The case will take a year or more to make its way through the federal courts. Abu-Jamal, accused of shooting Faulkner while the officer tried to arrest his brother, was convicted in 1982 after a monthlong trial. A revolver registered to Abu-Jamal was found at the scene, with five spent shells. Abu-Jamal himself was shot and wounded by Faulkner. His supporters contend that Abu-Jamal was framed because of his early membership in the Black Panthers and because as a radio journalist he had focused on police brutality.
Supporters say the witnesses gave coerced testimony and that the judge had a history of bias.
The mobilizing effort is being organized out of a small second-story office in downtown Manhattan. They say 100 buses will leave New York City for the event, and 300 to 400 are expected from throughout the Northeast, the Middle Atlantic states, and as far away as Houston. The New York office said that about 500,000 leaflets had been printed, and that most already had been distributed. The key event in planning Saturday's rally in Philadelphia was a strategy session in New York on Jan. 23, with about 70 activists invited by Pam Africa, actor Ossie Davis and several others. There, the group decided that, to turn out the biggest possible crowd, the event should be positioned as broadly as possible.