High Court Lets 1981 Cop Killer's Conviction Stand
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mumia Abu-Jamal has lost his bid for a new trial in the killing of a Philadelphia police officer in 1981.
The Supreme Court said Monday it will not take up Abu-Jamal's claims that prosecutors improperly excluded blacks from the jury that convicted him of murdering Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld Abu-Jamal's conviction but held his death sentence invalid. The appeals court said it would not second-guess state court rulings rejecting Abu-Jamal's claims of bias in the composition of the jury.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The high court considered only the conviction. The state has separately asked the court to reinstate the death sentence, but the justices have not acted on that request.
A Philadelphia jury convicted Abu-Jamal, who is black, of killing Faulkner, who was white, in 1981 after the patrolman pulled over Abu-Jamal's brother during an overnight traffic stop.
Prosecutors say Faulkner, 25, managed to shoot Abu-Jamal during the confrontation. A wounded Abu-Jamal, his own gun lying nearby, was still at the scene when police arrived, and authorities considered the evidence against him overwhelming.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Since Abu-Jamal's 1982 conviction, activists in the United States and Europe have rallied in support of his claims that he was the victim of a racist justice system. Abu-Jamal, 54, has kept his case in the spotlight through books and radio broadcasts.
The case is Abu-Jamal v. Beard, 08-8483.