Editing Mumia Abu-Jamal (section)

== Appeals and review ==
[[File:Tom Ridge.jpg|thumb|[[List of Governors of Pennsylvania|Governor of Pennsylvania]] [[Tom Ridge]], who signed Abu-Jamal's death warrant on June 1, 1995]]
=== State appeals ===
The [[Supreme Court of Pennsylvania]] on March 6, 1989, heard and rejected a direct appeal of his conviction.<ref>{{cite court | litigants=Pennsylvania v. Abu-Jamal | vol=555 | reporter=A.2d | opinion=846 | year=1989}}</ref> It subsequently denied rehearing.<ref>{{cite court | litigants=Pennsylvania v. Abu-Jamal | vol=569 | reporter=A.2d | opinion=915 | year=1990}}</ref> The [[Supreme Court of the United States]] denied his petition for [[certiorari|writ of ''certiorari'']] on October 1, 1990,<ref>{{cite court | litigants=Abu-Jamal v. Pennsylvania | vol=498 | reporter=U.S. | opinion=881 | year=1990}}</ref> and denied his petition for rehearing twice up to June 10, 1991.<ref>{{cite court | litigants=Abu-Jamal v. Pennsylvania | vol=501 | reporter=U.S. | opinion=1214 | year=1991}}</ref><ref name="yn">{{Cite web |last=Yohn |first=William H. Jr. |date=December 2001 |title=Memorandum and Order |url=http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/01D0951P.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228075355/http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/01D0951P.pdf |archive-date=February 28, 2008 |access-date=January 22, 2008 |website=Mumia Abu-Jamal, Petitioner, vs. Martin Horn, Commissioner, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al., Respondents |publisher=US District Court for the Eastern District of Philadelphia}}</ref>

On June 1, 1995, Abu-Jamal's [[execution warrant|death warrant]] was signed by Pennsylvania Governor [[Tom Ridge]].<ref name="yn" /> Its execution was suspended while Abu-Jamal pursued state post-conviction review. At the post-conviction review hearings, new witnesses were called. William "Dales" Singletary testified that he saw the shooting, and that the gunman was the passenger in Cook's car. Singletary's account contained discrepancies which rendered it "not credible" in the opinion of the court.<ref name="yn" />

The six judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled unanimously that all issues raised by Abu-Jamal, including the claim of [[ineffective assistance of counsel]], were without merit.<ref>{{cite court | litigants=Pennsylvania v. Abu-Jamal | vol=720 | reporter=A.2d | opinion=79 | year=1998}}</ref> The Supreme Court of the United States denied a petition for ''[[certiorari]]'' against that decision on October 4, 1999, enabling Ridge to sign a second death warrant on October 13, 1999. Its [[Stay of execution|execution was stayed]] as Abu-Jamal began to seek federal [[Habeas corpus in the United States|''habeas corpus'']] review.<ref name="yn" />

In 1999, [[Arnold Beverly]] claimed that he and an unnamed assailant, not Mumia Abu-Jamal, shot Daniel Faulkner as part of a [[contract killing]] because Faulkner was interfering with [[Political corruption|graft]] and payoff to corrupt police.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beverly |first=Arnold |date=June 8, 1999 |title=Affidavit of Arnold Beverly |url=https://freemumia.com/arnold-beverly/#more-223 |access-date=December 1, 2011 |publisher=Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner |archive-date=November 21, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121131530/http://freemumia.com/beverlydeclaration.html#more-223 |url-status=live }}</ref> As Abu-Jamal's defense team prepared another appeal in 2001, they were divided over use of the Beverly affidavit. Some thought it usable and others rejected Beverly's story as "not credible".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lindorff |first=Dave |date=June 15, 2001 |title=Mumia's all-or-nothing gamble |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2001/06/15/mumia//index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214111507/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2001/06/15/mumia/index.html |archive-date=February 14, 2011 |access-date=September 24, 2010 |work=Salon.com}}</ref>

Private investigator George Newman claimed in 2001 that Chobert had recanted his testimony.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=George Michael |date=September 25, 2001 |title=Affidavit of George Michael Newman |url=http://www.laboractionmumia.org/docs/016_NewmanAFFIDAVIT.rtf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125085633/http://www.laboractionmumia.org/docs/016_NewmanAFFIDAVIT.rtf |archive-date=January 25, 2012 |access-date=December 1, 2011 |publisher=Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal |format=rdf}}</ref> Commentators noted that police and news photographs of the crime scene did not show Chobert's taxi, and that Cynthia White, the only witness at the original trial to testify to seeing the taxi, had previously provided crime scene descriptions that omitted it.{{cn|date=January 2022}} Cynthia White was [[Presumption of death|declared dead]] by the [[New Jersey|state of New Jersey]] in 1992, but Pamela Jenkins claimed that she saw White alive as late as 1997. The Free Mumia Coalition has claimed that White was a [[Informant|police informant]] and that she falsified her testimony against Abu-Jamal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Yvette |date=January 28, 2002 |title=Declaration of Yvette Williams |url=http://www.mumia.de/doc/aktuell/20020227mde01en.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210162737/http://www.mumia.de/doc/aktuell/20020227mde01en.html |archive-date=December 10, 2007 |access-date=January 22, 2008 |publisher=Free Mumia Coalition}}</ref>

Kenneth Pate, who was imprisoned with Abu-Jamal on other charges, has since claimed that his step-sister Priscilla Durham, a hospital security guard, admitted later she had not heard the "hospital confession" to which she had testified at trial.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pate |first=Kenneth |date=April 18, 2003 |title=Declaration of Kenneth Pate |url=http://www.mumia.de/doc/aktuell/20030510mde00en.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929042038/http://www.mumia.de/doc/aktuell/20030510mde00en.html |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |access-date=January 22, 2008 |publisher=Free Mumia Coalition}}</ref> The hospital doctors said that Abu-Jamal was "on the verge of fainting" when brought in, and they did not hear any such confession.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amnesty International |author-link=Amnesty International |title=The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Life in the Balance |publisher=[[Seven Stories Press]] |year=2000 |isbn=158322081X |page=25}}</ref>

In 2008, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected a further request from Abu-Jamal for a hearing into claims that the trial witnesses [[perjury|perjured]] themselves, on the grounds that he had [[Laches (equity)|waited too long]] before filing the appeal.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lounsberry, Emilie |date=February 20, 2008 |title=Pa. court rebuffs Abu-Jamal on bid for perjury hearing |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |page=B03}}</ref>

On March 26, 2012, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected his appeal for [[New trial|retrial]]. His defense had asserted, based on a 2009 report by the [[National Academy of Sciences]], that [[Forensic identification|forensic evidence]] presented by the prosecution and accepted into evidence in the original trial was unreliable.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 4, 2012 |title=Abu-Jamal Loses His Final Appeal |url=http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-04/news/31288151_1_mumia-abu-jamal-officer-daniel-faulkner-death-row-inmate |access-date=July 16, 2012 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052808/http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-04/news/31288151_1_mumia-abu-jamal-officer-daniel-faulkner-death-row-inmate |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 26, 2012 |title=Order of Judgment by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District, in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v Mumia Abu-Jamal [J-44-2010] |url=http://www.pacourts.us/OpPosting/Supreme/out/J-44-2010pco.pdf |access-date=July 16, 2012 |publisher=Supreme Court of Pennsylvania}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> This was reported as Abu-Jamal's last legal appeal.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 3, 2012 |title=Pa. Supreme Court rejects Mumia Abu-Jamal's last appeal |url=https://6abc.com/archive/8606534/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406050322/http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=8606534 |archive-date=April 6, 2013 |access-date=January 27, 2013 |work=WPVI TV |via=ABC News}}</ref>

On April 30, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Abu-Jamal would not be immediately granted another appeal and that the proceedings had to continue until August 30 of that year.<ref name="skpppma">{{Cite news |date=Apr 30, 2018 |title=Mumia Abu-Jamal's appeals hearing continued until August |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/mumia-abu-jamal-court-seeking-path-appeal-case-54826363 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501093323/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/mumia-abu-jamal-court-seeking-path-appeal-case-54826363 |archive-date=May 1, 2018 |work=ABC News |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The defense argued that former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief justice [[Ronald D. Castille]] should have [[Recusal|recused himself]] from the 2012 appeals decision after his involvement as Philadelphia District Attorney (DA) in the 1989 appeal.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 29, 2018 |title=Court hearing held in Mumia Abu Jamal appeal case |url=https://6abc.com/4576121/ |work=[[WPVI-TV]] |access-date=June 9, 2019 |archive-date=June 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609083839/https://6abc.com/4576121/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Both sides of the 2018 proceedings repeatedly cited a 1990 letter sent by Castille to then-Governor [[Bob Casey Sr.|Bob Casey]], urging Casey to sign the execution warrants of those convicted of murdering police. This letter, demanding Casey send "a clear and dramatic message to all cop killers," was claimed as one of many reasons to suspect Castille's bias in the case.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moselle |first=Aaron |date=October 29, 2018 |title=Upset with delay on Abu-Jamal ruling, officer's widow ordered from courtroom |url=https://whyy.org/articles/final-decision-on-mumia-abu-jamal-appeal-delayed-at-least-a-month/ |work=[[WHYY-FM|WHYY]] |access-date=November 14, 2018 |archive-date=November 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115030428/https://whyy.org/articles/final-decision-on-mumia-abu-jamal-appeal-delayed-at-least-a-month/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Philadelphia's current DA [[Larry Krasner]] stated he could not find any document supporting the defense's claim. On August 30, 2018, the proceedings to determine another appeal were once again extended and a ruling on the matter was delayed for at least 60 more days.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 30, 2018 |title=Mumia Abu-Jamal appeal hearing gets 60-day continuance |url=http://www.fox29.com/news/mumia-abu-jamal-in-court-thursday-seeking-new-appeal |work=[[WTXF-TV]] |agency=Associated Press |access-date=August 30, 2018 |archive-date=August 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830175102/http://www.fox29.com/news/mumia-abu-jamal-in-court-thursday-seeking-new-appeal |url-status=live }}</ref>

In April 2019, Krasner agreed drop his opposition a new appeal effort for Abu-Jamal, thus paving the way for a new hearing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/ex-black-panther-mumia-abu-jamal-could-get-new-hearing-in-1981-police-death/108779/|title=Ex-Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal Will Get New Hearing in 1981 Police Killing|first=Maryclaire|last=Dale|publisher=NBC 10 Philadelphia|date=April 17, 2019|accessdate=March 12, 2025}}</ref> In March 2023, Philadelphia-based Common Pleas Court Judge Lucretia Clemons would block this latest appeal effort.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/mumia-abu-jamal-appeal-denied-philadelphia-police-daniel-faulkner-20230406.html|title=Mumia Abu-Jamal’s four-decade quest to overturn his murder conviction has again been denied by a Philly judge|first=Chris|last=Palmer|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=April 6, 2023|accessdate=March 12, 2025}}</ref>

=== Federal District Court 2001 ruling ===
The Free Mumia Coalition published statements by William Cook and his brother Abu-Jamal in the spring of 2001. Cook, who had been stopped by the police officer, had not made any statement before April 29, 2001, and did not testify at his brother's trial. In 2001 he said that he had not seen who had shot Faulkner.<ref>{{cite web | last=Cook | first=William | title=Declaration of William Cook | publisher=Free Mumia Coalition | date=April 29, 2001 | url=http://www.freemumia.com/?page_id=217 | access-date=December 1, 2011 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120904172212/http://www.freemumia.com/?page_id=217 | archive-date=September 4, 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Abu-Jamal did not make any public statements about Faulkner's murder until May 4, 2001. In his version of events, he claimed that he was sitting in his cab across the street when he heard shouting, saw a police vehicle, and heard the sound of gunshots. Upon seeing his brother appearing disoriented across the street, Abu-Jamal ran to him from the parking lot and was shot by a police officer.<ref>{{cite web | last=Abu-Jamal | first=Mumia | title=Declaration of Mumia Abu-Jamal | publisher=Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner | date=May 4, 2001 | url=http://www.danielfaulkner.com/original/testimony.html | access-date=December 1, 2011 | archive-date=January 18, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118173600/http://www.danielfaulkner.com/original/testimony.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2001, Judge [[William H. Yohn, Jr.]] of the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania]] upheld the conviction, saying that Abu-Jamal did not have the right to a new trial. He [[Vacated judgment|vacated the sentence]] of death on December 18, 2001, citing irregularities in the penalty phase of the trial and the original process of sentencing.<ref name="yn" /> He said that "the [[jury instructions]] and verdict sheet in this case involved an unreasonable application of federal law. The charge and verdict form created a reasonable likelihood that the jury believed it was precluded from considering any [[Mitigating factor|mitigating circumstance]] that had not been found unanimously to exist."<ref name = "yn" /> He ordered the State of Pennsylvania to commence new sentencing proceedings within 180 days,<ref>{{cite news | title =Abu-Jamal's death sentence overturned | work =BBC News | date =December 18, 2001 | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1718274.stm | access-date =January 22, 2008 | archive-date =February 15, 2008 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080215113001/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1718274.stm | url-status =live }}</ref> and ruled [[Constitutionality#Examples of unconstitutional actions|unconstitutional]] the requirement that a jury be unanimous in its finding of circumstances mitigating against a sentence of death.<ref>See p.70 of the July 2006 appeal brief for Abu-Jamal before the U.S. Court of Appeal, citing Yohn's ruling in the U.S. District Court, the [[Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eighth]] and [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]], and the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] [[precedent]] of ''Mills v. Maryland,'' 486 U.S. 367 (1988)</ref>

Eliot Grossman and Marlene Kamish, attorneys for Abu-Jamal, criticized the ruling on the grounds that it denied the possibility of a ''[[trial de novo]]'', at which they could introduce evidence that their client had been framed.<ref>{{cite web | author =Piette, Betsey | title =Mumia still waiting for due process | publisher =International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal | date =March 6, 2003 | url =http://www.mumia2000.org/alerts/legalupdate3-03.html | access-date =January 22, 2008 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20061002160512/http://www.mumia2000.org/alerts/legalupdate3-03.html | archive-date =October 2, 2006 | url-status =dead }}</ref> Prosecutors also criticized the ruling. Officer Faulkner's widow Maureen said the judgment would allow Abu-Jamal, whom she described as a "remorseless, hate-filled killer", to "be permitted to enjoy the pleasures that come from simply being alive".<!-- But this is not a prosecutor's statement; what did they say? --><ref>{{cite news | last =Rimer | first =Sara | title =Death sentence overturned in 1981 killing of officer | newspaper =The New York Times | date =December 19, 2001 | url =https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html | access-date =January 22, 2008 | archive-date =February 9, 2010 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100209030954/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html | url-status =live }}</ref> Both parties appealed.

=== Federal appeal and review ===
On December 6, 2005, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit|Third Circuit Court of Appeals]] admitted four issues for appeal of the ruling of the District Court:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lindorff |first=Dave |date=December 8, 2005 |title=A victory for Mumia |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/12/08/mumia/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211052710/http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/12/08/mumia/index.html |archive-date=December 11, 2007 |access-date=January 22, 2008 |work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]}}</ref> 
# in relation to sentencing, whether the jury verdict form had been flawed and the judge's instructions to the jury had been confusing; 
# in relation to conviction and sentencing, whether [[Racism|racial bias]] in [[jury selection]] existed to an extent tending to produce an inherently biased jury and therefore an unfair trial (the ''[[Batson v. Kentucky|Batson]]'' claim); 
# in relation to conviction, whether the prosecutor improperly attempted to reduce jurors' sense of responsibility by telling them that a guilty verdict would be subsequently vetted and subject to appeal; and
# in relation to post-conviction review hearings in 1995–1996, whether the presiding judge, who had also presided at the trial, demonstrated unacceptable bias in his conduct.

The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit|Third Circuit Court]] heard oral arguments in the appeals on May 17, 2007, at the United States Courthouse in Philadelphia. The appeal panel consisted of Chief Judge [[Anthony Joseph Scirica]], Judge [[Thomas L. Ambro|Thomas Ambro]], and Judge [[Robert Cowen]]. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sought to reinstate the sentence of death, on the basis that Yohn's ruling was flawed, as he should have deferred to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which had already ruled on the issue of sentencing. The prosecution said that the ''Batson'' claim was invalid because Abu-Jamal made no complaints during the original jury selection.

The resulting jury was racially mixed, with 2 blacks and 10 whites at the time of the unanimous conviction, but defense counsel told the Third Circuit Court that Abu-Jamal did not get a fair trial because the jury was racially biased, misinformed, and the judge was a racist. He noted that the prosecution used eleven out of fourteen [[peremptory challenge]]s to eliminate prospective black jurors.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fernandez |first=Johanna |date=2014-01-21 |title=10 Facts about the Mumia Abu-Jamal Case |url=http://thefeministwire.com/2014/01/10-facts-about-the-mumia-abu-jamal-case/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130082635/http://thefeministwire.com/2014/01/10-facts-about-the-mumia-abu-jamal-case/ |archive-date=2014-01-30 |website=The Feminist Wire}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Duffy |first=Shannon P. |date=May 18, 2007 |title=Spectators Pack Courtroom as 3rd Circuit Hears Appeal in Mumia Abu-Jamal Case |url=http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1179392702456 |access-date=January 22, 2008 |work=The Legal Intelligencer |archive-date=February 19, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219072515/http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1179392702456 |url-status=live }}</ref> Terri Maurer-Carter, a former Philadelphia [[Court reporter|court stenographer]], stated in a 2001 [[affidavit]] that she overheard Judge Sabo say "Yeah, and I'm going to help them fry the [[nigger]]," in the course of a conversation with three people present regarding Abu-Jamal's case.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maurer-Carter |first=Terri |date=August 21, 2001 |title=Declaration of Terri Maurer-Carter |url=http://www.mumia.de/doc/aktuell/20010903mde02en.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210162741/http://www.mumia.de/doc/aktuell/20010903mde02en.html |archive-date=December 10, 2007 |access-date=January 22, 2008 |publisher=Free Mumia Coalition}}</ref> Sabo denied having made any such comment.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Conroy |first=Theresa |date=September 4, 2001 |title=She's 'scared' by impact of her allegation &nbsp;– Says Mumia judge made a racist remark |work=Philadelphia Daily News}}</ref>

On March 27, 2008, the three-judge panel issued a majority 2–1 [[judicial opinion|opinion]] upholding Yohn's 2001 opinion but rejecting the bias and ''Batson'' claims, with Judge Ambro dissenting on the ''Batson'' issue. On July 22, 2008, Abu-Jamal's formal petition seeking reconsideration of the decision by the full Third Circuit panel of 12 judges was denied.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 22, 2008 |title=Sur Petition for Rehearing Abu-Jamal v. Horn et al. |url=http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/casesofinterest/mumia/019014o.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912104929/http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/casesofinterest/mumia/019014o.pdf |archive-date=September 12, 2008 |access-date=September 2, 2008 |publisher=United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit}}</ref> On April 6, 2009, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] refused to hear Abu-Jamal's appeal, allowing his conviction to stand.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 6, 2009 |title=Supreme Court lets Mumia Abu-Jamal's conviction stand |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/06/mumia.supreme.court/ |access-date=April 6, 2009 |work=CNN}}</ref>

On January 19, 2010, the Supreme Court ordered the appeals court to reconsider its decision to rescind the death penalty.<ref name="supreme2010Reuters">{{Cite news |date=January 19, 2010 |title=U.S. court sends back Abu-Jamal death penalty case |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60I3GL20100119 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jeffrey A. Beard, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al. v. Mumia Abu-Jamal, case no. 01-9014 |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/08-652.htm |access-date=December 1, 2011 |website=US Supreme Court |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726073405/http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/08-652.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The same three-judge panel convened in Philadelphia on November 9, 2010, to hear oral argument.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mumia Abu Jamal v. Beard et al. |url=http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/oralargument/audio/01-9014MumiaAbuJamalvBeardetal.wma |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408120300/http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/oralargument/audio/01-9014MumiaAbuJamalvBeardetal.wma |archive-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref>{{secondary source needed|date=May 2024}} On April 26, 2011, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed its prior decision to vacate the death sentence on the grounds that the jury instructions and verdict form were ambiguous and confusing.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dale |first=Maryclaire |date=April 26, 2011 |title=Mumia Abu-Jamal Granted New Sentencing Hearing |url=http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Mumia-Abu-Jamal-Granted-New-Sentencing-Hearing-120701049.html |access-date=December 1, 2011 |publisher=NBC |archive-date=January 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119061804/http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Mumia-Abu-Jamal-Granted-New-Sentencing-Hearing-120701049.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Supreme Court declined to hear the case in October.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Timothy |date=December 7, 2011 |title=Execution Case Dropped Against Abu-Jamal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/us/execution-case-dropped-against-convicted-cop-killer.html?action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article |access-date=March 31, 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123151/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/us/execution-case-dropped-against-convicted-cop-killer.html?action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Death penalty dropped ===
On December 7, 2011, [[District Attorney of Philadelphia]] [[R. Seth Williams]] announced that prosecutors, with the support of the victim's family, would no longer seek the death penalty for Abu-Jamal and would accept a sentence of [[Life imprisonment in the United States|life imprisonment without parole]].<ref name=dpdropped>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=143269635|archive-url=https://archive.today/20111209113004/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=143269635|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 9, 2011|title=Death Penalty Dropped Against Mumia Abu-Jamal|agency=[[Associated Press]]|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=December 7, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=D.A.: Abu-Jamal can go rot in cell|url=http://articles.philly.com/2011-12-08/news/30490785_1_mumia-abu-jamal-maureen-faulkner-officer-daniel-Faulkner|publisher=[[Philadelphia Media Network|philly.com]]|date=December 8, 2011|access-date=April 1, 2015|archive-date=March 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308044446/http://articles.philly.com/2011-12-08/news/30490785_1_mumia-abu-jamal-maureen-faulkner-officer-daniel-faulkner|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=timeslife>{{cite news |last=Williams|first=Timothy|title=Execution Case Dropped Against Abu-Jamal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/us/execution-case-dropped-against-convicted-cop-killer.html|access-date=December 7, 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=December 7, 2011}}</ref> This sentence was reaffirmed by the [[Superior Court of Pennsylvania]] on July 9, 2013.<ref>[http://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Superior/out/j-a16019-13m%20-%201014799991652890.pdf#search=%22mumia%22 Decision of Appeal upon Judgment of Sentence in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v Mumia Abu-Jamal], Superior Court of Pennsylvania (July 9, 2013)</ref>

After the press conference on the sentence, widow Maureen Faulkner said that she did not want to relive the trauma of another trial. She understood that it would be extremely difficult to present the case against Abu-Jamal again, after the passage of 30 years and the deaths of several key witnesses. She also reiterated her belief that Abu-Jamal [[Hell|will be punished further after death]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Maureen-Faulkers-Message-to-Mumia-Abu-Jamal-135175638.html |title=Widow's Message to Mumia Abu-Jamal |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=December 7, 2011 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=April 16, 2015 |archive-date=April 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420065928/http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Maureen-Faulkers-Message-to-Mumia-Abu-Jamal-135175638.html |url-status=live }}</ref>