U.S. Inmate Named Honorary Parisian

By KIM HOUSEGO,  

PARIS  - The Paris city council has named U.S. death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted for the 1981 slaying of a police officer, as an honorary citizen of Paris.

 The show of solidarity with Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther and journalist, came in a vote Tuesday in the wake of the Nov. 21 decision by a Philadelphia court, which said it did not have jurisdiction over a request for a new trial.

 Jean Vuillermoz, leader of the Communist Party grouping on the council, said the decision by the council follows ``alarming news'' about Abu-Jamal. Vuillermoz said Pablo Picasso was the last person to receive the title, which is symbolic, in 1971.

 Abu-Jamal argued that his former lawyers did a poor job and that he has new evidence that could clear him. The death row inmate's federal appeal is pending.

 Celebrities, death penalty opponents and foreign politicians have rallied to Abu-Jamal's cause, calling him a political prisoner and saying he was railroaded by a racist justice system.

 Human rights groups have scheduled a demonstration in support of Abu-Jamal in front of the U.S. Embassy in Paris on Saturday.