Legal Update
Date: June 10, 2008
From: Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel
Subject: Legal Update on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal, death row, Pennsylvania
This Legal Update is made on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is on
Pennsylvania's death row.
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia
Yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit entered an
order extending the due date for submitting the Petition for
Rehearing En Banc on behalf of my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal. We will
file it on June 27, 2008.
There apparently is still confusion regarding the March 27 federal
decision. A new jury trial was ordered on the question of whether
the penalty should be life or death. The court did not rule that
Mumia should receive a life sentence as some have stated. The
penalty-phase was reversed because the trial judge gave misleading
and unconstitutional jury instructions. Nonetheless, I expect far
greater gains.
There was a lengthy dissenting opinion on the issue of racism in jury
selection. It found that there was prima facie evidence of the
prosecutor engaging in racism. He removed prospective
African-American jurors for no reason other than the color of their
skin. That violates the United States Constitution. This
extraordinary dissent goes to the core of our effort to secure an
entirely new trial. The first step in that process is what we
presently are about-convincing the entire federal court that the case
should be reheard and full relief granted. This dissent serves as
the basis for that effort and, if need be, going to the United States
Supreme Court.
Mumia remains on death row. The prosecution has vowed to appeal and
continue its quest to see him executed. I will not let that happen.
Donations for Mumia's Legal Defense in the United States The only
way to ensure that donations in the U.S. go only to the legal defense
is to make checks payable to the National Lawyers Guild Foundation
(indicate "Mumia" on the bottom left). The donations are tax
deductible. Checks should be mailed to:
Committee To Save Mumia Abu-Jamal
P.O. Box 2012
New York, NY 10159-2012
Conclusion This case can be won. In over three decades of
successfully defending people in capital murder cases, I have not
seen one more compelling. Racism is a thread that has run through
the case since its inception. My objective remains to obtain a new
jury trial in which Mumia will be acquitted by a jury so that he
can return to his family, a free person.
On behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal, I thank you.
Yours very truly,
Robert R. Bryan
Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan
2088 Union Street, Suite 4
San Francisco, California 94123-4117
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal
[<mailto:RobertRBryan@xxxxxxx>RobertRBryan@xxxxxxx]
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"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.
When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist"
Dom Helder Camara
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