The Washington Times ran my piece on the never-ending sage of convicted cop killer Abu-Jamal, the cop’s widow and the Philly DA.
So many years have passed since Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner was murdered by Mumia Abu-Jamal in December 1981, yet the convicted cop killer’s court appeals go on and on, as does the suffering of Faulkner’s widow, Maureen Faulkner.
In Maureen Faulkner’s 2007 book, “Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice,” she recounts how she was told that her Philadelphia police officer husband had been shot and killed back in 1981,
“The knock. That rap on the door that is the dread of all of the spouses of people who put their lives on the line — cops, firefighters, EMTs, the military, each profession with its own protocol. I got the knock in the early morning hours of a bitter-cold Wednesday, December 9, 1981, when my fitful slumber was interrupted by the thud of destiny.
“That’s how I learned my relationship with Danny of 913 days, 396 of which we were married, was over. The horrors of the night had started with a knock and ended with a scream. I remember shrieking and crying and thinking I was in a nightmare, hoping I could be dreaming, and it wasn’t true.”
But it was true, and her nightmare continues. Abu-Jamal, a militant and former Black Panther, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1982 based on eyewitness testimony, ballistics and his confession at the hospital after the shooting. His death penalty sentence was later commuted to a life sentence, and his many appeals continue to this day.
But so does the fighting spirit of Maureen Faulkner. Her latest battle is with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. Last month, she asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to remove the DA from the Abu-Jamal case due to conflicts of interest and transfer it to the Pennsylvania attorney general.
“We have a district attorney who I believe is confusing criminal justice reform for criminal justice anarchy,” her attorney, George Bochetto, said. “Mumia could be free by Christmas on the streets.”
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