Cops' widows want death penalty for killers

Closure, comfort, peace of mind - those words are never more than empty, well-worn clichés to the families of slain Philadelphia police officers.

It's a cold, harsh thought that seemed to ring true yesterday when seven relatives of murdered cops filled a stage at the Spring Garden Street headquarters of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5.

They had gathered, ostensibly, to vent over the trial of Rasheed Scrugs, who was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for fatally shooting Officer John Pawlowski in Olney almost two years ago.

Scrugs, who had pleaded guilty, received the life sentence because the jury deadlocked after five days of deliberations over whether to sentence him to life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Pawlowski's widow, Kimberly, didn't hold back. "I feel as if some of the jurors who were selected for our trial possibly lied to get on to save the life of one of their peers," she said.

She added that she felt "outraged by the lack of justice," and believed that death sentences should be the mandatory punishment for cop-killers.

But as the venting session wore on, and other widows and heartsick relatives spoke, it became clear that "justice" was just another empty word, even in situations in which those found guilty of gunning down police officers were sentenced to die.

Judy Cassidy became emotional as she discussed John "Jordan" Lewis, who shot and killed her husband, Officer Chuck Cassidy, at a West Oak Lane Dunkin' Donuts on Oct. 31, 2007.

Lewis was sentenced to death by injection last November. "We all know it's never going to happen; he'll never be murdered in prison like he should," Cassidy said.

Only three people have been executed in Pennsylvania since 1978. About 220 inmates are on death row.

Cassidy said she hoped Governor-elect Tom Corbett would consult with elected officials in Texas, where 462 prisoners have been executed in the past 34 years.

State Rep. Dennis O'Brien said legislators needed to examine a number of possible remedies, including limiting the number of appeals that can be filed by killers who are given death sentences.

But of all those who spoke yesterday, no one knew more about the topic - the endless pain, the fruitless search for closure and justice - than Maureen Faulkner, widow of Officer Danny Faulkner, who was shot to death in Center City on Dec. 8, 1981.

The California resident was in the city because the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was hearing arguments on whether Faulkner's infamous killer, Mumia Abu-Jamal, should have a resentencing hearing.

"I married Danny 31 years ago," she said, "and here I am sitting in court today. What's wrong with this system?"