On Nov. 9 in Philadelphia, federal appeals judges concluded the former Black Panther deserved a new sentencing hearing.
“Under Pennsylvania law, Abu-Jamal should have received a life sentence if a single juror found the mitigating circumstances outweighed the aggravating factors in the death of Officer Daniel Faulkner.”
The court granted the new sentencing hearing on the grounds that the jury at Abu-Jamal’s 1982 trial was not given proper death-penalty instructions.
In 2001, a federal judge initially ruled that Abu-Jamal should have received a new sentencing hearing given the faulty instructions that were provided to the jury.
Abu-Jamal, who was 27 at the time of the incident, had no prior arrests. However, he was convicted and given the death penalty by a majority white jury.
–torrance stephens, ph.d.
