Maureen Faulkner, the widow of a slain police officer, slammed Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman for his appointment of Celeste Trusty, who had called her husband’s convicted killer a “buddy” to the state’s Board of Pardons.
Faulkner’s husband, Daniel Faulkner, was killed during a traffic stop in downtown Philadelphia in 1981 by Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death, but his death sentence was reduced to life in prison without parole.
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The lieutenant governor appointed Trusty to the state’s Board of Pardons in January. In 2018, Trusty tweeted her support for Abu-Jamal, saying, “I love mumia! he’s my buddy…he’s like an uncle to a bunch of my friends who were on the row with him.”
Faulkner called the comments made by Trusty about Abu-Jamal “infuriating” and slammed Fetterman for appointing her when speaking with Fox News.
“That is just infuriating to me,” Faulkner said. “I don’t know what John Fetterman’s doing, but I think the Philadelphia people, the Pennsylvania people, better really take a look at what they are going to do if they put John Fetterman in. The city is already destroyed. It’s going to be in shambles by the time Fetterman’s done with it.”
Faulkner also slammed Fetterman for having “disregard for people’s emotions, people that have been raped, robbed, murdered, and he’s letting them out.”
She also said the state of the country regarding crime is a “disgrace” and encouraged people not to vote for Fetterman.
“It’s just a disgrace,” Faulkner said. “God bless Philadelphia, and God bless Pennsylvania. I hope that people get out there and vote the correct way, and it’s not for John Fetterman.”
Fetterman’s past comments on crime policy have resurfaced in recent months. In July 2020, Fetterman tweeted, “We could reduce our state prison population by 1/3, make us *no* less safe + save $1B a year.” He also shared a similar point during a panel in October 2020.
? In 1976, 650 people were serving life without the possibility of parole in PA. By 2018, more than 5,400 were serving life without parole. (LWOP)
? 2/3 of LWOP are Black.
? We could reduce our state prison population by 1/3, make us *no* less safe + save $1B a year. https://t.co/zlLrdzG7nn
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) July 2, 2020
“I was on a panel with Secretary [John] Wetzel earlier, before the pandemic hit, and he said something remarkable that I agree with,” Fetterman said during the panel. “He said, ‘We could reduce our prison population by a third and not make anyone less safe in Pennsylvania.’ And that’s a profound statement.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Fetterman’s campaign for comment.
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Joe Calvello, the director of communications for Fetterman’s Senate campaign, told Fox News that the lieutenant governor “strongly disagrees” with Trusty on this and “does not believe” in a second chance for Abu-Jamal. He also said Fetterman “will never stand up for a cop killer in any way, shape, or form.”
Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania, will face Republican Mehmet Oz in November for the Senate seat held by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R). RealClearPolitics has rated the race as a “toss-up,” although Fetterman has the lead in most polls.
