Former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal's Appeal Rejected by Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has refused to hear the case of former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal (aka Wesley Cook) who was convicted and sentenced to death in the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. Via order today, the court declined to take on Abu-Jamal's plea for a new trial in the racially-charged case that, as the AP noted, became a focus for civil rights activists.
A federal court of appeals had previously invalidated Abu-Jamal's death sentence on the grounds that the jury in the case was not instructed properly. The government has appealed that ruling and today's order does not address the sentence. Below are some links and background in the case.
- AP: High court lets Abu-Jamal's conviction stand (Google News)
- CNN: Supreme Court lets Mumia Abu-Jamal's conviction stand
- Supreme Court's Order (U.S. Supreme Court)
- Appeal Court's Opinion Rejecting Abu-Jamal's Death Sentence (FindLaw)
- A Life in the Balance: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal (Amnesty International)
- BBC: Abu-Jamal's death sentence overturned
- Trial Court Transcripts and State Court Rulings (DanielFaulkner.com)
- Constitutional Protections for the Criminal Defendant (provided by Jonathan Scott Smith LLC)