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The number of members of the councils is defined by the councils themselves , based on applicable legislation . Electoral committees are then tasked with determining whether the national ethnic minorities are represented on the council as required by the constitution . Further members who belong to the minorities may be added to the council in no candidate of that minority has been elected through the proportional representation system . Election silence , as in all other types of elections in Croatia , when campaigning is forbidden , is enforced the day before the election and continues until 19 : 00 hours on the election day when the polling stations close and exit polls may be announced . Six nationwide local elections have been held in Croatia since 1990 , the most recent being the 2009 local elections to elect county prefects and councils , and city and municipal councils and mayors . In 2009 , the HDZ @-@ led coalitions won a majority or plurality in fifteen county councils and thirteen county prefect elections . SDP @-@ led coalitions won a majority or plurality in five county councils , including the city of Zagreb council , and the remaining county council election was won by IDS @-@ SDP coalition . The SDP won four county prefect elections and the city of Zagreb mayoral election , the HSS won three county prefect elections , and the HNS and the HDSSB won a single county prefect election each .
= = History = =
= = = Within Austria @-@ Hungary = = =
Events of 1848 in Europe and the Austrian Empire brought dramatic changes to Croatian society and politics , provoking the Croatian national revival that strongly influenced and significantly shaped political and social events in Croatia . At the time , the Sabor and Ban Josip Jelačić advocated the severance of ties with the Kingdom of Hungary , emphasising links to other South Slavic lands within the empire . Several prominent Croatian political figures emerged , such as Ante Starčević , Eugen Kvaternik , Franjo Rački and Josip Juraj Strossmayer . A period of neo @-@ absolutism was followed by the Austro @-@ Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and the Croatian – Hungarian Settlement , which granted limited independence to Croatia . This was compounded by Croatian claims of uninterrupted statehood since the early Middle Ages as a basis for a modern state . Two political parties that evolved in the 1860s and contributed significantly to the sentiment were the Party of Rights , led by Starčević and Kvaternik , and the People 's Party , led by Janko Drašković , Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski , Josip Juraj Strossmayer and Ivan Mažuranić . They were opposed by the National Constitutional Party , which was in power for most of the period between the 1860s and the 1918 , and advocated closer ties between Croatia and Hungary .
Other significant parties formed in the era were the Serb People 's Independent Party , which later formed the Croat @-@ Serb Coalition with the Party of Rights and other Croat and Serb parties . The Coalition ruled Croatia between 1903 and 1918 . The leaders of the Coalition were Frano Supilo and Svetozar Pribićević . The Croatian Peasant Party ( HSS ) , established in 1904 and led by Stjepan Radić , advocated Croatian autonomy but achieved only moderate gains by 1918 . In Dalmatia , the two major parties were the People 's Party – a branch of the People 's Party active in Croatia @-@ Slavonia – and the Autonomist Party , advocating maintaining autonomy of Dalmatia , opposite to the People 's Party demands for unification of Croatia @-@ Slavonia and Dalmatia . The Autonomist Party , most notably led by Antonio Bajamonti , was also linked to Italian irredentism . By 1900 , the Party of Rights had made considerable gains in Dalmatia . The Autonomists won the first three elections , but all elections since 1870 were won by the People 's Party . In the period 1861 – 1918 there were seventeen elections in the Kingdom of Croatia @-@ Slavonia and ten in the Kingdom of Dalmatia .
= = = First and Second Yugoslavia = = =
After the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs , Croats and Slovenes , the HSS established itself as the most popular Croatian political party and was very popular despite efforts to ban it . The 1921 constitution defined the kingdom as a unitary state and abolished the historical administrative divisions , which effectively ended Croatian autonomy ; the constitution was opposed by HSS . The political situation deteriorated further as Stjepan Radić of the HSS was assassinated in the Yugoslav Parliament in 1928 , leading to the dictatorship of King Alexander in January 1929 . The HSS , now led by Vladko Maček , continued to advocate the federalisation of Yugoslavia , resulting in the Cvetković – Maček Agreement of August 1939 and the autonomous Banovina of Croatia . The Yugoslav government retained control of defence , internal security , foreign affairs , trade , and transport while other matters were left to the Croatian Sabor and a crown @-@ appointed Ban . This arrangement was soon made obsolete with the beginning of World War II , when the Independent State of Croatia , which banned all political opposition , was established . Since then , the HSS continues to operate abroad .
In the 1945 election , the Communists were unopposed because the other parties abstained . Once in power , the Communists introduced a single @-@ party political system , in which the Communist Party of Yugoslavia was the ruling party and the Communist Party of Croatia was its branch . In 1971 , the Croatian national movement , which sought greater civil rights and the decentralisation of the Yugoslav economy , culminated in the Croatian Spring , which was suppressed by the Yugoslav leadership . In January 1990 , the Communist Party fragmented along national lines ; the Croatian faction demanded a looser federation .
= = = Modern Croatia = = =
In 1989 , the government of the Socialist Republic of Croatia decided to tolerate political parties in response to growing demands to allow political activities outside the Communist party . The first political party founded in Croatia since the beginning of the Communist rule was the Croatian Social Liberal Party ( HSLS ) , established on 20 May 1989 , followed by the Croatian Democratic Union on 17 June 1989 . In December 1989 , Ivica Račan became the head of the reformed Communist party . At the same time , the party cancelled political trials , released political prisoners and endorsed a multi @-@ party political system . The Civil Organisations Act was formally amended to allow political parties on 11 January 1990 , legalising the parties that were already founded .
By the time of the first round of the first multi @-@ party elections , held on 22 April 1990 , there were 33 registered parties . The most relevant parties and coalitions were the League of Communists of Croatia – Party of Democratic Changes ( the renamed Communist party ) , the Croatian Democratic Union ( HDZ ) , and the Coalition of People 's Accord ( KNS ) , which included the HSLS led by Dražen Budiša , and the HSS , which resumed operating in Croatia in December 1989 . The runoff election was held on 6 May 1990 . The HDZ , led by Franjo Tuđman , won ahead of the reformed Communists and the KNS . The KNS , led by Savka Dabčević @-@ Kučar and Miko Tripalo – who had led the Croatian Spring – soon splintered into individual parties . The HDZ maintained a parliamentary majority until the 2000 parliamentary election , when it was defeated by the Social Democratic Party of Croatia ( SDP ) , led by Račan . Franjo Gregurić , of the HDZ , was appointed prime minister to head a national unity government in July 1991 as the Croatian War of Independence escalated in intensity . His appointment lasted until August 1992 . During his term , Croatia 's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia took effect on 8 October 1991 . The HDZ returned to power in the 2003 parliamentary election , while the SDP remained the largest opposition party .
Franjo Tuđman won the presidential elections in 1992 and 1997 . During his terms , the Constitution of Croatia , adopted in 1990 , provided for a semi @-@ presidential system . After Tuđman 's death in 1999 , the constitution was amended and much of the presidential powers were transferred to the parliament and the government . Stjepan Mesić won two consecutive terms in 2000 and 2005 on a Croatian People 's Party ( HNS ) ticket . Ivo Josipović , an SDP candidate , won the presidential elections in December 2009 and January 2010 . Kolinda Grabar @-@ Kitarović defeated Josipović in the January 2015 election run @-@ off , becoming the first female president of Croatia .
= Mumia Abu @-@ Jamal =
Mumia Abu @-@ Jamal ( born Wesley Cook April 24 , 1954 ) is a convicted murderer who was sentenced to death in 1982 for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner . His sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment without parole .
Abu @-@ Jamal became involved in black nationalism in his youth and was a member of the Black Panther Party until October 1970 , after which he became a radio journalist , eventually becoming president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists . On December 9 , 1981 , Faulkner was fatally shot while conducting a routine traffic stop of Abu @-@ Jamal 's brother , William Cook . Abu @-@ Jamal was found at the scene with a bullet wound from Faulkner 's gun and his own discharged revolver beside him . He was arrested and charged with Faulkner 's murder .
Prosecution witnesses identified Abu @-@ Jamal as the shooter and two testified that he had confessed to shooting Faulkner . A jury convicted Abu @-@ Jamal on all counts and sentenced him to death . He spent the next 30 years on death row . After a succession of all possible appeals by Abu @-@ Jamal were exhausted , his conviction was upheld but his death sentence vacated . He was resentenced to life in prison without parole . District Attorney Seth Williams later stated that no further appeals would be filed in pursuit of the death penalty .
Activists , celebrities , and liberal groups have criticized the fairness of Abu @-@ Jamal 's trial , professed his innocence , and opposed his death sentence . The Faulkner family , public authorities , police organizations , and conservative groups have maintained that Abu @-@ Jamal 's trial was fair , his guilt undeniable , and his death sentence appropriate . Once described as " perhaps the world 's best known death @-@ row inmate " by The New York Times , during his imprisonment Abu @-@ Jamal has published books and commentaries on social and political issues , including Live from Death Row ( 1995 ) .
= = Early life and activism = =
Abu @-@ Jamal was given the name Mumia in 1968 by his high school teacher , a Kenyan instructing a class on African cultures in which students took African classroom names . According to Abu @-@ Jamal , ' Mumia ' means " Prince " and was the name of Kenyan anti @-@ colonial African nationalists who fought against the British before Kenyan independence . He adopted the surname Abu @-@ Jamal ( " father of Jamal " in Arabic ) after the birth of his son Jamal on July 18 , 1971 . His first marriage at age 19 , to Jamal 's mother , Biba , was short @-@ lived . Their daughter , Lateefa , was born shortly after the wedding . Abu @-@ Jamal married his second wife , Marilyn ( known as " Peachie " ) , in 1977 . Their son , Mazi , was born in early 1978 . By 1981 , Abu @-@ Jamal was living with his third and current wife , Wadiya .
= = = Involvement with the Black Panthers = = =
In his own writings , Abu @-@ Jamal describes his adolescent experience of being " kicked ... into the Black Panther Party " after suffering a beating from " white racists " and a policeman for his efforts to disrupt a George Wallace for President rally in 1968 . From the age of 14 , he helped form the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panther Party with Defense Captain Reggie Schell , and other Panthers , taking appointment , in his own words , as the chapter 's " Lieutenant of Information " , exercising a responsibility for writing information and news communications . In one of the interviews he gave at the time he quoted Mao Zedong , saying that " political power grows out of the barrel of a gun " . That same year , he dropped out of Benjamin Franklin High School and took up residence in the branch 's headquarters . He spent late 1969 in New York City and early 1970 in Oakland , living and working with BPP colleagues in those cities . He was a party member from May 1969 until October 1970 and was subject to Federal Bureau of Investigation COINTELPRO surveillance , with which the Philadelphia police cooperated , from then until about 1974 .
= = = Education and journalism career = = =
After returning to his old high school after his departure from the Panthers , Abu @-@ Jamal was suspended for distributing literature calling for " black revolutionary student power " . He also led unsuccessful protests to change the school name to Malcolm X High . After attaining his GED , he studied briefly at Goddard College in rural Vermont .
By 1975 he was pursuing a vocation in radio newscasting , first at Temple University 's WRTI and then at commercial enterprises . In 1975 , he was employed at radio station WHAT and he became host of a weekly feature program of WCAU @-@ FM in 1978 . He was also employed for brief periods at radio station WPEN , and became active in the local chapter of the Marijuana Users Association of America . From 1979 he worked at National Public Radio @-@ affiliate ( NPR ) WUHY until 1981 when he was asked to submit his resignation after a dispute about the requirements of objective focus in his presentation of news . As a radio journalist he earned the moniker " the voice of the voiceless " and was renowned for identifying with and giving exposure to the MOVE anarcho @-@ primitivist commune in Philadelphia 's Powelton Village neighborhood , including reportage of the 1979 – 80 trial of certain of its members ( the " MOVE Nine " ) convicted of the murder of police officer James Ramp . During his broadcasting career , his high @-@ profile interviews included Julius Erving , Bob Marley and Alex Haley , and he was elected president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists .
At the time of Daniel Faulkner 's murder , Abu @-@ Jamal was working as a taxicab driver in Philadelphia two nights a week to supplement his income . He had been working part @-@ time as a reporter for WDAS , then an African @-@ American @-@ oriented and minority @-@ owned radio station .
= = Arrest for murder and trial = =
At 3 : 55 am on December 9 , 1981 , in Philadelphia , close to the intersection at 13th and Locust Streets , Philadelphia Police Department officer Daniel Faulkner conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle belonging to William Cook , Abu @-@ Jamal 's younger brother . During the traffic stop , Abu @-@ Jamal 's taxi was parked across the street . He ran across the street towards Cook 's car , where Faulkner was shot from behind and then in the face . Abu @-@ Jamal was shot by Faulkner in the stomach . Faulkner died at the scene from the gunshot to his head . Police arrived and arrested Abu @-@ Jamal , who was found wearing a shoulder holster . His revolver , which had five spent cartridges , was beside him . Abu @-@ Jamal was taken directly from the scene of the shooting to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital , where he received treatment for his wound .
Abu @-@ Jamal was charged with the first @-@ degree murder of Officer Faulkner . The case went to trial in June 1982 in Philadelphia . Judge Albert F. Sabo initially agreed to Abu @-@ Jamal 's request to represent himself , with criminal defense attorney Anthony Jackson acting as his legal advisor . During the first day of the trial , Sabo warned Abu @-@ Jamal that he would forfeit his legal right to self @-@ representation if he kept being intentionally disruptive in a fashion that was unbecoming under the law . Due to Abu @-@ Jamal 's continued disruptive behavior , Sabo ruled that Abu @-@ Jamal forfeited his right to self @-@ representation .
= = = Prosecution case at trial = = =
The prosecution presented four witnesses to the court . Robert Chobert , a cab driver who testified he was parked behind Faulkner , identified Abu @-@ Jamal as the shooter . Cynthia White , a prostitute , testified that Abu @-@ Jamal emerged from a nearby parking lot and shot Faulkner . Michael Scanlan , a motorist , testified that from two car lengths away , he saw a man , matching Abu @-@ Jamal 's description , run across the street from a parking lot and shoot Faulkner . Albert Magilton , a pedestrian who did not see the actual murder , testified to witnessing Faulkner pull over Cook 's car . At the point of seeing Abu @-@ Jamal start to cross the street toward them from the parking lot , Magilton turned away and lost sight of what happened next .
The prosecution also presented two witnesses who were at the hospital after the shootings . Hospital security guard Priscilla Durham and police officer Garry Bell testified that Abu @-@ Jamal confessed in the hospital by saying , " I shot the motherfucker , and I hope the motherfucker dies . "
A .38 caliber Charter Arms revolver , belonging to Abu @-@ Jamal , with five spent cartridges was retrieved beside him at the scene . He was wearing a shoulder holster , and Anthony Paul , the Supervisor of the Philadelphia Police Department 's firearms identification unit , testified at trial that the cartridge cases and rifling characteristics of the weapon were consistent with bullet fragments taken from Faulkner 's body . Tests to confirm that Abu @-@ Jamal had handled and fired the weapon were not performed , as contact with arresting police and other surfaces at the scene could have compromised the forensic value of such tests .
= = = Defense case at trial = = =
The defense maintained that Abu @-@ Jamal was innocent and that the prosecution witnesses were unreliable . The defense presented nine character witnesses , including poet Sonia Sanchez , who testified that Abu @-@ Jamal was " viewed by the black community as a creative , articulate , peaceful , genial man " . Another defense witness , Dessie Hightower , testified that he saw a man running along the street shortly after the shooting although he did not see the actual shooting itself . His testimony contributed to the development of a " running man theory " , based on the possibility that a " running man " may have been the actual shooter . Veronica Jones also testified for the defense , but she did not see anyone running . Other potential defense witnesses refused to appear in court . Abu @-@ Jamal did not testify in his own defense . Nor did his brother , William Cook , who told investigators at the crime scene : " I ain 't got nothing to do with this . "
= = = Verdict and sentence = = =
The jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict after three hours of deliberations .
In the sentencing phase of the trial , Abu @-@ Jamal read to the jury from a prepared statement . He was then cross @-@ examined about issues relevant to the assessment of his character by Joseph McGill , the prosecuting attorney .
In his statement Abu @-@ Jamal criticized his attorney as a " legal trained lawyer " who was imposed on him against his will and who " knew he was inadequate to the task and chose to follow the directions of this black @-@ robed conspirator , Albert Sabo , even if it meant ignoring my directions " . He claimed that his rights had been " deceitfully stolen " from him by Sabo , particularly focusing on the denial of his request to receive defense assistance from non @-@ attorney John Africa and being prevented from proceeding pro se . He quoted remarks of John Africa , and said :
Does it matter whether a white man is charged with killing a black man or a black man is charged with killing a white man ? As for justice when the prosecutor represents the Commonwealth the Judge represents the Commonwealth and the court @-@ appointed lawyer is paid and supported by the Commonwealth , who follows the wishes of the defendant , the man charged with the crime ? If the court @-@ appointed lawyer ignores , or goes against the wishes of the man he is charged with representing , whose wishes does he follow ? Who does he truly represent or work for ? ... I am innocent of these charges that I have been charged of and convicted of and despite the connivance of Sabo , McGill and Jackson to deny me my so @-@ called rights to represent myself , to assistance of my choice , to personally select a jury who is totally of my peers , to cross @-@ examine witnesses , and to make both opening and closing arguments , I am still innocent of these charges .
Abu @-@ Jamal was subsequently sentenced to death by the unanimous decision of the jury .
= = Appeals and review = =
= = = State appeals = = =
Direct appeal of his conviction was considered and denied by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on March 6 , 1989 , subsequently denying rehearing . The Supreme Court of the United States denied his petition for writ of certiorari on October 1 , 1990 , and denied his petition for rehearing twice up to June 10 , 1991 .
On June 1 , 1995 , his death warrant was signed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge . 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 . William Harmon , a convicted fraudster , testified that Faulkner 's murderer fled in a car which pulled up at the crime scene , and could not have been Abu @-@ Jamal . However , Robert Harkins testified that he had witnessed a man stand over Faulkner as the latter lay wounded on the ground , who shot him point @-@ blank in the face and then " walked and sat down on the curb " .
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 . 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 execution in turn was stayed as Abu @-@ Jamal commenced his pursuit of federal habeas corpus review .
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 graft and payoff to corrupt police . The Beverly affidavit became an item of division for Mumia 's defense team , as some thought it usable and others rejected Beverly 's story as " not credible " .
Private investigator George Newman claimed in 2001 that Chobert had recanted his testimony . Commentators also 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 trial to testify to seeing the taxi , had previously provided crime scene descriptions that omitted it . Cynthia White was declared to be dead by the state of New Jersey in 1992 although Pamela Jenkins claimed that she saw White alive as late as 1997 . Mumia supporters often claim that White was a police informant and that she falsified her testimony against Abu @-@ Jamal . Priscilla Durham 's step @-@ brother , Kenneth Pate , who was imprisoned with Abu @-@ Jamal on other charges , has since claimed that Durham admitted to not hearing the hospital confession . The hospital doctors stated that Abu @-@ Jamal was " on the verge of fainting " when brought in and they did not overhear a confession . In 2008 , the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected a further request from Abu @-@ Jamal for a hearing into claims that the trial witnesses perjured themselves on the grounds that he had waited too long before filing the appeal .
On March 26 , 2012 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected his most recent appeal for retrial asserted on the basis that a 2009 report by the National Academy of Science demonstrated that forensic evidence put by the prosecution and accepted into evidence in the original trial was unreliable . It was reported to be the former death row inmate 's last legal appeal .
= = = Federal ruling directing resentencing = = =
Abu @-@ Jamal did not make any public statements about Faulkner 's murder until May 2001 . In his version of events , he claimed that he was sitting in his cab across the street when he heard shouting , then saw a police vehicle , then 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 . The driver originally stopped by police officer Faulkner , Abu @-@ Jamal 's brother William Cook , did not testify or make any statement until April 29 , 2001 , when he claimed that he had not seen who had shot Faulkner .
Judge William H. Yohn Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania upheld the conviction but vacated the sentence of death on December 18 , 2001 , citing irregularities in the original process of sentencing . Particularly ,
... 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 circumstance that had not been found unanimously to exist .
He ordered the State of Pennsylvania to commence new sentencing proceedings within 180 days and ruled that it was unconstitutional to require that a jury 's finding of circumstances mitigating against determining a sentence of death be unanimous . 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 . Prosecutors also criticized the ruling ; Officer Faulkner 's widow Maureen described Abu @-@ Jamal as a " remorseless , hate @-@ filled killer " who would " be permitted to enjoy the pleasures that come from simply being alive " on the basis of the judgment . Both parties appealed .
= = = Federal appeal = = =
On December 6 , 2005 , the Third Circuit Court admitted four issues for appeal of the ruling of the District Court :
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 racial bias in jury selection existed to an extent tending to produce an inherently biased jury and therefore an unfair trial ( the 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 – 6 , whether the presiding judge , who had also presided at the trial , demonstrated unacceptable bias in his conduct .
The 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 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 , and the Batson claim was invalid because Abu @-@ Jamal made no complaints during the original jury selection . Although Abu @-@ Jamal 's jury was racially mixed with 2 blacks and 10 whites at the time of his unanimous conviction , his counsel told the Third Circuit Court that Abu @-@ Jamal did not get a fair trial because the jury was racially biased , misinformed , the judge was a racist , and noted that the prosecution used eleven out of fourteen peremptory challenges to eliminate prospective black jurors . Terri Maurer @-@ Carter , a former Philadelphia court stenographer claimed in a 2001 affidavit nearly 20 years after the trial 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 . Sabo denied having made any such comment .
On March 27 , 2008 , the three @-@ judge panel issued a majority 2 – 1 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 . On April 6 , 2009 , the United States Supreme Court also refused to hear Abu @-@ Jamal 's appeal , allowing his conviction to stand . On January 19 , 2010 , the Supreme Court ordered the appeals court to reconsider its decision to rescind the death penalty , with the same three @-@ judge panel convening in Philadelphia on November 9 , 2010 , to hear oral argument . 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 . The Supreme Court declined to hear the case in October .
= = = 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 . Faulkner had indicated she did not wish to relive the trauma of another trial , and 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 . Williams , the prosecutor , said that Abu @-@ Jamal will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole , a sentence that was reaffirmed by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania on July 9 , 2013 . After the press conference , Maureen Faulkner made an emotional statement harshly condemning Abu @-@ Jamal :
I would like to say that I believe the lowest dimension of hell has been reserved for child molesters and unrepentant murderers , like Mumia Abu @-@ Jamal . After thirty years of waiting , the time remaining before Abu @-@ Jamal stands before his ultimate judge . It doesn 't seem so far off as it once did when I was younger . I look forward to that day so I can finally close the chapter of my life and live with the gratification and assurance that Mumia Abu @-@ Jamal will finally receive the punishment he deserves , for all eternity .