Family Says Mumia Abu-Jamal Treated For Diabetes Complications
By Walt Hunter
POTTSVILLE, Pa. (CBS) — The wife and brother of convicted police killer Mumia Abu Jamal say the convicted police killer is suffering from diabetic shock in the Intensive Care Unit of a Pottsville Hospital.
Jamal's wife Wadiya says Jamal, who received the death penalty for the 1981 murder of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner but is now serving life without parole, was brought to the hospital after collapsing in prison on Monday.
"He just passed out," she told reporters gathered outside the hospital. "He passed out."
Mrs. Jamal says she and Jamal's brother, Keith Cook, were permitted a half hour visit to Jamal's room under tight security with four guards always present and Jamal sitting up and handcuffed to a chair.
"He is weak," she added. "Very weak."
Family members and supporters say they want to know why Jamal's diabetes was not diagnosed and treated sooner and why they weren't kept better informed.
Hospital and prison officials say, by law, they can't comment on Jamal's medical issues. But in a general statement on medical treatment of prisoners, they responded by email, "when an inmate presents to the medical department with signs and symptoms of a serious illness, he/she is appropriately and immediately sent to the hospital for care."
Meanwhile, Jamal's family and supporters vow they will keep a vigil at the hospital hoping to learn more about his condition and treatment.
