Just as time seems to be running out for California death row inmate Stanley "Tookie" Williams, whose scheduled execution is just days away, a dramatic reversal of fortune may be in the works for Pennsylvania prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, thanks to a recent development in his controversial death penalty case.
A Philadelphia journalist and former Black Panther, Abu-Jamal has been on Pennsylvania's death row since July 1982, after being convicted for the killing of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. However, on Tuesday (December 6), a panel of three judges of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that Abu-Jamal can appeal his murder conviction on three separate grounds.
The 3rd Circuit panel was only required to hear one avenue of appeal, previously certified by U.S. District Judge William Yohn; a jury bias issue, known as a Batson claim, where Abu-Jamal claimed that the jury selection in his case had been racially biased because the prosecutor rejected 10 or 11 of 15 qualified black jurors, using peremptory challenges, for which no reason had to be given. In a city that is 44 percent black, the jury that convicted Abu-Jamal had only two black members.
The 3rd Circuit panel ultimately decided to hear defense arguments not only on the jury bias issue, but also on two other grounds, previously rejected by Yohn and not certified for appeal.
The first was that prosecutor Joseph McGill improperly attempted to reduce jurors' sense of responsibility during the guilt phase of the trial, by telling them in his trial summation that, "If you find the defendant guilty, of course there would be appeal after appeal and perhaps there could be a reversal of the case, or whatever, so that may not be final."
In other Pennsylvania cases, including one prosecuted by McGill, the 3rd Circuit has overturned capital-case convictions on the basis of the same wording used in trial summations.
The other appeal accepted was a claim that the trial judge, the late Judge Albert Sabo, showed bias during the 1995-96 Post-Conviction Relief Act hearing, held to consider the validity of the facts presented at trial as well as new evidence brought in by the defense. At the time, a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial stated that the judge was displaying overt bias against Abu-Jamal.
In December 2001, Abu-Jamal's death sentence was overturned by Judge Yohn, who decided that the jury verdict form used in Abu-Jamal's trial had been flawed and that the judge's instructions to the jury had been confusing. Despite this decision, Yohn rejected all 20 of Abu-Jamal's claims concerning constitutional errors in his trial and state appeal process, and certified only the Batson claim for appeal to the 3rd Circuit.
Under federal court rules, an appeals court is not required to consider any appeal from a defendant in a death penalty case unless that appeal has been certified by a lower court judge, so the 3 rd Circuit decision to accept three grounds for appeal represents a significant gain for Abu-Jamal's defense.
"Today we achieved a great victory in the campaign to win a new trial and the eventual freedom of Mumia," Robert Bryan, Abu-Jamal's lead attorney, told reporters.
Bryan also said the claims accepted for argument "are of enormous constitutional significance and go to the very essence of Mumia's right to a fair trial, due process of law, and equal protection of the law under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution."
A defense brief on the three claims is scheduled to be filed on January 17. If upheld by the 3rd Circuit next year, any one of the claims could lead to a new trial for Abu-Jamal.
A spokeswoman for Philadelphia district attorney Lynn Abraham told reporters that her office had no comment on the court's announcement.
Yohn's decision to overturn Abu-Jamal's death sentence has been appealed by the district attorney's office, and a brief on that appeal is currently scheduled to be filed with the 3rd Circuit panel on February 16.
If the lifting of his death sentence is upheld by the 3rd Circuit, and there is no order for a new trial, the district attorney will have 180 days to decide whether to leave Abu-Jamal sentenced to life without parole or to request a new trial on just the sentencing issue, in an effort to get a jury to impose a new death sentence.
The appeals court could also overturn Yohn and order the death penalty reinstated. Either way, that appeal will not likely be heard while Abu-Jamal's murder conviction is also being appealed.
Since being convicted, Mumia Abu-Jamal has received a vast amount of attention from the hip-hop community, with The Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine, The Roots, Public Enemy, Immortal Technique and Talib Kweli counted among his many supporters.
Source: SOHH.com
A Philadelphia journalist and former Black Panther, Abu-Jamal has been on Pennsylvania's death row since July 1982, after being convicted for the killing of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. However, on Tuesday (December 6), a panel of three judges of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that Abu-Jamal can appeal his murder conviction on three separate grounds.
The 3rd Circuit panel was only required to hear one avenue of appeal, previously certified by U.S. District Judge William Yohn; a jury bias issue, known as a Batson claim, where Abu-Jamal claimed that the jury selection in his case had been racially biased because the prosecutor rejected 10 or 11 of 15 qualified black jurors, using peremptory challenges, for which no reason had to be given. In a city that is 44 percent black, the jury that convicted Abu-Jamal had only two black members.
The 3rd Circuit panel ultimately decided to hear defense arguments not only on the jury bias issue, but also on two other grounds, previously rejected by Yohn and not certified for appeal.
The first was that prosecutor Joseph McGill improperly attempted to reduce jurors' sense of responsibility during the guilt phase of the trial, by telling them in his trial summation that, "If you find the defendant guilty, of course there would be appeal after appeal and perhaps there could be a reversal of the case, or whatever, so that may not be final."
In other Pennsylvania cases, including one prosecuted by McGill, the 3rd Circuit has overturned capital-case convictions on the basis of the same wording used in trial summations.
The other appeal accepted was a claim that the trial judge, the late Judge Albert Sabo, showed bias during the 1995-96 Post-Conviction Relief Act hearing, held to consider the validity of the facts presented at trial as well as new evidence brought in by the defense. At the time, a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial stated that the judge was displaying overt bias against Abu-Jamal.
In December 2001, Abu-Jamal's death sentence was overturned by Judge Yohn, who decided that the jury verdict form used in Abu-Jamal's trial had been flawed and that the judge's instructions to the jury had been confusing. Despite this decision, Yohn rejected all 20 of Abu-Jamal's claims concerning constitutional errors in his trial and state appeal process, and certified only the Batson claim for appeal to the 3rd Circuit.
Under federal court rules, an appeals court is not required to consider any appeal from a defendant in a death penalty case unless that appeal has been certified by a lower court judge, so the 3 rd Circuit decision to accept three grounds for appeal represents a significant gain for Abu-Jamal's defense.
"Today we achieved a great victory in the campaign to win a new trial and the eventual freedom of Mumia," Robert Bryan, Abu-Jamal's lead attorney, told reporters.
Bryan also said the claims accepted for argument "are of enormous constitutional significance and go to the very essence of Mumia's right to a fair trial, due process of law, and equal protection of the law under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution."
A defense brief on the three claims is scheduled to be filed on January 17. If upheld by the 3rd Circuit next year, any one of the claims could lead to a new trial for Abu-Jamal.
A spokeswoman for Philadelphia district attorney Lynn Abraham told reporters that her office had no comment on the court's announcement.
Yohn's decision to overturn Abu-Jamal's death sentence has been appealed by the district attorney's office, and a brief on that appeal is currently scheduled to be filed with the 3rd Circuit panel on February 16.
If the lifting of his death sentence is upheld by the 3rd Circuit, and there is no order for a new trial, the district attorney will have 180 days to decide whether to leave Abu-Jamal sentenced to life without parole or to request a new trial on just the sentencing issue, in an effort to get a jury to impose a new death sentence.
The appeals court could also overturn Yohn and order the death penalty reinstated. Either way, that appeal will not likely be heard while Abu-Jamal's murder conviction is also being appealed.
Since being convicted, Mumia Abu-Jamal has received a vast amount of attention from the hip-hop community, with The Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine, The Roots, Public Enemy, Immortal Technique and Talib Kweli counted among his many supporters.
Source: SOHH.com
