Arnold Beverly's Confession to Murder
Just Doesn't Add Up
By: Nikon
In May of 2001 the new defense team working for Mumia Abu-Jamal released a number of affidavits concerning the case. One of the most discussed was an affidavit by Arnold Beverly who claims that he, not Mumia actually murdered Officer Faulkner. The courts have refused to hear it because the defense waited almost 2 years to release it and Pennsylvania law says that any new evidence must be filed with the court with 60 days unless it meets certain requirement, which Beverly's affidavit did not meet. Neither the State nor Federal Courts have ruled on the merits of the affidavit. If they had I think it would have been dismissed anyway.
| Beverly claims in his affidavit that he and
"another guy" were hired by the mob and corrupt
policemen to kill Officer Faulkner because he interfered
with the graft and payoffs made to allow illegal activity
in the Center City area. Other affidavits release on or
about the same time implied that part of the corruption
included doing club checks at bars and demanding payment
from the owners for any after hours business. Beverly claims that he was given a photograph of Officer Faulkner and told that he was supposed to "check something out" at Johnny D's at 13th and Locust. Apparently the defense is trying to imply that Faulkner would be doing one of the club checks. The problem with that is that Johnny D's was a pizza place, not a bar, and would have been closed at 4 o'clock in the morning. |
Arnold Beverly from a video tape of him reading his June 8, 1999 affidavit. |
Beverly goes on to say that he was carrying his own .22 caliber revolver and the "other guy" gave him a .38 caliber "policeman's special". Neither of these guns were capable of firing the bullets that were found at the scene or in Officer Faulkner. Ballistics test proved that the bullet found at the scene were fire from a .38 caliber with rifling characteristics of 8 lands and grooves with a right hand direction of twist. Obviously this would rule out the much smaller .22 caliber. A "policeman's special" in 1981 was a Smith & Wesson Model 10 six shot revolver. This gun only has 5 lands and grooves etched into it's barrel, and is thus not consistent with the bullets at the scene.
Beverly says that he was waiting across Locust St. for Officer Faulkner to arrive, wearing a green camouflage jacket. Not one witness mentioned seeing a camouflage jacket. While he was waiting there he claimed that the "other guy" was waiting near Camac St.
Actual crime scene photo showing the VW owned by Mumia's brother, Billy Cook, and the full size patrol car driven by Officer Faulkner. |
It's obvious from looking at the crime scene photos
that Officer Faulkner wasn't driving a small police car
that night. He was driving a full size 4 door Plymouth. Beverly then claims to have heard a shot come from east on Locust Street, or his left, and witnessed Officer Faulkner fall. During the trial Criminalist Dr. Tumosa testified that the shot to Officer Faulkner's back was fired from 8-12 inches away. Beverly should not only have heard the shot coming from directly in front of him since he was watching Officer Faulkner, but should have seen the shooter because he would have had to have been within a foot of Officer Faulkner, who Beverly was supposedly watching. |
Beverly then claims to have heard another shot which must have grazed his right shoulder, but the fact that he was being shot at didn't stop him from running towards the scene. He claims he ran across the street and shot Officer Faulkner in the face at close range, however not one witness saw him run across the street and shoot Faulkner. One witness, Michael Scanlan testified that a man ran across the street and shot Officer Faulkner, but he described that man as wearing a red and blue jacket or sweater, not a camouflage jacket. Two other witnesses, Cynthia White and Robert Chobert, both positively identified Mumia as the shooter.
Beverly claims that Mumia was shot by another police officer as he approached the scene, however ballistics tests on the bullet removed from Jamal proved that it was fired from Officer Faulkner's gun to the exclusion of all others. Also, another witness, Albert Magilton, positively identified Mumia at the scene as the man who ran across the street right before the shooting.
For years Mumia's supporters have claimed that a mysterious man shot Officer Faulkner then ran east on Locust Street to escape before police arrived. However Beverly doesn't claim to have run east on Locust. He claims to have run back across the street and exited the area through the speedline. He claims that as he was going down the steps he saw police officers arriving from all directions.
This affidavit also raises some other good questions. The defense claims that since Beverly gave his statement he has feared for his life because of possible retaliation from the Philadelphia Police Force. Yet ironically Beverly came forward as a witness in the Thomas Jones arrest which was televised nationally. Why would someone fearful of the Police Force come forward as a witness against the same police force?
It must also be asked why the mob would find it necessary to hire an outsider with a very limited criminal record to perform a task that they obviously could have taken care of themselves. If they did hire an outsider I think the chance of him living to tell his story would be very slim.
As Pennsylvania Common Pleas Judge Pamela Dembe ruled when refusing to hear the affidavit, it is common for people to come forward and confess to high profile crimes.
