18/12/01

Un giudice di Filadelfia ha chiesto una nuova udienza

del processo contro il giornalista nero Abu Jamal

Una speranza per Mumia: Annullata la condanna a morte

NEW YORK - C'� una speranza per Mumia Abu Jamal, il giornalista, ex militante delle Pantere Nere, condannato a morte per l'omicidio di un poliziotto. Un giudice federale di Filadelfia, pur respingendo la richiesta degli avvocati per una revisione del processo, ha annullato la sentenza del 1982 che aveva condannato il giornalista all'iniezione letale.

Allo steso tempo ha ordinato una revisione della fase processuale in cui viene stabilita la pena ed ha intimato allo stato della Pennsylvania di tenere una nuova udienza per definire nuovamente la pena. L'udienza dovr� tenersi entro 180 giorni spiega il giudice William Yohn: "Se lo stato di Pennsylvania non lo far�, la pena per Abu Jamal sar� commutata in un ergastolo". Secondo Yohn durante la

fase di decisione della pena capitale per Abu-Jamal sono stati compiuti errori, ma non tali da giustificare un nuovo processo completo. Il giudice non ha dubbi sulla colpevolezza dell'ex Pantera Nera e non dato nemmeno credito alla tesi di un accanimento razzista nei confronti di Abu-Jamal. Ma i vizi procedurali rendono invece indispensabile rivedere la pena.

Mumia Abu-Jamal, 45 anni, � stato condannato a morte per l'assassinio del poliziotto bianco Daniel Faulkner nel 1981 dopo che l'agente aveva fermato l'auto di cui era alla guida suo fratello. Mumia venne arrestato accanto al corpo senza vita di Faulkner. Tre persone testimoniarono di aver visto Abu Jamal sparare all'agente che aveva fermato suo fratello per una contravvenzione stradale. Al suo fianco c'era una pistola, comprata da lui alcuni giorni prima. Pur non avendo mai spiegato perch� si trovasse sul luogo del delitto con l'arma in mano, Mumia si � sempre dichiarato innocente dell'omicidio di Faulkner. Il giornalista ha sempre detto ai giudici e al mondo che il suo processo � stato viziato da razzismo e incompetenza. Negli anni '70 Mumia divenne uno dei pi� noti giornalisti radiofonici di colore. In carcere ha scritto il best seller "Live from death row", in cui racconta come si vive nel braccio della morte.

La vicenda di Mumia � molto conosciuta in America. Per salvargli la vita si sono mobilitati da anni gli abolizionisti di tutto il mondo. Hanno fatto sentire la loro voce anche personaggi famosi come il cantante Bruce Springsteen. Un anno fa a New York decine di personalit� tra cui la scrittrice nera premio Nobel Toni Morrison e il linguista Noam Chomsky hanno manifestato in suo favore al Madison Square Garden. Sei mesi fa un gruppo di europarlamentari a Strasburgo gli ha rilasciato un simbolico "passaporto per la libert�". 

December 18 

Judge Overturns Death Sentence for Abu-Jamal

 Abu-Jamal Sentence Overturned

 NYC Landmark Burns - 

 By David Morgan

 PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A federal judge overturned the death sentence of former Black Panther and radio journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal on Tuesday, ordering a new sentencing hearing for the convicted killer of a Philadelphia police officer whose case has been championed by death-penalty opponents worldwide.

 Ruling on a defense petition for a new trial in the 20-year-old case, U.S. District Judge William Yohn let stand Abu-Jamal's first-degree murder conviction for the 1981 slaying of white Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.

 But in a 272-page opinion that stunned legal experts and stirred emotions on both sides of the case, Yohn gave state prosecutors 180 days to conduct a new sentencing hearing, citing errors in the death-penalty phase of the 1982 trial.

 The judge said proceedings in the original penalty hearing ''created a reasonable likelihood that the jury believed it was precluded from considering any mitigating circumstance that had not been found unanimously to exist.''

 ``It is clearly painful to the petitioner, his family and friends, and the family and friends of the victim, to have this issue renewed and reinforced in their memories after the passage of so much time,'' Yohn wrote.

 The judge said Abu-Jamal, 47, should get life imprisonment if the state fails to meet the 180-day deadline.

 The Philadelphia district attorney's office vowed to appeal, saying a new hearing was not likely any time soon. Faulkner's widow Maureen spoke tearfully to a Philadelphia radio station about how painful the ruling was so near to Christmas.

 Even Abu-Jamal's supporters were unhappy with the outcome, saying the conviction should have been overturned.

 ``If they give him to a life sentence without bail, that's totally unacceptable to us,'' said Jeff Mackler, a national coordinator of the group Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal.

 DIFFERING VIEWS OF ABU-JAMAL

 Local authorities describe Abu-Jamal as a violent common criminal who does not deserve to live. But his supporters, including opponents of the death penalty worldwide, say Abu-Jamal is a political prisoner victimized by a racist criminal justice system.

 Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering Faulkner during an early-morning shootout on Dec. 9, 1981, after the 25-year-old police officer pulled over Abu-Jamal's brother for a driving violation.

 Prosecutors say Abu-Jamal watched from across the street as a scuffle broke out between Faulkner and his brother, William Cook. He allegedly stepped up behind Faulkner, pulled out a .38-caliber pistol and shot the police officer in his back.

 Abu-Jamal, who was wounded in the chest, contends he was shot while running away.

 His supporters contend that he was railroaded onto death row by corrupt prosecutors and law enforcement officials.

 Hollywood celebrities, European public figures and organizations such as Amnesty International have issued calls for a new trial, while Abu-Jamal has described prison life in the 1995 memoir ``Live From Death Row.''

 But his case has made little headway until now, despite numerous legal appeals.

 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld his conviction and death sentence in 1995, and let stand a lower court's decision to deny his appeal for a new trial in 1998. The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) declined to review Abu-Jamal's appeal two years ago.

 Earlier this year, Abu-Jamal fired his defense team and mounted a new legal offensive with a new set of lawyers.

 JoAnne Epps, a former prosecutor who is now associate dean at the Temple University School of Law, said she believes that a new sentencing hearing could save Abu-Jamal's life because of changed social attitudes on issues such as racial profiling.

 ``The death penalty is less likely. The passage of time certainly dissipates the strength of some of the government's evidence,'' she said. ``Times are also different. Racial protesters pushed a lot of people's buttons 20 years ago. But today, jurors are far more open to the whole picture.''