Mumia Abu-Jamal

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Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook in 1954) is a black convicted murderer, convicted in 1982 of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.

Life

A black activist and writer involved with the Black Panther and MOVE, Cook/Abu-Jamal has been supported by many leftists, claiming he was wrongly convicted. About 25 cities, including Montreal, Palermo, and Paris, have made him an honorary citizen. The Faulkner family, public authorities, police organizations, and conservative groups believe that Abu-Jamal's trial was fair, his guilt undeniable, and his death sentence appropriate. Various appeals have been rejected, but these caused the legal proceedings to continue for decades.

In 2011, prosecutors announced that, with the support of the victim's family, they would no longer seek the death penalty for Abu-Jamal and would accept a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. After the press conference on the sentence, widow Maureen Faulkner said that she did not want to relive the trauma of another trial. She understood that it would be extremely difficult to present the case against Abu-Jamal again, after the passage of 30 years and the deaths of several key witnesses. She also said:

"I would like to say that I believe the lowest dimension of hell has been reserved for child molesters and unrepentant murderers, like Mumia Abu-Jamal. After thirty years of waiting, the time remaining before Abu-Jamal stands before his ultimate judge. It doesn't seem so far off as it once did when I was younger. I look forward to that day so I can finally close the chapter of my life and live with the gratification and assurance that Mumia Abu-Jamal will finally receive the punishment he deserves, for all eternity."

Daniel Faulkner (murder victim)

Daniel Faulkner (21 December 1955 – 9 December 1981) was a Philadelphia police officer who was murdered by black thug Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal received the death penalty which was later reduced to a life sentence without parole. His parents were of Irish decent. His father, Thomas, was a trolley driver and died of heart and liver ailments when Daniel was just ten years old. This left his mother, Mary to raise their seven children as a young widow: Thomas Jr., Joseph, Joanne, Lawrence, Patrick, Ken, and Daniel. Faulkner grew up in the city of Philadelphia, PA where he attended Most Blessed Sacrament Elementary School, West Catholic Boys High School, and John Bartram High School. He served in the U.S. Army from 1972 until 1974. He was honorably discharged and received and received a National Defense Service Medal.

Faulkner worked briefly as a prison guard in Delaware County before joining the Philadelphia Police Department, where he was appointed to the Police Academy in May of 1976. He was working toward an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice at the time of his death. Daniel Faulkner married his fiancée Maureen Foley on 8 November 1980 after two years of dating. They met on the Jersey Shore. Officer Faulkner had served for five and a half years with the Philadelphia Police Department.

Faulkner was 25 years old at the time of his death. Faulkner was murdered after apprehending William Cook, the brother of Mumia Abu-Jamal during a traffic stop at the intersection of 14th and Locust Streets in Philadelphia. He was shot five times by Mumia Abu-Jamal, but was able to shoot back and hit Abu-Jamal in the abdominal area. He died several hours later at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

See also

• Hate crime