Spurious Witnesses, Impossible Events: The March 29, 1982 Trial of Billy Cook for Aggravated Assault

Posted on July 6, 2007. This is the preliminary version of an analysis of a much neglected topic, namely the 1982 trial against Mumia Abu-Jamal's brother Billy Cook for aggravated assault. In it, I argue that Billy Cook, to, was probably framed for a crime he never commited. On the only legally relevant standard of guilt having to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, Cook was certainly innocent. Even more importantly, the trial showed how two of the most important witnesses against Abu-Jamal, namely, Cynthia White and Michael Scanlan, demonstrated at the Cook trial that they were totally unreliable and nothing they said could be believed. Comments and criticsms are welcome.

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