The Latest on the new appeal hearing for Mumia Abu-Jamal (all times local):
6:15 p.m.
The widow of a slain Philadelphia police officer says she’s upset the district attorney won’t fight the convicted killer’s latest appeal efforts.
Maureen Faulkner says District Attorney Larry Krasner announced his decision in the Mumia Abu-Jamal case on Wednesday before reaching her by phone.
The 64-year-old Abu-Jamal is serving life in prison after spending decades on death row in the 1981 killing of Officer Daniel Faulkner.
Maureen Faulkner says she’s “exhausted” by the legal twists and turns in the case over 37 years. But she vows to attend the expected appeals hearing before the state Supreme Court.
A city judge granted the former Black Panther a new appeal based on a potential conflict of interest involving an earlier judge.
Krasner’s office says he spoke with Maureen Faulkner on Tuesday before dropping his challenge to the new appeal.
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2:45 p.m.
A former Black Panther and death row activist convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer will get a new appeals hearing after the city prosecutor dropped his opposition to it.
Sixty-four-year-old Mumia Abu-Jamal is serving a life sentence after spending decades on death row in the 1981 slaying of Officer Daniel Faulkner during a traffic stop.
A city judge granted him a new hearing in December after the U.S. Supreme Court said a former Pennsylvania justice who heard his appeal had a potential conflict of interest in a similar case.
District Attorney Larry Krasner initially fought the hearing, fearing the judge’s order could affect a large number of other convictions.
Krasner says Wednesday he’s dropped his challenge because Common Pleas Judge Leon Tucker has narrowed the scope of his order.
