Constitutional Law
3rd Circuit Voids Death Penalty in Abu-Jamal Case
Posted Mar 27, 2008, 06:27 pm CDT
By Martha Neil
In the latest appellate court ruling in a controversial and long-running capital case that appears almost certain to continue further, a federal appeals court today voided the death penalty given in 1982 to a black activist whose supporters say he was convicted in a racist trial.
However, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Mumia Abu-Jamal's conviction for murdering a Philadelphia police officer in 1981, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Its decision in every regard affirmed an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge William H. Yohn Jr., who also voided the death penalty due to faulty jury instructions. The Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit's 118-page ruling today (PDF) is provided by Villanova University School of Law.
The prosecution must now decide whether to hold a new jury trial to determine whether Abu-Jamal should again be sentenced to death. If no such trial is held, he will automatically be sentenced to life in prison, the newspaper explains.
"I am not happy that two of the three judges turned a deaf ear to the racism that permeated this case," says Robert Bryan, a San Francisco lawyer who has been representing Abu-Jamal. The defense contends that blacks were unconstitutionally excluded from the jury that convicted him of first-degree murder.
However, Bryan says he was "heartened and thrilled" by Judge Thomas Ambro's dissenting opinion on that issue.
Rallies about the case are planned tomorrow outside federal courthouses in Philadelphia, New York and San Francisco, reports USA Today.
Additional coverage:
Agence France-Presse: "US court orders new hearing for death row campaigner"
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Comments
Posted by J. - 1 month, 2 weeks, 5 days, 9 hours, 2 minutes ago
"Black activist”....? That’s how we’re describing him?
How about: “a convicted cop-killer.”
That would be a little more accurate.
I know this is just a summary of a news article, but it seems a pretty important part was left out. Why are only the views of “his supporters” provided? How about the views of the people who are shocked he’s still alive after shooting Off. David Faulkner to the ground, and then walking up to him, and shooting him right in the head as he wreathed on the ground?
I guess reality is too much for “activists.”
http://www.danielfaulkner.com/
.
Posted by DL - 1 month, 2 weeks, 5 days, 8 hours, 15 minutes ago
"Wreathed” on the ground, J?
I was at a fundraiser for the Innocence Project last night and given the increasing number of people in prison who are found to be factually innocent certainly gives me pause. I don’t know whether Mr. Abu-Jamal is such a wrongfully convicted person, but knowing the racism that permeated our judicial system back then (and still does in many jurisdictions) I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that racism played a role in his conviction. Also, unless you were standing there and witnessed the actions you just described, how do you know what happened?
Eyewitness testimony? Jailhouse snitch testimony?
I do agree that news items, even summaries should be balanced and I hope that the ABA Journal does a better job of that in the future.
Finally, it appears that in any event, Mr. Abu-Jamal will be in prison for a long time because I cannot imagine that the prosecution will call for a new trial. Simply by doing nothing Mr. Abu-Jamal gets a life sentence. Yes, he can appeal and protests for his release will go on, but you certainly can’t be advocating the death penalty as a way of siliencing him and his supporters.
Posted by J. - 1 month, 2 weeks, 5 days, 7 hours, 11 minutes ago
How do I know what happened?
I don’t, BUT, I read the court testimony, listened to what eyewitnesses had to say, and came to my own conclusion. But that’s irrelevant: The jury did the same thing—a multi-racial jury—and came to the conclusion that Wesley Cook (aka Mumia) killed Off. Faulkner by firing multiple bullets into his body, and his face as he “writhed” on the ground.
Anyone with a sane mind would not be out on the streets demanding Cook be freed. It’s simply extreme ignorance and an unwillingness to look at the facts.
And when schools play Cook’s audio tapes at commencements, it says a lot about the educational system. Or when elites campaign for the convicted killer, or when people find it acceptable to walk around in “Free Mumia” t-shirts, it’s just pathetically ignorant.
But by some of these “activists’” logic, I suppose it would have been okay to walk around in a “Free James Earl Ray” t-shirt a while back. Afterall, we weren’t there, we don’t know exactly what happened, and there could have been an element of racism in his conviction, right?