US Supreme Court rejects appeal by Mumia Abu-Jamal for new trial

The appeals court lifted the death penalty and ordered a new capital sentencing hearing, at which a jury could decide either to restore the death sentence or impose a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Abu-Jamal appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, seeking a new trial on the charges.

Philadelphia prosecutors have appealed the appeals court ruling to the US Supreme Court, seeking to restore the original sentence of death. The Supreme Court has yet to act on their appeal.

As a result, Abu-Jamal, 54, who has spent half of his life on death row, remains in limbo, with the possibility that his death sentence could be restored. Philadelphia prosecutors and much of the American political establishment remain determined to put the political activist, author and opponent of capital punishment to death. Following the March 2008 appeals court ruling upholding Abu-Jamal’s conviction, Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham denounced his supporters and declared, “He is nothing short of an assassin.”