On December 7, nearly 30 years to the day that Philadelphia police Officer Daniel Faulkner was shot to death, District Attorney R. Seth Williams announced his office would drop their pursuit of the death penalty for the man convicted of Faulkner’s murder, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and instead settle for life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On April 26, 2011, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new sentencing hearing for Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook), citing concerns over jury instructions. That proceeding was but the latest in the decades-old court saga for the cop-killer, turned celebrity.
Last week, the convicted killer was moved from a maximum-security prison to a medium-security facility in Frackville, about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Officer Faulkner’s widow, Maureen gave her public approval of the decision, saying: “My family and I have endured a three-decade ordeal at the hands of Mumia Abu-Jamal, his attorneys and his supporters, who in many cases never even took the time to educate themselves about the case before lending their names, giving their support and advocating for his freedom. All of this has taken an unimaginable physical, emotional and financial toll on each of us."
On December 9, 1981, Officer Daniel Faulkner made a routine traffic stop of the car driven by William Cook (Abu-Jamal's brother). Cook exited the vehicle and began to struggle with Officer Faulkner. Abu-Jamal happened to be across the street. Witnessing the altercation, he ran over and shot Faulkner in the back. Faulkner returned fire and hit Abu-Jamal in the chest. However, Abu-Jamal then stood over the officer as he lay on the ground emptying his revolver into the young officer, shooting him once in the face, according to court documents.
Fellow officers arrived at the scene and saw Officer Faulkner lying in the street in a pool of blood, while Abu-Jamal sat gasping for air on the curb. Faulkner was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead later that night. Abu-Jamal was taken into custody and charged with Faulkner's murder.
In 1982, Abu-Jamal was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Despite the overwhelming facts, Abu-Jamal has maintained his innocence to this day and his lawyers have brought forth dozens of appeals. In 2001, they shopped the case to Federal District Court Judge William Yohn who actually overturned the death sentence. On March 17, 2006 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania filed an appeal with the U.S. Third Circuit, to reinstate the execution of Abu-Jamal. Gov. Ed Rendell has promised to sign the death warrant.
For many years, former District Attorney Lynne Abraham fought doggedly to reinstate the death penalty for Abu-Jamal. She often characterized his conviction as "the most open-and-shut case" she had ever tried. Abraham has pointed out that despite his claims of innocence, Abu-Jamal "has never produced his own brother, who was present at the time of the murder, yet he has offered up various individuals who would claim that one trial witness or another must have lied; or that some other individual has only recently been discovered who has special knowledge about the murder; or that someone has fallen out of the skies, who is supposedly willing to confess to the murder of Officer Faulkner."
Among the many facts that Abu-Jamal has not been able to explain is how he received the bullet wound in the chest, nor why he was discovered at the murder scene. Despite the facts of the case, groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the NAACP have continued to support Abu-Jamal for the last 30 years.
While the voice of Officer Faulkner has been silent for nearly three decades, his killer is very much alive and his voice is heard quite often. The former Black Panther who goes by the name Mumia Abu-Jamal gives numerous interviews, delivers college commencement speeches, and even has a street named in his honor.
Since imprisoned, Abu-Jamal published a book, has been interviewed by Vanity Fair and National Public Radio, and even given commencement speeches via videotape to Evergreen State College, UC Santa Cruz, Antioch College, and Occidental College. He has also received a Bachelor's Degree from Goddard College as well as a Master's Degree from California State University, both courtesy of the taxpayers.
The cop-killer has even won international acclaim. In 2007, the city of Paris awarded Abu-Jamal with an honorary citizenship. Fellow Black Panther Angela Davis attended the ceremony and accepted the award on his behalf. In 2006, the French city of Saint-Denis named a street after the murderer.
Among his supporters calling for a new trial are Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela, actors Danny Glover, Ossie Davis, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Asner.
In 1994, Maureen Faulkner (Daniel's widow) learned that National Public Radio was planning to air a series of taped monologues by Abu-Jamal. It was at that time that she began her work to educate the public about the circumstances of her husband’s murder, and campaign to reinstate Abu-Jamal's death sentence.
Officer Daniel Faulkner was a five year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department as well as a U.S. Army veteran. At the time of his murder, Faulkner was attending classes in pursuit of his bachelor's degree as he had hopes of becoming a criminal prosecutor. He left behind his young wife, Maureen the two were married for only a year when he was killed.
You can read more about the case here: http://justice.danielfaulkner.com/
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