By TaRessa Stovall

The Supreme Court has denied an appeal from Mumia Abu-Jamal, the journalist and former member of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, who was convicted in a 1981 death penalty trial for killing a white police officer after a trial by a predominantly white jury. On Monday, April 6, the court rejected without comment Abu-Jamal’s bid to have the conviction overturned.

On March 5, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) had filed a friend of the court brief in support of Abu-Jamal’s claim of racial discrimination in the selection of the jury for the 1981 trial.

LDF’s brief supported Abu-Jamal’s request for U.S. Supreme Court review of his appeal, urging enforcement of the laws that require courts to promptly investigate evidence of discrimination against African-American prospective jurors.

Attorneys Vincent Southerland, assistant counsel at LDF, and a member of Abu-Jamal’s legal team, and Christina Swarns, counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal at LDF, joined Abu-Jamal for a discussion of the ruling with Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now.

Read about the LDF Friend of the Court Brief