Seifullah Abdul-Salaam is returning to prison to serve the remainder of his life sentence following a resentencing hearing where he managed to avoid being sentenced to death again. Initially, jurors could not agree unanimously on whether they should return him to death row.
I was clearly let down," stated New Cumberland Police Chief Richard Wiley. "This has affected the officers who are currently serving in the department.
Abdul-Salaam initially received the death penalty for murdering New Cumberland Police Officer Will Cole during a robbery in 1994. However, his sentence was reversed in 2018 when an appellate court determined that Abdul-Salaam’s lawyer should have presented testimony regarding the childhood maltreatment he endured at his original sentencing hearing.
Richard Wiley, the newly appointed police chief of New Cumberland, mentioned that his officers found the latest decision quite difficult to embrace.
“No one was present in the department during this incident,” stated Wiley. “However, everyone experienced the same grief and distress that the community went through back in 1994.”
At the sentencing proceeding, Officer Cole’s sibling, Wendy, addressed the court expressing her distress over the verdict and mentioned that their family unit has not returned to normalcy since his passing.
A different individual informed the court that New Cumberland lost its purity following the shooting incident.
Decades later, old injuries resurfaced," stated Sean McCormack, Cumberland County District Attorney. "This is not a minor issue.
Since 2015, Pennsylvania has imposed a ban on carrying out executions, and Governor Shapiro has pledged not to approve any execution warrants during his time in office in Harrisburg.
Even with the moratorium in place, District Attorney McCormack felt it was crucial to reinstate Abdul-Salaam's initial death penalty.
I've had personal reservations about capital punishment over time," McCormack stated. "However, as I mentioned initially, I swore an oath as a district attorney to enforce the law.
Before exiting the courthouse, Abdul-Salaam offered an apology to Officer Cole’s family for the suffering he inflicted and expressed gratitude to the jurors for showing empathy toward him. Authorities trust that Abdul-Salaam will make good use of this fresh start and improve himself.
"Here's hoping he does and perhaps he might influence someone to make better choices," stated Wiley.
