Political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal won a new sentencing hearing
after a decision by a federal appeals court on April 26. Although the
conviction still stands, this development raises the possibility that
the death penalty to which he was sentenced in 1983 could be
overturned.
The basis of this ruling was misleading instructions given to
jurors regarding the procedures for a death penalty case. The forms
given to the jury said that there must be a unanimous agreement on
mitigating circumstances for the death penalty to be reduced to a
life sentence.
In reality, the sentence should have been reduced if just one
juror believed that there were more mitigating than aggravating
circumstances. The judge ruled that the instructions “create[d] a
substantial probability the jury believed both aggravating and
mitigating circumstances must be found unanimously.” (AP, April 26)
This is a significant victory in a decades-long struggle for
freedom. Mumia is one of the most widely recognized
political prisoners in the world and has received support from Fidel
Castro, Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Danny Glover and many other
prominent figures.
Mumia has been a revolutionary his entire life, first as a member
of the Black Panther Party and then as a journalist. He earned the
enmity of the capitalist state by drawing attention to racism and
other systemic injustices suffered by oppressed people. He also shed
light on the Philadelphia Police Department’s brutal repression of
the MOVE organization.
Mumia is charged with killing a white Philadelphia police officer,
Daniel Faulkner, in 1981. During his trial, presided over by the
notoriously racist judge Albert Sabo, the prosecution hid evidence,
intimidated witnesses and illegally impeded the defense’s
investigation.
As a result of this racist miscarriage of justice, Mumia was found
guilty and sentenced to death. However, persistent legal challenges
and a determined mass movement prevented the sentence from being
carried out.
The new sentencing hearing cannot lead to Mumia’s release, but
it could remove the threat of death that has been hanging over his
head for nearly 30 years. If this occurs, it will be a springboard
for further action to win his complete freedom.
As Mumia’s initial trial and countless other examples show, the
criminal “justice” system in the United States is racist and
anti-worker. The courts are fundamentally instruments of political
repression.
However, the courts are still vulnerable to mass pressure. The
global, sustained outpouring of support for Mumia has led to a new
legal victory. The movement to free Mumia will continue
until he is completely exonerated.
