Court Grants New Sentencing In Mumia Abu-Jamal CaseAccording to the Associated Press, convicted police killer and death-row activist Mumia Abu-Jamal was ordered a new sentencing hearing by a federal appeals court on Tuesday.
The federal appeals court found for a second time that the death-penalty instructions given to the jury at Abu-Jamal's 1982 trial were unclear. Last year the US Supreme Court ordered the Third Circuit to review that decision.
Abu-Jamal's conviction ruling of first-degree murder for killing officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981 still stands.
But a new sentencing could mean a lesser punishment for Abu-Jamal, who has been fighting to have his sentence overturned for years.
At the request of Faulker's widow, Maureen, District Attorney Seth Williams is looking to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court once again.
"Yes, the criminal justice system in Philadelphia, the criminal justice system in America, have had a history of problems and racism. (But) this is not a whodunit" Williams said, insisting that Abu-Jamal's followers "don't know the facts."
Through his writings and radio broadcasts from death row in western Pennsylvania, Abu-Jamal has amassed a supportive following, and he has also been the subject of many books and movies.
Hundreds of supporters and anti-death-penalty activist show up to Abu-Jamal's court hearing, even when the former Black Panther is not scheduled to attend.