To this day, questions as to who fired the fatal shot are central to Mumia's plight. There are several witnesses who claim they saw other suspects fleeing the scene, and several eyewitness descriptions of the murderer do not match a description of Abu-Jamal. In his 1982 trial, Abu-Jamal was convicted of the murder of Faulkner and sentenced to death. His guilty conviction gave birth to the controversy that is prevalent today, because the case against Abu-Jamal is so full of holes. To this day, questions as to who fired the fatal shot are central to Mumia's plight.
Many witnesses claim they saw other suspect flee the scene of the murder.
No official report of a confession was ever made on the night of the shooting, yet during the trial several police witnesses claimed that one was made. One officer stated that he heard Abu-Jamal admit to the murder, but claimed he forgot to report it. The only documented evidence of a confession comes from a hospital worker who claims she heard Abu-Jamal shout the confession upon entering the hospital. Of the 125 witnesses interviewed by the police, only two directly implicated Abu-Jamal in the shooting, both of whom had warrants for their arrests on unrelated matters. One of the witnesses, Veronica Jones, a prostitute who was working the area at the time, came forward in 1996 saying that she had been coerced by police to lie and implicate Abu-Jamal in the murder.