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Mumia Abu Jamal: on death row
since 1982
Who was the African-American man with dreadlocks who killed white police officer Daniel Faulkner in Philadelphia in December 1981? The juries who have been involved in this case, twice, have decided it was social activist and journalist Mumia Abu Jamal. Supporters of Abu Jamal, however, say he did not shoot the officer, and that at his 1982 trial, he did not have a proper defense. To this day, Abu Jamal sits on death row almost 20 years after the incident. Convicted almost 20 years ago He was first convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1982. In 1989, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed Abu Jamal's conviction and sentence. In 1995, Abu Jamal filed for an appeal for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. The case was assigned to Judge Albert Sabo, who presided at Abu-Jamal's 1982 trial. Sabo denied a new trial. The next year, Abu Jamal's lawyers asked the state Supreme Court to overrule Sabo and grant a new trial. In 1998, Pennsylvania's high court unanimously upheld the conviction. In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court again rejected Abu Jamal's request for a new trial. Former member of the Black Panthers Abu Jamal, now 45, was once a member of the Black Panther Party, a social activist and protest movement established in 1966, which urged African-Americans to take arms in self-defense against white establishment racism. The party offered programs like free breakfast for children and free health clinics across the U.S. Abu Jamal's case has spawned an international movement as thousands across Europe and North America rally in his support. Detractors though, warn that Abu Jamal's case is being used as an excuse to support the abolishment of the death penalty. Those who knew Abu Jamal before the incident expressed shock that he could have committed this crime. " I can't tell you how stunned I am about this," Daily News columnist, Chuck Stone said in 1981 following the shooting. " Mumia has always been a peaceful person. You would never hear him raise his voice. When you would call his home, he'd say 'peace,' before talking." Links to this case: 1. Philadelphia Online's coverage of the case 2. International Concerned Family & Friends Of Mumia Abu-Jamal 3. Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner 4. How the media is covering Mumia's case from FAIR (a national media watch group) 5. Amnesty International USA see its page on how prisoners are treated in the American prison system
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