MUMIA ON THEIR MIND

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The defense team, headed by Leonard Weinglass, disputes virtually every aspect of that account. The team notes that one of the three eyewitnesses who identified Abu-Jamal as the gunman was a prostitute with three pending felony charges--and thus had cause to cooperate with the police. Another witness, cabdriver Robert Chobert, told police on the night of the shooting that a man much larger than Abu-Jamal had stood over Faulkner and fired shots, then "ran away." Abu-Jamal's lawyers say other witnesses who did not testify also reported seeing a heavyset man shoot Faulkner and flee. As for Bell's testimony, defense lawyers question why the officer waited more than two months to report the alleged confession.

The defense believes, however, that the judge, Albert Sabo, may be an obstacle. Sabo conducted the original trial and is presiding over the hearing to determine whether there will be a second trial, despite appeals that he recuse himself. Sabo holds the national record for sending the most people to death row: 31. Back in 1982, he refused to let Abu-Jamal represent himself, and appointed an attorney. The defense team cites several flaws in that attorney's performance. He assented to a jury made up of 10 whites and two blacks, hardly representative of the Philadelphia population, which was 40% black. And he failed to point out in court that the medical examiner's report identified the fatal bullet as .44 caliber, while the registered gun owned by Abu-Jamal and found at the scene was .38 caliber. Moreover, Abu-Jamal was allotted just $800 for investigators and expert witnesses. Says Weinglass: "You cannot put on a death case for $800."

This time, Abu-Jamal has larger sums at his disposal. A committee has raised $100,000 from the likes of actors Ed Asner and Whoopi Goldberg and academician Cornel West. That might be enough money to buy three more years' worth of appeals. No one expects Abu-Jamal to die on Aug. 17.

--Reported by Adam Cohen and Mubarak Dahir/Philadelphia