He was convicted for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer nearly 30 years ago. According to trial testimony Abu-Jamal approached the officer as he scuffled with his brother during a traffic stop, and when police arrived at the scene they found Abu-Jamal wounded, the officer dead, and a .38 registered to Abu-Jamal; what happened between the time of the struggle and the time police reached the scene is still unclear.
At his first trial he was convicted, by a predominantly white jury, and sentenced to the death penalty but after a series of appeals in 2008 a federal appellate court ordered a new sentencing hearing on the basis of misleading jury instructions. The Philadelphia DA, a Black Man coincidentally, announced that he would not again pursue the death penalty for Abu-Jamal but would accept a life sentence without parole instead.
Now you know who Mumia Abu-Jamal is if you didn't already.
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