[Ppnews] US Supreme Court rejects new trial for Mumia

[Political Prisoner News]

US Supreme Court rejects new trial for former Black Panther

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hsu73yNR0dA7hULMzlXdAnL1K1rw

1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) ­ The US Supreme Court Monday 
refused to hear arguments for a new trial for 
Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther accused 
of killing a police officer, who has become an 
international symbol for the fight against capital punishment.

His lawyer Robert Bryan has already said he will 
seek to bring a second Supreme Court appeal for 
the 54 former radio journalist accused of the 
1981 murder, this time for racism.

Abu-Jamal's death sentence was overturned in 
March by a federal court in Philadelphia, which 
voted two-to-one to uphold his conviction, which 
now automatically becomes a life sentence unless 
prosecutors bring him back before a jury.

But Bryan has said he will not rest until client 
is freed. "Even though the federal court granted 
a new trial on the question of the death penalty, 
we want a complete reversal of the conviction," Byran said in July.

Abu-Jamal has argued he was denied a fair trial 
in 1982 because the prosecution barred 10 
qualified African-Americans from sitting on the 
jury, which in the end consisted of 10 whites and two blacks.

The Philadelphia appeals court had rejected his 
arguments on lack of evidence of any racist 
intent on the part of the prosecution.




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