Supreme Court setback for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Justices throw out a ruling that had set aside the death sentence of the former Black Panther, convicted of killing a police officer in 1981.
Associated Press
January 20, 2010
Philadelphia - The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a ruling that had set aside the death sentence of Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer in the 1980s in a racially tinged case that has made the former Black Panther an international cause celebre.
The justices ordered the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to revisit its 2008 ruling that Abu-Jamal deserved a new sentencing hearing because of flawed jury instructions.
The Supreme Court pointed to its decision in an Ohio case last week, when it said a neo-Nazi killer did not deserve a new sentencing hearing on those grounds.
A mostly white Philadelphia jury convicted Abu-Jamal of killing white Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981.
Prosecutors think Faulkner and Abu-Jamal exchanged gunfire after Abu-Jamal's brother was pulled over in a traffic stop. A wounded Abu-Jamal, his own gun lying nearby, was still at the scene when police arrived, and authorities consider the evidence against him overwhelming.
But he maintains his innocence. Since his conviction, activists in the United States and Europe have rallied in support of his claim that he was the victim of a racist justice system.
The issue over jury instructions relates to whether jurors understood how to weigh mitigating circumstances that might have kept Abu-Jamal off death row.
What a liberal slant on even this story, "a mostly white jury"
Are they insinuating that white jurors cant make a judgement on the case without race bias
Anyone who knows anything about this case in which there were eye witnesses know this guy should have been sent to the gas chamber years ago. The out of touch celebrities who took up his side and wanted him free are really dispicable.
These are the facts of this tragedy:
On Dec. 9, 1981, Officer Faulkner made a traffic stop on Abu-Jamal's brother, Billy Cook, who put up a fight. Abu-Jamal happened upon the scene, and shooting began. Faulkner ended up dead, and Abu-Jamal was shot in the chest.
A gun registered to Abu-Jamal, with five chambers empty, was on the sidewalk. Four witnesses who saw all or part of the shooting implicated Abu-Jamal. One witness said that after Faulkner went down, Abu-Jamal stood over him and sealed the deal with a bullet through the head.
And yet an international crusade to free Mumia--fueled by endorsements from Hollywood celebrities including Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman, Ossie Davis, Ed Asner, Tim Robbins and Alec Baldwin-- has had people marching in the streets from Africa to Asia and beyond.
Alec Baldwin!!! Monte's news source
Justices throw out a ruling that had set aside the death sentence of the former Black Panther, convicted of killing a police officer in 1981.
Associated Press
January 20, 2010
Philadelphia - The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a ruling that had set aside the death sentence of Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer in the 1980s in a racially tinged case that has made the former Black Panther an international cause celebre.
The justices ordered the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to revisit its 2008 ruling that Abu-Jamal deserved a new sentencing hearing because of flawed jury instructions.
The Supreme Court pointed to its decision in an Ohio case last week, when it said a neo-Nazi killer did not deserve a new sentencing hearing on those grounds.
A mostly white Philadelphia jury convicted Abu-Jamal of killing white Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981.
Prosecutors think Faulkner and Abu-Jamal exchanged gunfire after Abu-Jamal's brother was pulled over in a traffic stop. A wounded Abu-Jamal, his own gun lying nearby, was still at the scene when police arrived, and authorities consider the evidence against him overwhelming.
But he maintains his innocence. Since his conviction, activists in the United States and Europe have rallied in support of his claim that he was the victim of a racist justice system.
The issue over jury instructions relates to whether jurors understood how to weigh mitigating circumstances that might have kept Abu-Jamal off death row.
What a liberal slant on even this story, "a mostly white jury"
Are they insinuating that white jurors cant make a judgement on the case without race bias
Anyone who knows anything about this case in which there were eye witnesses know this guy should have been sent to the gas chamber years ago. The out of touch celebrities who took up his side and wanted him free are really dispicable.
These are the facts of this tragedy:
On Dec. 9, 1981, Officer Faulkner made a traffic stop on Abu-Jamal's brother, Billy Cook, who put up a fight. Abu-Jamal happened upon the scene, and shooting began. Faulkner ended up dead, and Abu-Jamal was shot in the chest.
A gun registered to Abu-Jamal, with five chambers empty, was on the sidewalk. Four witnesses who saw all or part of the shooting implicated Abu-Jamal. One witness said that after Faulkner went down, Abu-Jamal stood over him and sealed the deal with a bullet through the head.
And yet an international crusade to free Mumia--fueled by endorsements from Hollywood celebrities including Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman, Ossie Davis, Ed Asner, Tim Robbins and Alec Baldwin-- has had people marching in the streets from Africa to Asia and beyond.
Alec Baldwin!!! Monte's news source
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