A Stunning Win for Mumia Abu-Jamal

Any one of those three claims, if upheld by the three-judge panel, could lead to a new trial for one of America's most famous and long-standing death row prisoners, a Philadelphia-based journalist and former Black Panther activist who was convicted of the 1981 shooting murder of a white Philadelphia police officer.

The decision came as a surprise because the appellate court was only required to consider an appeal from the defense on a single guilt-phase issue-the claim that the prosecution had illegally removed qualified jurors from the case on the basis of race. That claim, while rejected in 2001 by Federal District Court Judge William Yohn, had been certified by the judge for appeal to the Third Circuit. Appellate courts do not have to even accept arguments from defense attorneys on claims that have not been certified for appeal by a lower court, so the fact that the judges agreed to accept the other two claims is a major victory for the defense.

The two additional claims are that:

1. The prosecutor, Joe McGill, improperly sought to weaken any sense of
Responsibility and accountability among jurors considering the case, and undermined the constitutional requirement of "beyond a reasonable doubt," when he told them in his final summation that they need not worry overmuch about voting for conviction since Abu-Jamal would have "appeal after appeal," and

2. The judge in the case, the late Albert Sabo, who also sat at the 1995 Post-Conviction Relief Act hearing, where determinations of fact, and crucial new evidence, were presented (or where the defense attempted, unsuccessfully to present it), was biased against the defense.

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