Monday, July 21, 2008

Your Black Power: Mumia Abu Jamal Wants Another Trial

WASHINGTON, (AFP) - Black Panther-turned human rights campaigner Mumia Abu-Jamal has requested a retrial on his conviction of murdering a police officer, after his death sentence was overturned in March, his lawyer said Sunday.

A three-member Philadelphia appeals court on March 27 voted two-to-one to overturn the former radio journalist’s death sentence, while upholding his conviction for the 1981 murder of Daniel Faulkner.

The court said Abu-Jamal, 54, should face a new sentencing hearing or have his sentence commuted to life in jail.

Abu-Jamal, 54, has always claimed his innocence while on death row for 25 years. While in jail, he became a leading campaigner against the death penalty.

In his request for a retrial, Abu-Jamal’s lawyer Robert Bryan asked for a decision by a full panel of 12 judges, not a three-member court like Philadelphia’s…

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