U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Murder Conviction; Orders New Hearing For Death Row Inmate On Sentence Only

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Thursday refused to reinstate the death sentence of death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal in the 1981 shooting death of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner, but his murder conviction intact.

A three-judge panel issued a 118 page ruling that Abu-Jamal must either have his death sentence commuted to a life sentence or have another Philadelphia jury decide only the issue of whether he should serve life in prison or be sentenced to death again.

Abu-Jamal, a former journalist and Black Panther civil rights activist , had asked for a new trial, but the panel ruled against that.

Only one judge said that he was willing to consider a new trial for Abu-Jamal based on the defendant's claim that the jury was tainted because the prosecutor allegedly excluded potential black jurors from the case.

His case has served as a rallying point for activists opposed to the death sentence.

Many of his supporters were disappointed in the court's ruling.

The Oakland, California-based Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal was so disappointed that it has announced a schedule of protests. Local protests are planned for Friday March 28, followed by a national protest in San Fransisco on April 19 and another national protest in Philadelphia on April 26, according to reports by San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center.