Daniel Faulkner's Widow Speaks

Yesterday morning, we caught the Today Show interview with Maureen Faulkner, the widow of slain Philadelphia Police officer Daniel Faulkner. She was being interviewed along with Philadelphia conservative radio talk show host Michael Smerconish about Murdered By Mumia, the book they wrote together chronicling her struggle after the death of her husband.

Most people probably have never heard of Officer Faulkner, but most likely they have heard of the man convicted of his 1981 murder - Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal’s plight has become a bit of a cause celebre and has resulted in a commutation of his death sentence to life in prison. The claim is that there was some evidence tampering and inconsistencies in police testimony thanks to some photos taken by a freelance photographer.

Mrs. Faulkner said in the interview: “After Danny was murdered in 1981 and he was buried and the case was over, I thought I could go on with my life and try to rebuild and have a new life. But for the past 26 years, I’ve just been haunted by the Free Mumia movement.”

They cut away to a shot of protesters outside the studio to reinforce the point and she said of the protesters, “They are trying the case in the court of public opinion and not in the court of law. That’s why people need to read the book. It’s all there. My life, the facts, what happened the night my husband was murdered. It’s all in the book.”

Smerconish, who will be donating the proceeds of his portion of the revenue from the book to the Justice for Daniel Faulkner Foundation, said of the alleged new evidence, “For 26 years, these canards have enabled the manipulation of the process. It is reliable as Christmas is on the 25th of December that they will come up with something different every year. Where does it stop?”

Screen grabs by author.