Supreme Court Denies Appeal for Death Row Prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal

[balantz]

Run time: 10:54 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6AtfqWnOdU   Posted on YouTube: April 07, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: April 07, 2009 By DU Member: balantz Views on DU: 732

 
"The Supreme Court has denied an appeal from the journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal. On Monday, the court rejected without comment Abu-Jamal’s bid to overturn his conviction for the 1981 killing of a white police officer following a controversial trial before a predominantly white jury. Abu-Jamal contends the case was marred with racial bias, including the deliberate exclusion of blacks from the jury. “It shows you that precedent means nothing, that the law is politics by other means,” Abu-Jamal said in response to the ruling."

[tomm2thumbs]

1. 'rejected without comment' - is it possible no court member wanted to look into it or

does it take a majority to look at or reject a case?

Separate ruling might have some traction

[hlthe2b]

2. He's no longer on death row, isn't that right?

[balantz]

3. I'm not familiar with the case. I'll look into that. n/t

[balantz]

4. I haven't found anything that states he isn't on death row. n/t

[hlthe2b]

5. Looks like the Court of Appeals determined new sentencing trial

So, I'm guessing there is a good chance this will be the case....:shrug:

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid today for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been on death row for more than 25 years for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.

Abu-Jamal and his lawyers had been hoping for a new trial based on their contention that prosecutors unfairly excluded African-Americans from his jury during his 1982 trial.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in a 2-to-1 decision last March, refused to order a new trial, but the panel agreed unanimously that his death sentence should been thrown out.

The panel said that Abu-Jamal must either be sentenced to life in prison, or receive a new sentencing trial only on the issue of whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison.

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20090406_Supreme_Court_rejects_new_trial_bid_by_Mumia_Abu-Jamal.html

[balantz]

6. Thanks for finding that .n/t

[Patiod]

7. Our prosecutor is going to go for the death penalty

which I think is stupid, because it makes him a martyr. Just dump his ass in prison and keep him there.

He has a lot of support among national and international death penalty opponents, but among Philadelphians who are sick of our cops getting shot, not so much. Even in the anti-death-penalty community (for example, the Quakers) many of us think he's a really bad choice to put forth as an example, and think he belongs in jail. Many of us who followed the case from beginning do not think he's innocent, that he deserves a new trial, or that there are some sort of mitigating circumstances (like when people drive a friend somewhere, and the friend ends up committing murder, and the guy driving the car is convicted too, even if he claims not to know what was going on).

A cop stopped Abu-Jamal's brother's car for a routine traffic stop, and Abu-Jamal approached the cop from the street and shot him. I've heard all the defense arguments, and they just don't hold water. The guy shot a cop, and he belongs in jail.

He's been able to get a lot of support because he's a smart guy who worked as a journalist, so he's been able to document his life in prison and come across as a ood person who has simply been burned by the system.

[hlthe2b]

8. Thanks for that perspective....

I have not followed the case closely.