[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 114 (Tuesday, September 21, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9437-S9438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ENDORSEMENT OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS' DEFENSE ACT

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following 
letter be printed in the Record. The letter expresses the strong 
support of the Fraternal Order of Police for S. 2760, the Public Safety 
Officers' Defense Act.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                      Grand Lodge,


                                    Fraternal Order of Police,

                               Washington, DC, September 17, 2004.
     Hon. Jon Kyl,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Kyl: I am writing on behalf of the membership 
     of the Fraternal Order of Police to advise you of our strong 
     support for S. 2760, the ``Public Safety Officers' Defense 
     Act,'' which will restore balance to the criminal justice 
     system by ensuring a reasonable and timely Federal review of 
     State convictions for the murder of a law enforcement 
     officer.
       This issue is of particular importance to the F.O.P. 
     because we have, tragically, first-hand knowledge of how such 
     delays affect the families of slain officers. One case in 
     particular always comes to mind--the slaying of Philadelphia 
     Police Officer Daniel Faulkner on 9 December 1981. He was 
     murdered in cold-blood by Wesley Cook, who is better known by 
     his alias, Mumia Abu-Jamal. This killer was convicted of 
     murder and sentenced to death by a jury in July 1982. After 
     exhausting nearly all State appeals, and having had two 
     appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court rejected, Faulkner's 
     murderer filed a petition for habeas corpus in October 1999. 
     Just days after marking the twentieth anniversary of Danny 
     Faulkner's death, Judge William Yohn of the United States 
     District Court for

[[Page S9438]]

     the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a ruling 
     upholding the conviction, but threw out the death sentence on 
     a technicality. The case was appealed to the U.S. Third 
     Circuit Court of Appeals on 28 December 2001. While the case 
     remains on the docket, Danny's killer is alive and on death 
     row. As his widow Maureen will tell you, this is not justice.
       Your legislation would require that, following State court 
     and U.S. Supreme Court certiorari reviews are completed, 
     district courts review cases within fifteen months and 
     circuit courts rule within 120 days. This means that, absent 
     the granting of a full review of the case by the U.S. Supreme 
     Court, that Federal review of cop-killers' appeals would be 
     completed, in most cases, within a two year period.
       The bill also incorporates an existing provision of the 
     Federal habeas statute that is used to determine whether a 
     defendant may file a successive petition or seek a new 
     evidentiary hearing in Federal court. Thus, once a convicted 
     cop-killer's case arrives in the Federal courts, they would 
     only be able either to offer new evidence of innocence or to 
     give a good reason why he failed to present such evidence 
     earlier, thus barring defendants from simply relitigating 
     evidence that already was presented or should have been 
     presented at trial.
       Assaults on law enforcement officers, including those which 
     result in the death of the officer, are on the rise, and so 
     is the length of time a convicted cop-killer will remain on 
     death row while his appeals are processed. The murder of a 
     law enforcement officer is a heinous crime--every State that 
     has the death penalty allows juries to impose on those 
     convicted of killing an officer. And yet, if the death 
     penalty is not imposed in a reasonable amount of time, after 
     all the requirements of due process are met and guilt is 
     certain, then it does not have any meaning, either as a 
     deterrent or a punishment. Your legislation correctly 
     addresses this problem for what most recognize to be one of 
     the most serious crimes--killing a cop.
       On behalf of the more than 318,000 members of the Fraternal 
     Order of Police, I applaud you for your leadership on this 
     issue and look forward to working with you and your staff to 
     see it signed into law. If I can be of any further 
     assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me or Executive 
     Director Jim Pasco at my Washington Office.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Chuck Canterbury,
     National President.

                          ____________________