Abu-Jamal Death Sentence Thrown Out Abu-Jamal exhausted the state appeals process two years ago, but a petition filed in September he argued that the defense had new evidence to clear him, including a confession by a man named Arnold Beverly. A judge ruled in November that she did not have jurisdiction, scuttling his hopes for another round of state court appeals.

In a 1999 affidavit, Beverly claimed he was hired by the mob to kill Faulkner because the officer had interfered with mob payoffs to police.