Supreme Court Lets Mumia's Conviction Stand

[nattyreb]

According to this article just released, the US Supreme Court announced that they will not give further consideration to Mumia's appeal for a new guilt-phase trial (in legalese, they won't grant his "Petition for a Writ of Certiorari")

However, it also says that the US Supreme Court may still consider the DA's appeal to re-instate the death penalty without a new sentencing hearing!

This is another terribly dark day for justice in this country!

Hans Bennett
Abu-Jamal-News.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Supreme Court lets Mumia Abu-Jamal's conviction stand
Supreme Court lets Mumia Abu-Jamal's conviction stand - CNN.com
By Bill Mears
CNN Supreme Court Producer


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has let stand the conviction of former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was sent to death row for gunning down a Philadelphia police officer 28 years ago.

He contends blacks were unfairly excluded from the jury, and has been an outspoken activist from behind bars.

The justices made their announcement Monday.

A separate appeal over whether Abu-Jamal deserves a new sentencing hearing has not been taken up by the high court.

Prosecutors are appealing a federal appeals court ruling in Abu-Jamal's favor last year on the sentencing issue. The case has attracted international attention amid charges of prosecutorial misconduct and the inmate's outspoken personality.

Abu-Jamal, a former radio reporter and cab driver has been a divisive figure, with many prominent supporters arguing that racism pervaded his trial. Others countered Abu-Jamal is using his skin color to escape responsibility for his actions. They say he has divided the community for years with his provocative writing and activism.

He was convicted for the December 9, 1981, murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner, 25, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Faulkner had pulled over Abu-Jamal's brother in a late-night traffic stop. Witnesses said Abu-Jamal, who was nearby, ran over and shot the policeman in the back and in the head.

Abu-Jamal, once known as Wesley Cook, was also wounded in the encounter and later confessed to the killing, according to other witnesses testimony.

Abu-Jamal is black and the police officer was white.

Incarcerated for nearly three decades, Abu-Jamal has been an active critic of the criminal justice system.

On a Web site created by friends to promote the release this month of his new book, the prisoner-turned-author writes about his fight. "This is the story of law learned, not in the ivory towers of multi-billion dollar endowed universities but in the bowels of the slave-ship, in the hidden, dank dungeons of America."

His chief defense attorney, Robert Bryan, had urged the justices to grant a new criminal trial, but the high court offered no explanation for its refusal to intervene.

"The central issue in this case is racism in jury selection," Bryan wrote to supporters last month. Ten whites and two blacks made up the original jury panel that sentenced Abu-Jamal to death.

A three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a year ago kept the murder conviction in place, but ordered a new capital sentencing hearing. That court ultimately concluded the jury was improperly instructed on how to weigh "mitigating factors" offered by the defense that might have kept Abu-Jamal off death row.

Pennsylvania law at the time said jurors did not have to unanimously agree on a mitigating circumstance, such as the fact that Abu-Jamal had no prior criminal record.

Months before that ruling, oral arguments on the issue were contentious. Faulkner's widow and Abu-Jamal's brother attended, and demonstrations on both sides were held outside the courtroom in downtown Philadelphia.

Many prominent groups and individuals, including singer Harry Belafonte, the NAACP and the European Parliament, are cited on his Web site as supporters. Prosecutors have insisted Abu-Jamal pay the price for his crimes, and have aggressively resisted efforts to take him of death row for Faulkner's murder.

"This assassination has been made a circus by those people in the world and this city who believe falsely that Mumia Abu-Jamal is some kind of a folk hero," said Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham last year, when the federal appeals court upheld the conviction. "He is nothing short of an assassin."

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WE'VE GOT TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD, TO BUILD THIS MOVEMENT LARGER THAN EVER, TALK ABOUT MUMIA'S CASE, CONTACT THE ICFFMAJ TO HELP DO WORK ON MUMIA'S BEHALF, HOST A BOOK PARTY, HELP FUNDRAISE, HELP WITH PHONE CALLS, DO P.E. AROUND MUMIA'S CASE, DON'T JUST WEAR THE T-SHIRT OR SPORT HIS PIX ON YOUR WEB PAGE, THERE IS A JOB FOR EVERYONE TO DO, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE!! -- Sis. Marpessa

The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia!

Audio of most of Mumia's essays are at: Prison Radio

Mumia Abu-Jamal's Radio Essays
Mumia's got a podcast! Mumia Abu-Jamal's Radio Essays - Subscribe at the website or on iTunes and get Mumia's radio commentaries online.

Mumia Abu-Jamal's new book -- JAILHOUSE LAWYERS: PRISONERS DEFENDING PRISONERS V. THE USA, featuring an introduction by Angela Y. Davis -- will be released soon! It will be available from City Lights Books at a 30% discount weeks before you can get it at any other bookstore, or from Amazon. Sign up for an email alert and when the book becomes available for sale you'll receive an email letting you know: Jailhouse Lawyers, Prisoners Defending Prisoners v. the U.S.A.
In support of Mumia and the publication of JAILHOUSE LAWYERS, organizations around the country will be holding "More Than a Book Party" events on or around Mumia's birthday, April 24, 2009. If you are planning to organize an event or would like to order in bulk, you can also receive a 45% discount on any bulk orders of 20 copies or more. The book retails for $16.95, for orders of 20 copies or more the discounted price would be $9.32 per book, plus shipping and handling. Prepayment would be required and books are nonreturnable. If you or your organization would like to place a bulk order, please contact Stacey Lewis at 415.362.1901 or stacey@citylights.com

Let's use the opportunity of the publication of this brilliant, moving, vintage Mumia book to build the momentum for his case, to raise the money we desperately need in these challenging economic times, to get the word out – to produce literature, flyers, posters, videos, DVD's; to send organizers out to help build new chapters and strengthen old ones, TO GET THE PEOPLE OUT IN THE STREETS … all the work that we must do in order to FREE MUMIA as he faces LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE OR EXECUTION!
Please make a contribution to help free Mumia. Donations to the grassroots work will go to both INTERNATIONAL CONCERNED FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL and the FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL COALITION (NYC).

Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition, NYC

Please mail donations/ checks to:
FREE MUMIA ABU JAMAL COALITION
PO BOX 16, NEW YORK,
NY 10030
(CHECKS FOR BOTH ORGANIZATIONS PAYABLE TO: FMAJC/IFCO)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
215 476-8812
212-330-8029

Send our brotha some LOVE and LIGHT at:
Mumia Abu-Jamal
AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370

WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM CAN *NOT* REST!!

[Sourakhata]

The more pressure we put on those repressive jailers crakkkaz, better chance we have to see the brother walk free again & alive.
So people take you pen up or your keyboard, it does not matter, just do someting and make people/friends around you do someting.

[Jalili]

They think we will give up because they are trying to stay stead fast on their repression of the peoples voice by doing the same garbage to keep us quiet.

No matter what we need to vocalize, organize and be willing to militarize in order to let these devils know that we will not stop until we get the results of freedom we demand and as living people are intitled to.

[Godssoulja]

It is sad that those who have been tasked to intepred the law unbiasedly have again been themselves unfair in their decision. It makes me think without a doubt they themselves are trying to cover up injustices that have plagued this country.

A man such as Mumia who has not only inspired me, but millions throughout the diaspora should be free now! They cant allow the new evidence to be considered because it makes the governments case unwinnable.