Americas - USA
Court to review Black Panther sentence decision
Monday 20 October 2008
The state of Pennsylvania has asked the US Supreme Court to review a decision to overturn the death sentence of former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was previously convicted for the murder of a police officer in 1981.
Monday 20 October 2008
By AFP (text)The state of Pennsylvania has asked the US Supreme Court to review a lower court's decision to overturn the death sentence of former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted for the 1981 murder of a police officer, judicial sources said Monday.
The Supreme Court and Abu-Jamal's lawyer Robert Bryan confirmed Monday that the appeal was lodged in early October.
Since Abu-Jamal's conviction and death sentence, the case has become a focus for civil rights activists who contend racism was involved when he was found guilty by an overwhelmingly white jury for the 1981 shooting of Philadelphia policeman Daniel Faulkner.
Abu-Jamal's death sentence was overturned in March by a federal court in Philadelphia, which found that the jury in the case had been incorrectly instructed. The judges voted two-to-one to uphold his conviction, however.
On October 6 the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Abu-Jamal that it hear arguments for holding a new trial in the murder case.
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