In the coming weeks, the Senate will consider the nomination of Debo Adegbile to be assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's civil-rights division. There are those who object to the nominee on various grounds, and others who defend him. We raise concerns here about only one issue: Mr. Adegbile's support for convicted Philadelphia cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Let there be no mistake. Our concern is not based on the fact that Mr. Adegbile acted as an attorney for a criminal defendant. The right to counsel is a fundamental part of America's criminal justice system, and no lawyer should be faulted for the crimes of his clients.
But it is one thing to provide legal representation and quite another to seize on a case and turn it into a political platform from which to launch an extreme attack on the justice system. When a lawyer chooses that course, it is appropriate to ask whether he should be singled out for a high-level national position in, of all things, law enforcement.
To understand Mr. Adegbile's involvement, you must first consider the nature of the case. In December 1981, Abu-Jamal shot and killed Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. Immediately following the incident, Abu-Jamal confessed and stated before three witnesses that he hoped the officer died.
The murder was not a random street crime. Abu-Jamal was an ardent supporter of the "MOVE" organization—a racist, anarchist group founded in Philadelphia in 1972. The group's radical positions included encouraging violence against police.
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