Will Supreme Court Ruling Help Mumia Abu-Jamals Case?
By Linn Washington Jr. In a perverse way, the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling reinstating the death sentence of Mumia Abu-Jamal could ultimately benefit the world’s most recognized death row inmate. This ruling orders the federal 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals to reexamine the issue of whether the judge at Abu-Jamal’s 1982 trial provided faulty jury instructions regarding death penalty deliberation procedures. The 3rd Circuit had found those judicial instructions flawed and voided Abu-Jamal’s death sentence, prompting an appeal from Philadelphia prosecutors that the Supreme Court granted. Returning this controversial case back to the 3rd Circuit enables new legal maneuvering which Philadelphia prosecutors concede could include examination of issues federal courts have not considered in this matter that draws attention internationally arising from the explosive intersection of racism and politics. Although the case against former Black Panther Abu-Jamal arguably contains compelling eleme
