Abu-Jamal Death Sentence Thrown Out (AP)
A federal judge on Tuesday threw out the death sentence imposed nearly two decades ago on Mumia Abu-Jamal, revered by supporters worldwide as a crusader against racial injustice but reviled by others as an unrepentant cop-killer.
U.S. District Judge William Yohn cited problems with the jury charge and verdict form in the trial that ended with the former journalist and Black Panther’s first-degree murder conviction in the death of a Philadelphia police officer. The judge denied all of Abu-Jamal’s other claims and refused his request for a new trial.
The judge said Abu-Jamal is entitled to a new sentencing hearing within 180 days. ``Should the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania not have conducted a new sentencing hearing … the Commonwealth shall sentence petitioner to life imprisonment,'' the judge said in his 272-page ruling.
The ruling could be appealed to the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
