Stay of execution for Mumia Abu-Jamal
On October 26, federal Judge William Yohn granted the framed African-American journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal a minimum six months' stay of execution, bringing the possibility of a retrial one step closer. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge signed Abu-Jamal's death warrant on October 13, sentencing him to die on December 2.
The stay of execution will involve Yohn considering a request for a retrial based partly on a 150-page habeas corpus petition filed by Abu-Jamal's lawyers on October 15. The document outlines 29 violations of the US Constitution during Abu-Jamal's trial and appeal. It documents prosecutor and police misconduct, coerced witnesses, a biased judge and manipulated evidence.
If Yohn rejects the appeal, Abu-Jamal will be entitled to appear before a federal court of appeal, and then the Supreme Court.
Jamal's lead attorney, Leonard Weinglass, said on October 26, "It is our hope that for the first time in 17 years we will have the opportunity to present the facts concerning this case in a neutral and fair courtroom. Any of the 29 constitutional violations should warrant a new trial."
[For the latest on the campaign to save Mumia Abu-Jamal, visit <http://www.mumia.org>.]