Mumia Abu-Jamal has been a political prisoner for many years in this country. It appears he will stay in prison since the Supreme Court just decided to let his conviction stand. The court did not take up the death penalty case against him, which would ad him to a long list of martyrs here in the US.
According to The Wichita Eagle, Apr. 06, 2009:
High court lets Abu-Jamal's conviction stand
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Mumia Abu-Jamal has lost his bid for a new trial in the killing of a Philadelphia police officer in 1981.
The Supreme Court said Monday it will not take up Abu-Jamal's claims that prosecutors improperly excluded blacks from the jury that convicted him of murdering Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld Abu-Jamal's conviction but held his death sentence invalid. The appeals court said it would not second-guess state court rulings rejecting Abu-Jamal's claims of bias in the composition of the jury.
The high court considered only the conviction. The state has separately asked the court to reinstate the death sentence, but the justices have not acted on that request.
A Philadelphia jury convicted Abu-Jamal, who is black, of killing Faulkner, who was white, in 1981 after the patrolman pulled over Abu-Jamal's brother during an overnight traffic stop.
For the rest click here.
From Death Row, Mumia Abu Jamal (1/3)
1 comment:
>It also refused to reinstate the death penalty case against him...
Not according to the news item you cited:
"The high court considered only the conviction. The state has separately asked the court to reinstate the death sentence, but the justices have not acted on that request."
You also state "...since a high court just decided..."
The US Supreme Court is THE high court, not "a" high court.
And he didn't lose *another* chance at a retrial - this was his last chance. No where left to go - the only question now is whether the D.P. is reinstated or whether he gets life. He's not getting out although I'm sure his lawyers will try to drag this out as long as humanly possible.
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