Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Mumia Abu-Jamal was a 1982 murder trial in which Mumia Abu-Jamal was tried for the first-degree murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner. A jury convicted Abu-Jamal on all counts and sentenced him to death.
Appeal of the conviction was denied by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1989, and in the following two years the Supreme Court of the United States denied both Abu-Jamal's petition for writ of certiorari, and his petition for rehearing. Abu-Jamal pursued state post-conviction review, the outcome of which was a unanimous decision by six judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania that all issues raised by him, including the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, were without merit. The Supreme Court of the United States again denied a petition for certiorari in 1999, after which Abu-Jamal pursued federal habeas corpus review.
In December 2001 Judge William H. Yohn, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania affirmed Abu-Jamal's conviction but quashed his original punishment and ordered resentencing. Both Abu-Jamal and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania appealed. On March 27, 2008, a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its opinion upholding the decision of the District Court. In April 2009, the case was declined by the United States Supreme Court, allowing the July 1982 conviction to stand.
On December 7, 2011, District Attorney of Philadelphia R. Seth Williams announced that prosecutors, with the support of the victim's family, would no longer seek the death penalty for Abu-Jamal.
Figures involved
Shooting victim Daniel J. Faulkner (December 21, 1955 – December 9, 1981) was the youngest of seven children in an Irish Catholic family from Southwest Philadelphia. Faulkner's father, a trolley car driver, died of a heart attack when Faulkner was five. Faulkner's mother went to work and relied on her older children to help raise him. He dropped out of high school, but earned his diploma and an associate's degree in criminal justice while serving in the United States Army. In 1975, Faulkner left the army, worked briefly as a corrections officer, and then joined the Philadelphia Police Department. Faulkner got married in 1979. Aspiring to attend law school and ultimately become a city prosecutor, Faulkner was enrolled in college and working toward earning a bachelor's degree in criminal justice administration when he was shot and killed by Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Defense Anthony E. Jackson – Defense counsel at the 1982 trial. Leonard Weinglass – Defense counsel at the 1995 hearing. Rachael Wolkenstein – Defense counsel at the 1995 hearing. Daniel R. Williams – Defense counsel at the 1995 hearing.
Prosecution Ed Rendell – Philadelphia District Attorney from 1977 to 1986. DA at the time in question. Philadelphia Mayor 1992–1999. PA Governor 2003–2011. Joseph McGill – Assistant District Attorney for the Commonwealth, prosecutor at the 1982 trial. Ronald D. Castille – Philadelphia District Attorney from 1986 to 1991. Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania 1993–2014, (Chief Justice 2008–2014). Lynne Abraham – Philadelphia District Attorney from 1991 to 2010. Supervised some aspects of the case. Charles Grant (lawyer) – Assistant District Attorney for the Commonwealth, present at the 1995 hearing. Arlene Fisk – Assistant District Attorney for the Commonwealth, present at the 1995 hearing. Linda Perkins – Assistant District Attorney for the Commonwealth, present at the 1995 hearing.
Witnesses Robert Chobert – Cab driver and eyewitness. Testified for the prosecution at the 1982 trial. Cynthia White – Prostitute and eyewitness. Testified for the prosecution at the 1982 trial. Michael Scanlan – Motorist and eyewitness. Testified for the prosecution at the 1982 trial. Albert Magilton – Pedestrian and witness of part of the events. Testified for the prosecution at the 1982 trial. Dessie Hightower – Testified for the defense at the 1982 trial. Veronica Jones – Prostitute and eyewitness. Testified for the defense at the 1982 trial. Joseph Grimes – Latent Print Examiner for the Identification Unit of the Philadelphia Police Department; testified at the 1982 trial. Priscilla Durham – Security officer at the hospital. Testified for the prosecution. Garry Bell – Police officer. Testified for the prosecution. Sonia Sanchez - Poet. Testified as a character witness on Abu-Jamal's behalf. William "Dales" Singletary – Witness. Testified at the 1995 review hearing. Vernon Jones – Police officer. Testified at the 1995 review hearing. Robert Harkins – Witness. Testified at the 1995 review. George Fassnacht – Firearms expert, testified at 1995 hearing. Robert Harkens (spelled Harkins in the transcript) – cab driver, eyewitness for the defense at the 1995 hearing.
Other figures William Cook – Abu-Jamal's younger brother, street vendor. His VW Beetle was stopped by Faulkner on the night in question. Deborah Kordansky – Potential witness for the defense. Refused to come to court. Kenneth Freeman – Friend and business partner to William Cook. George Michael Newman – Private investigator. Claimed Chobert had recanted his testimony. Arnold Beverly – Claimed in 1999 to have been hired by the mob to assassinate Faulkner on the night in question. Gary Wakshul – Police officer who accompanied Abu-Jamal to and at the hospital. Arnold Howard – Close friend of Abu-Jamal. His duplicate driver's license application was found on Faulkner's person on the night in question. Terri Maurer-Carter – Court stenographer for 1982 trial. In 2001, made an affidavit claiming Judge Sabo said "Yeah, and I'm going to help them fry the nigger" at the time of the 1982 trial. Kenneth Pate – Stepbrother of Priscilla Durham. Claimed his stepsister told him she did not actually hear what she testified to hearing. Yvette Williams – In police custody with Cynthia White at the time of the incident. Pamela Jenkins – Prostitute, police informant. Made a statement in 1997.
Timeline 1981, December 9: Faulkner shot and killed by Mumia Abu-Jamal. 1982, June 17 – July 3: Trial of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Convicted and sentenced to death. 1989, March 6: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania considers and denies the appeal of the sentence. 1990, October 1: Supreme Court of the United States denies petition for writ of certiorari. 1995, June 1: Death warrant signed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Suspended pending review. 1995–6: Post-conviction review hearings. 1998: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled unanimously that all issues were without merit. 1999, October 4: Supreme Court of the United States denied a petition for certiorari against that decision. 1999, October 13: Second death warrant signed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. It was stayed while Abu-Jamal sought habeas corpus review. 2001, December 18: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania upheld the conviction but voided the sentence of death. Both parties appealed. 2005, December 6: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit admitted four issues for appeal of the ruling of the District Court. 2008, March 27: Third Circuit Court upholds decision of the District Court by a 2–1 majority. 2008, July 22: Third Circuit Court denies petition to rehear. 2009, April 6: United States Supreme Court denies petition to rehear. 2023, March 31: Philadelphia Common Pleas Court denies PCRA petition.
1982 trial
On December 9, 1981, around 3:51 a.m. near the intersection of 13th and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Police Department officer Daniel Faulkner was conducting a traffic stop of William Cook, Abu-Jamal's younger brother. Faulkner and Cook became engaged in a physical confrontation. Abu-Jamal's taxi was parked across the street, from which he ran towards Cook's car and shot Faulkner in the back and then in the face. During the encounter, Faulkner shot Abu-Jamal in the stomach. Faulkner died at the scene from the head shot. Police arrived and arrested Abu-Jamal, who was wearing a shoulder holster. His revolver was beside him and had five spent cartridges. Abu-Jamal was taken directly from the scene of the shooting to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he received treatment for his wound. He was charged with the first-degree murder of Daniel Faulkner, and Anthony Jackson, Esquire was court appointed as his representation.
The case went to trial in June 1982 at Philadelphia's City Hall. Judge Paul Ribner, the judge overseeing pre-trial hearings, initially granted to Abu-Jamal's request to represent himself, appointing Jackson as backup counsel. During jury selection on the third day of the trial, this decision was reversed by Judge Albert F. Sabo. The trial resumed with tense relations between Sabo and Abu-Jamal, Abu-Jamal repeatedly requesting John Africa as backup counsel which Sabo adamantly prohibited.
Prosecution case The prosecution maintained that: During the traffic stop, Cook assaulted Faulkner, who in turn attempted to subdue Cook. Abu-Jamal emerged from a nearby parking lot, crossed the street, and shot Faulkner in the back. Faulkner was able to return fire, seriously wounding Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal then advanced on Faulkner and fired additional shots at close range, one of which struck Faulkner in the face causing his death. Abu-Jamal was unable to flee due to his own gunshot wound, collapsed on a nearby curb, and was taken into custody by other police officers who had been summoned by Faulkner at the time of the traffic stop.
Eyewitnesses The four prosecution eyewitnesses were: Robert Chobert, a cab driver Cynthia White, a prostitute. Michael Scanlan, a motorist. Albert Magilton, a pedestrian. Robert Chobert said he was in his cab parked directly behind Faulkner's police car. He positively identified Abu-Jamal as the shooter, testifying: "I heard a shot. I looked up, I saw the cop fall to the ground, and then I saw Jamal standing over him and firing some more shots into him ... Then I saw him [Jamal] walking back about ten feet and he just fell by the curb." During cross-examination, Chobert admitted that he had originally told the police that the shooter had moved 30 rather than 10 ft away from Faulkner and had been 30-to-50 pounds heavier than Abu-Jamal. He explained, "I'm not good at weight. Do you think I'm going to stand there for a couple of minutes and ask him how much he weighs?" Chobert was a disqualified/unlicensed cab driver on parole for arson. He had two prior arrests for drunk-driving, and admitted in 1995 to having sought the advice of the trial prosecutor as to how he could reclaim his driving privileges.
Cynthia White testified to witnessing the shootings from a nearby corner. She said: "[Abu-Jamal] was running out of the parking lot ... he shot two times at the police officer ... he came on top of the police officer and shot some more times. After that he went over and he slouched down and he sat on the curb." Dessie Hightower stated that he observed her to be at least half a block further away. Prostitute Veronica Jones said later that she had been offered favorable treatment by police on condition that she corroborate Cynthia White. Yvette Williams later claimed that while incarcerated with White in December 1981 she was told by her that she had not seen who shot Faulkner and that she had entirely fabricated a witness account identifying Abu-Jamal out of fear of the Philadelphia police.