Colin Kaepernick is a man of causes and activism. The exiled NFL quarterback’s most recent stand is sure to stir controversy.
In a video, Kaepernick is calling for the release from prison of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1982 for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.
He contends Abu-Jamal, 66, was “framed” in the killing of Faulkner by a racist police department.
In the video, Kaepernick cites what he believes are numerous instances of intolerable actions by the Philadelphia police department and the judge in the case.
Abu-Jamal’s case has been a cause celebre for decades, His case has been polarizing as he was sentenced to death and eventually had it changed to life in prison.
Kaepernick cites that Abu-Jamal has been incarcerated for 38 years, 30 spent in solitary.
Abu-Jamal is currently appealing for a new trial based on claims that Supreme Court justice Robert Castille had a conflict of interest (when Castille was Philadelphia’s district attorney, his office fought to keep the activist and prolific writer behind bars), and six newly discovered boxes of documents related to the case, which the original prosecutor never turned over as evidence.
Abu-Jamal’s case is currently before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which in February agreed to take up a petition filed last year by Maureen Faulkner to determine whether Krasner’s office has a conflict in its continued handling of appeals by Abu-Jamal. She is asking for the court to direct the state Attorney General’s Office to handle the appeals instead.
Faulkner’s widow, Maureen, who has since remarried, and her husband, Paul Palkovic, said Monday that they would be willing to talk to Kaepernick about the facts in the case. “I’ll be more than happy to talk to Mr. Kaepernick to ease his concerns,” she said.
“It’s the same thing they’ve been doing for 40 years,” Palkovic said of the allegations of misconduct by Abu-Jamal supporters. “Lies, rehashing the same stuff.”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in February agreed to take up a petition filed last year by Faulkner to determine whether Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner’s office has a conflict in its continued handling of appeals by Abu-Jamal. She is asking for the court to direct the state Attorney General’s Office to handle the appeals instead.