Calif. Teachers Federation Endorses Convicted ‘Cop Killer’

• Posted on April 12, 2011 at 9:19am by Jonathon M. Seidl

Abu-Jamal

The California Federation of Teachers — a branch of the AFL-CIO — has adopted a resolution at its annual conference supporting convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, the Daily Caller reports.
From TheDC, which notes that Abu-Jamal is now being called a “journalist:”

Among the resolutions largely pertaining to education and collective bargaining rights was Resolution 19 – to “Reaffirm support for death row journalist.”
“Therefore, be it resolved, that the California Federation of Teachers reaffirm its support and demand that the courts consider the evidence of innocence of Mumia Abu-Jamal,” the Committee Report reads.

Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former member of the Black Panther Party, was convicted of shooting, multiple times, Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. He reportedly confessed to the crime and was given the death penalty.

Instead of recognizing Abu-Jamal’s conviction, the federation believes he is innocent and a civil rights hero.
“Mumia Abu-Jamal has for decades as a journalist fought courageously against racism and police brutality and for the human rights of all people and has taken strong stands in support of working people involved in labor struggles and in support of well-funded, quality, public education,” the resolution reads.
But not everyone is convinced.

“Somebody should tell the California Teachers Federation that this is over, he is in jail, he is going to stay there,” Daniel Flynn, author of “Cop killer: How Mumia Abu-Jamal conned millions into believing he was framed, told TheDC. “You have numerous eyewitnesses saying Mumia did it. You had ballistic evidence – Mumia’s gun at the scene was consistent with the bullet used to kill Faulkner. Mumia admitted after the fact that he did it.”

That doesn’t matter to the CFT. “The delegates decided it was time to reiterate that they supported him due to the irregularities that they felt had taken place during his case,” a spokesman for the organization told TheDC. He went on to say that the CFT takes positions on a variety of “social matters.”
Former Green Jobs Czar Van Jones is also an Abu-Jamal supporter.

Read the entire story at TheDC.