
Never said it was fun. Cook is a murderer. I closely watched the happenings of that trial and it was fair. Cook refused to cooperate with his counsel and according to witnesses at the time, he was guilty. Having no blacks on the jury doesn't make for an unfair trial and retrying him 26 years later is just wrong. Ed Asner and company are easily swayed by any black convict who speaks well.

And perhaps I'm a little dated but that's how I feel. Fry him because he murdered a cop in cold blood.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19894619 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:55:12 EDT Re: Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19893696 howrman :
said by CtrlAltDel See Profile :

I say we should fry the bastard now.
Sorry to ruin your fun, but don't you think it's important for us to make sure that the guy got a fair trial before we decide whether he should be "fried?" (By the way, since Pennsylvania now uses lethal injection for executions, that term is a little dated.)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19893696 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:09:26 EDT Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19887037 CtrlAltDel : Danny Faulkner was a good cop. He was shot in cold blood by this scumbag who is fighting for his life. The scumbag's real name is Wesley Cook and he was a member of the black panther party. Now he is prison crying that he deserves a new trial. I say we should fry the bastard now.

From »www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_up···ury.html
"Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury
The tempest over Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted cop killer, has long been: did he murder Officer Daniel Faulkner, or was he framed? Yet inside an appeals court, Abu-Jamal's guilt or innocence is not the issue."
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