Widow of slain officer removed from Mumia-Abu-Jamal hearing

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The widow of a police officer slain almost four decades ago was ordered removed from a courtroom after protesting a judge’s decision to extend the appeal hearing of former death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal (moo-MEE’-ah AH’-boo jah-MAHL’).

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Maureen Faulkner protested after a judge granted a 30-day extension to defense attorneys seeking to have Abu-Jamal’s previous appeals vacated so they can file a new appeal.

The paper reports that Faulkner was ordered escorted out as she continued to protest, and said on the way out “Thirty-eight years! This is wrong!” She apologized outside the courtroom. The judge said the court was “sensitive to both sides.”

The former Black Panther spent 29 years on death row following his conviction in the 1981 murder of Philadelphia officer Daniel Faulkner.