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(Trenton, NJ) – Joanne Chesimard is dead. The convicted cop killer and former member of the Black Liberation Army lived out her final days in Havana, Cuba — after the late Fidel Castro granted her political asylum in the 1990s.
Governor Phil Murphy, a progressive Democrat who routinely falls in line with left-leaning interests on issues of race, is not on the side of the BLA member in this case. Murphy has made it clear he opposes any attempt to “repatriate” the remains of Chesimard — who changed her name to Assata Shakur.
Over the weekend, following Chesimard’s death, the Chicago Teachers Union honored her in a social media post. Murphy took exception with that — calling the post “shameful and depraved.” It was in Cuba where Chesimard died at the age of 78. In the late 70s she escaped from a New Jersey prison with the help of BLA members who disguised themselves as visitors.
Chesimard (Shakur) had been convicted of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout on the NJ Turnpike in 1973. The New York-born fugitive was rapper Tupac Shakur’s godmother.
Governor Murphy notes New Jersey had worked with the State Department for years to bring Chesimard back to New Jersey while she was still alive. The FBI and the New Jersey Attorney General’s office had each offered a one-million-dollar reward for her capture.
Now, Murphy is opposing any effort to see her remains brought back to the country.
