Mumia Commencement Address, Antioch: Cop Widow Protests Fri, 28 Apr 2000 14:05:05 -0400 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit via C. Clark Kissinger Thursday, April 27, 2000 1:33 AM FROM THE YELLOWS SPRINGS (OHIO) NEWS Officer's widow to lead protest against Antioch commencement Maureen Faulkner said Monday the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal is the only thing that will bring her closure following the slaying nearly 20 years ago of her husband, Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. "How wrong it is that this person who murdered Danny has become a hero. I do think it's an embarrassment to have a murderer give a commencement address," Faulkner said in a telephone interview from her home in southern California. Abu-Jamal is scheduled to give a six-minute audio address to the Antioch College Class of 2000 at Saturday's commencement ceremony. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. and also features an address by transgender activist Leslie Feinberg. Faulkner will arrive in Yellow Springs Thursday afternoon to organize a protest against the playing of Abu-Jamal's speech. Other protestors, including members of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, are also expected to be present. The college will provide space on the lawn behind Kelly Hall in view of the commencement ceremony. In 1982, Abu-Jamal was convicted of shooting Daniel Faulkner, who had stopped Abu-Jamal's brother, Billy Cook, for driving the wrong way down a one-way street in Philadelphia. The case and subsequent trial have been the subject of much debate by supporters of Abu-Jamal, who maintain he is innocent and should receive a new trial. On Friday, at 5 p.m., Maureen Faulkner will participate in a live national radio broadcast at Ye Olde Trail Tavern, in downtown Yellow Springs. The event will be hosted by Philadelphia radio personality Michael Smerconish, an attorney representing the nonprofit organization Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. According to a news release from Smerconish's station, WPHT talk radio, 1210 AM, "Bus loads of police and victims of crime are expected from Philadelphia, Ohio, and many other parts of the United States." Antioch College president Bob Devine was also invited to participate in the broadcast, said Callie Cary, the College's campus and community liaison. However, Devine cannot because the time conflicts with the senior commencement dinner, which he is obligated to attend, she said. It is not yet known whether students representing the Class of 2000 will participate, although they have also been invited, Cary said. Faulkner said she will hold a photo of her husband and stand with members of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and victim's rights activists at Saturday's commencement ceremony. For her, making a public appearance is a way to mourn the loss of her husband. "No one knows what it is like to kiss your husband goodbye, and then the next time you see him he's got a hole in his head," she said. Faulkner does not plan to attend the community forum at 9 a.m. the morning of commencement because she did not think it gave enough time for all sides to be heard. The forum will be held in the Glen Helen Building, where representatives of the FOP, victims' rights and supporters of Abu-Jamal will be present. The public is invited. Faulkner was 24-years-old when she lost her husband. Since then, she has tried to build a new life. She declined to give details about her personal life because over the years she has received death threats. But Faulkner, who is now 43, did say that she left Philadelphia after the trial and spent years traveling abroad backpacking through Europe and other foreign countries before she moved to southern California. Today, she manages medical offices. But even though she has tried to build a new life, she is shocked by the "Free Mumia" T-shirts she occasionally sees people wearing when she goes for walks along the beach. Sometimes she approaches people wearing the T-shirts and talks to them about her husband and the trial. "I went to the 1982 trial. There is not a doubt in my mind that Mumia Abu-Jamal was justly convicted," Faulkner said. She attributes the controversy over the case to Abu-Jamal's new attorney, Leonard Weinglass. "He has created lies," she said. One lie, she said, is that the evidence does not point to Abu-Jamal's guilt. "I can tell you that the bullet that was pulled from my husband's brain came from Mumia Abu-Jamal's gun," she said. The fact that groups like Amnesty International and Refuse & Resist! advocate for a new trial disturbs Faulkner. "Why should we have to go through another trial? Especially when Mr. Abu-Jamal put together the jurors himself?" she asked. She criticized Amnesty International for advocating for Abu-Jamal's new trial. "Who is Amnesty International to say there should be a new trial? Has Amnesty International ever come to talk to me? Has Amnesty International ever come to talk to my lawyers?" Faulkner also said she is in favor of capital punishment and believes that in the case of Abu-Jamal it is necessary. "I do believe in capital punishment but I personally feel I have to review each and every case," she said. "I feel that in the court of law it is an open and shut case. I feel Mr. Weinglass is trying to put out information that is not true. I feel as though Mr. Jamal murdered my husband." And she does not believe Abu-Jamal's address Saturday morning should be played. "On December 9th, 1981, Danny lost his freedom of speech, lost his ability to pursue life, liberty and happiness. I believe Mr. Abu-Jamal should lose his freedom of speech. I believe Mr. Abu-Jamal should lose his right to pursue happiness, and should receive the death penalty. I want some closure," she said. -Gail D. Taylor ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-04.28.00-14:05:00-15035