Murdered By Mumia Abu-Jamal
Abu-Jamal currently resides on death row in a Pennsylvania prison, far removed from Rue Mumia in the pastoral outskirts of Paris.
Flashback to December 9, 1981
Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner's Final Moments
It was just after 3:30 a.m. on a cold Wednesday morning when Officer Daniel Faulkner, a five-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, made what should have been a routine traffic stop. A blue Volkswagen, driven by William Cook, was headed the wrong way on a one-way street, its lights unlit. Cook's brother, Wesley, a cab driver who went by the name of Mumia Abu-Jamal, watched the drama unfold from across the street. According to multiple witnesses at the scene, Officer Faulkner was in the process of handcuffing an uncooperative William Cook when Abu-Jamal ran toward the officer and shot him in the back. Before falling to the pavement, Daniel Faulkner turned and fired one shot, striking Abu-Jamal in the stomach. Abu-Jamal stood over Officer Faulkner and fired several shots, point-blank, at Officer Faulkner's upper body. He then bent down and fired a final, fatal shot at Officer Faulkner's head, just above his eye. Backup officers arrived 40 seconds after the final shot was fired and found a wounded Abu-Jamal slumped against the curb in front of his brother's car. His taxi was found in the parking lot across from the shooting. Abu-Jamal was wearing an empty shoulder holster, and a .38 caliber hand gun registered to him was found by his side. It contained five spent shells. Abu-Jamal's ammunition of choice was a lethal type of bullet known as "Plus P" high velocity. Witnesses to the brutal slaying identified Mumia Abu-Jamal as the killer both at the scene and during his subsequent trial. Murdered By Mumia
Written by Maureen Faulkner and Michael A. Smerconish
Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 07/12/2009)
All author proceeds from the book will go toward
Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Murdered By Mumia
A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice
Maureen Faulkner had been married to Officer Daniel Faulkner for just 14 months at the time of his death. The dreaded rap on her door that fateful morning ushered Maureen into an often surreal world; one copiously documented by over 5,000 pages of trial transcripts and impassioned musings by the convicted killer himself. In the 26 years since her husband's brutal murder, Maureen Faulkner has watched in disbelief as Mumia Mania swept the world, taking in scores of Hollywood celebrities, many of whom have never read a single word of the trial record. As Ed Asner of Lou Grant fame so eloquently put it when asked if he had read the original trial transcript, "Could I stay awake?" Murdered By Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice, co-authored with Philadelphia talk radio host and attorney, Michael A. Smerconish, is Maureen Faulkner's attempt to use clear, hard facts to tell her side of the story, and counter a quarter century of lies and misinformation about the night her beloved husband was murdered in cold blood by Mumia Abu-Jamal. Let's Hear From You
Maureen Faulkner:
Still, in the early days after the murder, nobody who read about the events in Philadelphia could have predicted that Abu-Jamal would become the poster boy for an international anti-death campaign. Why should he?
He murdered my husband.
Officer Daniel Faulkner's Widow, Maureen
About Daniel Faulkner
Courtesy of Wikipedia
Daniel J. Faulkner (December 21, 1955 - December 9, 1981) was a police officer in the American city of Philadelphia who was shot and killed in the line of duty by Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been convicted of first-degree murder for the slaying and sentenced to death. The slaying was the culmination of a traffic stop in downtown Philadelphia, not initially involving Abu-Jamal, which escalated into an exchange of gunfire in which Abu-Jamal was himself shot and wounded by officer Faulkner. Since 2000, the City of Philadelphia has memorialized Faulkner with a street designation and a commemorative plaque.
Mourners at Daniel Faulkner's Funeral
Mumia Abu-Jamal:
Let's Write Epitaphs for Pigs.
About Mumia Abu-Jamal
Courtesy of Wikipedia
Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook on April 24, 1954) is an American who was convicted and sentenced to death for the December 9, 1981 murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner.Commonwealth v. Abu-Jamal, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District, Philadelphia, Case Nos. 1357-59. He has been described as "perhaps the best known Death-Row prisoner in the world", and is one of the most controversially debated today.New York Times, page 1, December 19, 2001
Before his arrest he was a member of the Black Panther Party, an activist, part-time cab driver, journalist, radio personality, news commentator and broadcaster.
Since his conviction, his case has received international attention and he has become a controversial cultural icon. Supporters and opponents disagree on the appropriateness of the death penalty, whether he is guilty, or whether he received a fair trial. During his imprisonment he has published several books and other commentaries, notably Live from Death Row.
On April 6, 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled that his original conviction of 28 years ago would stand. A separate appeal by prosecutors to reinstate the death penalty has not yet been heard. In 2008, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the murder conviction, but ordered a new capital sentencing hearing over concerns that the jury was improperly instructed. Since 1995, Abu-Jamal has been incarcerated at Pennsylvania's SCI GreeneOfficial Web page for SCI Greene near Waynesburg, where most of the state's capital case inmates are held.
Mumia Abu-Jamal:
Political power grows out of
the barrel of a gun.
Justice Done or Justice Denied?
Was Mumia Abu-Jamal Treated Fairly?
On July 2, 1982, after being tried before a racially mixed jury that he personally helped select, Mumia Abu-Jamal was unanimously convicted of murdering Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. The following day, the jury sentenced Abu-Jamal to death after just two hours of deliberation. On March 6, 1989, The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania heard the defendant's appeals and upheld the conviction. Successive court rulings have repeatedly confirmed his guilt.
Please share your opinion:
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byJustice was Served
jeffwend says:
Mumia may have had a rough life, but that is no excuse for murder in this case.
Posted April 27, 2009
Madame B. says:
I feel so sorry for Mrs. Faulkner. This is truly heartbreaking. To lose the one you love, especially so young and after a short time married. I am the wife of a service man, so the worry is in the back my mind. After all this, she has to endure the Free Mumia crowd. His gun, his bullets, he did it. Case closed. I wish there was some way I could show support for Mrs. Faulkner and other family members of murdered cops. BTW I'm Black. Not every convict on death row is a political prisoner. Mumia certainly isn't.
Posted March 24, 2009
Sam says:
It's too bad that some people are trying to turn a murderer into a hero!
Posted March 23, 2009
Ratchet says:
There were numerous witnessed accounts of what happened, and a fair trial. Mumia should probably be dead right now. That's thier laws. The death penalty is really up to each state to decide. If you don't like it move or just protest the penalty itself.
Posted January 22, 2009
death to mumia says:
He is a murderer he deserves nothing less than a public hanging
Posted September 16, 2008
Josh says:
Wesley Cook is a cop killer, and deserves to die for his actions. The fact he remains imprisoned is the only reason I say justice was served. Until he is put to death, it truly will not have been served.
Posted April 25, 2008
GypsyPirate says:
Justice will only be served fully when the original sentence is upheld.
Posted February 29, 2008
jeffwend says:
I have read a book written by Mumia. It tells a tale of growing up in a racist city and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, I feel that he did pull that trigger. So did a jury of his peers.
Posted February 21, 2008
Justice was Denied
chefkeem says:
Unjust justice denied. Or something. Who am I to judge another human? We're all stuck on this issue. What a mess! But I would say - when in doubt, don't kill.
Posted October 04, 2008
KimGiancaterino says:
James, I understand what you're saying, but the question has to do with the fairness of the trial itself. The death penalty is a separate issue, though in this case it has been inextricably woven into the fabric of the story.
Posted April 10, 2008
James says:
An eye for an eye made the whole world blind. I live in one of the great countries that dont have the death penalty and most of our criminals make the headlines because there are not many murders! Rap and drugs are to blame for a rise in murders so the only way to slow down the murder rate is to get rid of rap and drugs. The death penalty does NOT help!!
Posted April 09, 2008
Mumia Abu-Jamal Supporters
AmnestyInternational MayaAngelou EdAsner AlecBaldwin BeastieBoys HarryBelafonte JacksonBrowne NaomiCampbell OwenChamberlain NoamChomsky BenCohen PeterCoyote OssieDavis RubyDee DavidDinkins E.L.Doctorow RogerEbert SusanFaludi MikeFarrell HenryGibson DannyGlover WhoopiGoldberg WoodyHarrelson IsaacHayes JesseJackson CaseyKasem SpikeLee NormanMailer DavidMamet BobbyMcFerrin MichaelMoore MosDef RageAgainsttheMachine TimRobbins SalmanRushdie SusanSarandon GloriaSteinem MichaelStipe OliverStone TrudieStyler WilliamStyron DesmondTutu AliceWalker CornelWest JoanneWoodward
Now, Therefore, be it Resolved,
that I, Willie L. Brown, Jr,
Mayor of the City and County
of San Francisco, in recognition of the efforts to find justice for
Mumia Abu-Jamal, do hereby proclaim August 16, 1997,
as Justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal
day in San Francisco.
Partisan Defense Committee Flyer
Mike Farrell:
For the record, I have sympathy for Mrs. Faulkner, whom I have met and with whom I have discussed the case. But her years-long campaign for the death of Mumia Abu-Jamal saddens me as well, as does her unwillingness to recognize the fact that his having been imprisoned for the past 26 years ought to be seen as significant punishment in and of itself.
Victim or Remorseless Killer?
San Francisco Labor Council Poster
Mumia Abu-Jamal:
I'm fighting every day, not just for my freedom, not just for my liberation, but for all of our liberation.
The Essays of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Books and Audio Recordings
Live from Death Row
Amazon Price: $11.25 (as of 07/12/2009)
All Things Censored
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 07/12/2009)
Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner of Conscience
Amazon Price: (as of 07/12/2009)
We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party
Amazon Price: $13.50 (as of 07/12/2009)
175 Progress Drive
Amazon Price: $14.98 (as of 07/12/2009)
Live from Death Row
Maureen Faulkner:
Still, one thing you will not find in any of Abu-Jamal's books is an accounting of what happened on December 9, 1981. If you did not murder my husband, Mr. Abu-Jamal, why not write a book and tell us in your words exactly what happened that night?
A Political Activist Defends Mumia Abu-Jamal
Books About Mumia Abu-Jamal
Is Mumia Abu-Jamal the Real Victim Here?
Race for Justice: Mumia Abu-Jamal's Fight Against the Death Penalty
Amazon Price: (as of 07/12/2009)
The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Amazon Price: $11.84 (as of 07/12/2009)
Executing Justice: An Inside Account of the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Amazon Price: $20.99 (as of 07/12/2009)
The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Life in the Balance (Open Media Pamphlet Series)
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/12/2009)
On a Move : The Story of Mumia Abu Jamal
Amazon Price: (as of 07/12/2009)
An American Intellectual?
The Today Show
December 6, 2007
The Patron Saint of Cop Killers?
Another Look at Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu Jamal: The Patron Saint of American Cop Killers
Amazon Price: $34.15 (as of 07/12/2009)
Mumia Abu Jamal: The Patron Saint of American Cop Killers exposes the Hollywood backed "Free Mumia! Free All Political Prisoners!" movement's claims of "racism" in jury selection, "police frame-up," and "police intimidation of defense witnesses" as a transparent fraud.
Avg. Customer Rating: 
What's the Buzz on Mumia?
- Op-Ed Statement by Bill Ayers in Dec. 6 New York Times ...
- Labor Black League Speaker: Mobilize Labor Power in Fight to Free Mumia!, 18 January 2008: http://www.partisandefense.org/csdn/35/lblspeaker.html. Partisan Defense Committee Fact Sheet: ?Murdered by Mumia: Big Lies in the Service of ...
- Citing withheld evidence, supporters of Mumia Abu-Jamal call for ...
- In April, the US Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal from death-row journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of white Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel ... O'Connor and Schiffmann argue that police intimidation ultimately escalated to the point where police themselves murdered Freeman. The morning of May 14, 1985, Freeman's body was found: naked, bound and with a drug needle in his arm. ...
- Citing Withheld Evidence, Supporters Of Mumia Abu-Jamal Call For ...
- Believe what you want but for the TRUE facts I urge SFBV readers to research the DanielFaulkner.com site and read the book by the widow of Officer Faulkner " Murdered by Mumia" of which the proceeds are donated to further the education ...
- Michael Deibert, Writer: Reporters sans frontières and Mumia Abu-Jamal
- Early on the morning of December 9, 1981, Daniel J. Faulkner, a 25 year-old Philadelphia police officer, was murdered by Mumia Abu-Jamal, an occasional journalist who was at the time of the killing driving a taxi cab. ...
The Death Penalty
Most of Mumia Abu-Jamal's celebrity supporters cite their anti-death-penalty bias when pressed for details about the case. Clearly, many are not knowledgeable about, or simply choose to ignore key facts related to the murder or the trial. As a result, the death penalty looms as a major issue in the Daniel Faulkner case.
What are your feelings about the death penalty?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byI am for the death penalty
Madame B says:
Death penalty sentences should be based on firm physical evidence, such as DNA, ballistics, autopsies etc. that has been double verified, if possible. Capital sentences should never be given in cases that rely only on eye witnesses or character witnesses. People have been misidentified and wrongly convicted.
Posted March 24, 2009
JacobSaul says:
There are those who pose such a threat to others that society must protect with extreme measure. However, this is very rarely the case, so extreme caution and wisdom is needed. It seems that when one takes the life of another, it cheapens the victim's life to say that their whole life is only equivalent to 20 or 25 years.
Posted September 29, 2008
GypsyPirate says:
I support states right to choose to impose the death penalty. And for it to then be applied on a case by case basis.
Posted February 29, 2008
I am against the death penalty
Ratchet says:
I respect a States right to choose, but I am opposed. I think it should be replaced with harsh solitary confinement. Where they can't have any contact the outter world what-so-ever. Just a room with no windows, just enough food to survive and thier thoughts. That way, if it did ever turn out that they were innocent they could be released.
Posted January 22, 2009
chefkeem says:
I'm against the death penalty. It doesn't solve anything. But - and this is a huge "but" - I didn't have to go through the experience of losing a loved one in a violent crime. Ask me again when that happened to me. Hopefully, you will never ask me.
Posted October 04, 2008
spirituality says:
The Death penalty is just never a good thing. For one thing: too many of them would have been overturned based on new evidence. At least if the people were in prison they could be released. And then: the death penalty is just revenge in a new suit: it doesn't solve anything and it isn't even cheaper than a life sentence.
Posted June 21, 2008
jeffwend says:
I don't like the death penalty, but I also support each states right to decide on this subject.
Posted February 21, 2008
Capital Punishment?
Since the death penalty was reinstated in Pennsylvania in 1978, only three individuals have been executed. Moreover, in the last seven years, state and federal judges have overturned the sentences of an estimated fifty inmates who were facing execution.
Mumia Supporter
Michael Smerconish:
Support for Abu-Jamal in the City of Brotherly Love has never been strong, except in the most radical of circles. I have always attributed this lack of support at home to the fact that people here have been presented with a more steady and balanced view of the evidence than those Hollywood types who have then glommed onto sound bites generated to build support for an anti-death penalty effort.
No Fan of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu-Jamal's Fate
Michael Smerconish:
Generally speaking, in the city where the murder occurred most people are of the opinion that the guy who did it is where he belongs, if not six feet above where he ought to be.
Not Forgotten...
All Author Proceeds Go To Charity
Murdered By Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice
Michael A. Smerconish:
Neither Maureen Faulkner nor I are accepting any of the proceeds from the sale of the book "Murdered By Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice." Instead, any income from our three year investment in the writing of the book will be a charitable donation. All author proceeds from the book will go toward Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner, the 501c(3) non-profit originally organized by Maureen in 1998 to honor Danny's memory and to combat the propaganda of those apologizing for the man convicted of killing her husband.
Murdered By Mumia
A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice
Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 07/12/2009)
All author proceeds from the book will go toward
Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner
Avg. Customer Rating:
Murdered By Mumia
Written by Maureen Faulkner and Michael A. Smerconish
Michael Smerconish
Michael Smerconish is Philadelphia's most popular talk radio host, heard daily on CBS Radio's The Big Talker 1210 AM WPHT. A lawyer turned political commentator, Smerconish occasionally fills in for Bill O'Reilly on The Radio Factor, and guest hosts for Joe Scarborough's Scarborough Country on MSNBC. He is a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, as well as the Philadelphia Inquirer. Michael Smerconish is intimately familiar with the facts of the Daniel Faulkner murder case, having read and studied more than five thousand pages of trial transcripts. He has provided pro bono legal advice to Daniel Faulkner's widow, Maureen, for more than a decade, and is uniquely qualified to help her defend her slain husband's honor as co-author of Murdered By Mumia: A Life Sentence of loss, Pain, and Injustice. Books by Michael A. Smerconish
Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11
Amazon Price: $18.95 (as of 07/12/2009)
Muzzled: From T-Ball to Terrorism--True Stories That Should Be Fiction
Amazon Price: $11.24 (as of 07/12/2009)
Courtesies & Resources
The Anti-MOVE/Mumia Blog
Crime Scene Map (Philadelphia, PA)
Declan McCullagh Photography
FreeRepublic.com ~ Mumia Abu-Jamal the Rock Star
The Enquirer
Justice for Daniel Faulkner Official Website
Justice for Daniel Faulkner (Summary of Case Facts)
Hudson Valley New York Chapter of the Warthogs MC
Michael A. Smerconish Official Website
Michelle Malkin ~ Challenging the Cult of Mumia Abu-Jamal
MonkeyFist.com
MediaFilter.org
NewsBusters
OpEdNews.com
Opinion of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (October 29, 1998)
Partisan Defense Committee (PDC)
Protest Flyer (For Daniel Faulkner)
Response to Amnesty International (Michael Smerconish, Esq. and Paul Palkovic)
1982 Jury selection & Trial Transcripts / 1995, 1996, 1997 PCRA Transcripts
1998 Pennsylvania Supreme Court Findings and Opinion
2001 3rd Circuit Court Ruling Opinion (Judge William Yohn)
Justice for Daniel Faulkner
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Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner
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Daniel Faulkner loved being a police officer and planned on a lifelong career in law enforcement. He was working toward his Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice Administration, with a long-term goal of attending law school so he could one day join t...
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