Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice [Hardcover]

Maureen Faulkner (Author), Michael A. Smerconish (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 2007

The first book to definitively lay out the case against Mumia Abu-Jamal—and those who’ve elevated him to the status of political prisoner

 

Maureen Faulkner’s husband, Philadelphia police office Danny Faulkner, was shot between the eyes on a cold December night in 1981. Mumia Abu-Jamal was unanimously convicted of the crime by a racially mixed jury based on: the testimony of several eyewitnesses, his ownership of the murder weapon, matching ballistics, and Abu-Jamal’s own confession.

After his conviction, however, a national anti-death penalty movement was started to “Free Mumia;” Mike Farrell, Ed Asner, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jesse Jackson rallied on his behalf, and led the charge.  For his part, while on death row, Abu-Jamal published several books, delivered radio commentaries, was a college commencement speaker, found himself named an Honorary Citizen of France, and had his defense coffers enhanced by ticket sales from a sold out (16,000-person) concert featuring Rage Against the Machine.

Here, from Maureen Faulkner and acclaimed talk show host / journalist Michael Smerconish, is the first book to carefully and definitively lay out the case against Abu-Jamal, and those who’ve elevated him to the status of political prisoner. Smerconish, a lawyer, has provided pro bono legal counsel to Faulkner for over a decade and knows both the legal intricacies and personal subtleties of the case like no other person.  He’s personally acquainted himself with the more than five thousand pages of trial transcript.  “My reading starkly revealed that Abu-Jamal murdered Danny Faulkner in cold blood and that the case tried in Philadelphia in 1982 bore no resemblance to the one being home-cooked by the Abu-Jamal defense team.”

As Abu-Jamal’s lawyers contemplate their final appeal, Faulkner and Smerconish weave a compelling, never-before-told account of one fateful night and the 25-year-long rewriting of history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this moving if ultimately unsuccessful memoir, Faulkner continues her fight for the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the man convicted for the 1981 killing of her husband, police officer Danny Faulkner. On the strength of eyewitness testimony, ballistics tests and his own confession at the hospital following the shooting, former Black Panther Abu-Jamal was convicted in 1982 of first-degree murder and has spent 25 years on death row in Pennsylvania. Faulkner details not only her struggle to come to terms with losing her husband at age 25 but also her attempts to counteract the support Abu-Jamal's claim of racial injustice has generated in left-wing circles across the United States and abroad. Faulkner is a staunch defender of the death penalty, especially in cases involving police casualties. She traces Abu-Jamal's numerous appeals, including the latest, currently in the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, over whether or not a Pennsylvania judge's overturning of the death sentence is grounds for a retrial. Though Faulkner's determined struggle is compelling, her memoir (co-authored by Smerconish, a lawyer and Philadelphia columnist and radio host, and an advisor to Faulkner) awkwardly attempts to combine personal reflections with an examination of the case's legal and political details. This muddled account unfortunately doesn't do justice to an issue that deserves a close look.
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Review

“This is a harrowing book, told with uncommon grace and dignity. Maureen Faulkner is an incredible woman. The story she tells, of being denied for more than a quarter century the dignity of burying her police officer husband in peace, is even more incredible.”

Buzz Bissinger  - Author of Friday Night Lights

"The Bible teaches that the truth will set us free, but Michael Smerconish and Maureen Faulkner teach us that even a powerful truth needs courage as its ally."
 
Chris Matthews - Host of Hardball with Chris Matthews and The Chris Matthews Show 

 

“Maureen Faulkner is a genuine American heroine.  While influential people garner cheap headlines with stories of false injustice, Maureen Faulkner fights behind the scenes and in public to preserve the good name of her husband.  This is a real justice story!”

John Timoney, Miami Chief of Police

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; First Edition edition (December 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599213761
• ISBN-13: 978-1599213767
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #865,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's about time, December 6, 2007

By 

Tony (Delaware, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice (Hardcover)

After years of one-sided diatribes from Wesley Cook's apologists and the agenda-driven bias of the anti-death penalty left, it is good to finally see the victim's side of the story told.

"Murdered by Mumia" is a well-written recounting of the cold-blooded murder of Philadelphia police officer Danny Faulkner at the hands of social activist and self-styled journalist Wesley Cook, aka Mumia Abu-Jamal. It is also a very poignant look at the people Faulkner left behind, particularly his young wife, Maureen, and her struggle to see justice, so long delayed, finally done.

It's odd how Wesley Cook, whose guilt is undeniable to anyone who has followed this case closely and actually read the various court transcripts, has somehow become the poster boy for the anti-death penalty crowd. One can only hope that this book will help to acquaint the objective reader with the actual victim in this case, Danny Faulkner.

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please Read This, December 7, 2007

By 

L. Hoffman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice (Hardcover)

I suggest that anyone - especially reviewers and interviewers - actually read this book before writing about "not knowing what actually happened" on the night Officer Danny Faulkner was murdered. Also a must read for every one of the Hollywood supporters listed in the book. The facts are here. Please read this.

38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Victim Speaks, December 7, 2007

By 

Mike from N.H. "Mike" (Woodsville NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice (Hardcover)

One of the critics of this book wrote that this was "almost as if the book was the closing statement of a trial." That's actually pretty true, and why not? Mumia had his day in court many times over, and he has repeatedly lost. He murdered Mr. Faulkner, that is already established fact. Why should the widow attempt to prove something that has already been proven? What a horrible thing Mrs. Faulkner has been forced to endure. What will these people (Mumia's supporters) do for an encore, help Sudanese clerics whip women? You would think they'd have better ways to spend their time.