Supreme Court Opens the Door for the State to Put Mumia Abu-Jamal to Death

Feb 1, 2010

The Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling concerning Mumia Abu-Jamal. Refusing to grant Mumia a new trial, the lower court had nonetheless called for a new jury trial just to decide his sentence.

This new Supreme Court ruling tossed that out, requiring the lower court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, to itself decide whether to impose the death penalty.

In reversing the lower court’s ruling, the Supreme Court referred to a decision it handed down a week earlier, reinstating the death penalty on a neo-Nazi in Ohio, Frank Spisak, who bragged in court about murdering three black men.

To compare Abu-Jamal, a journalist and black activist who was completely framed up by the state, to a neo-Nazi who carried out a racist murder spree and then bragged about it, is an outrageous travesty!

This is the second time in less than a year the Supreme Court has ruled against Abu-Jamal. Last April, it denied his request for a new trial in light of a litany of evidence proving his innocence.

Some organizations have now called on Barack Obama to intervene to stop the execution.

This is the same Barack Obama who appeared during his election campaign on the radio program of right-wing talk show host Michael Smerconish, a man well known for his campaign to have Mumia put to death. Telling Smerconish he did not know the details of the case, Obama did say, “In my mind, if somebody killed a police officer, they deserve the death penalty, uh, or life in prison. And that’s my view. And that’s part of the reason why I received the endorsement of the National Association of Police Officers.”

Waiting on people like this is to condemn Mumia to death. For the courts or presidents to intervene against this attempt by the government to silence Mumia Abu-Jamal, they will have to feel the hot breath of an angry population down their necks.

Mumia can’t wait! Push to free him now.