Judge tosses out death sentence for former Black Panther

PHILADELPHIA -- A federal judge threw out Mumia Abu-Jamal's death sentence Tuesday and ordered a new sentencing hearing for the former Black Panther alternately portrayed as a vicious cop-killer and a victim of a racist frame-up.

U.S. District Judge William Yohn cited problems with the jury charge and verdict form in the trial that ended with Abu-Jamal's conviction and death sentence in the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.

Yohn rejected all of Abu-Jamal's other claims and refused to grant a new trial. But he ordered the state to either conduct a new sentencing hearing within six months or sentence Abu-Jamal to life in prison.

District Attorney Lynne Abraham said she will appeal. Abu-Jamal, 47, "has always been a remorseless, cold-blooded killer," she said. "We believe that the judge's decision is legally flawed."

"I'm angry, outraged and disgusted," said Faulkner's widow, Maureen Faulkner. "I think Judge Yohn is a sick and twisted person, after sitting on this case for two years and making this decision just before Christmas."

Pam Africa, leader of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, said Abu-Jamal should have been released from prison. "The only way it would be a good ruling is if the judge was honest and fair and released Mumia," she said.

Abu-Jamal is perhaps America's most famous death row inmate, drawing support from celebrities, foreign politicians and capital punishment opponents. Last year he gave an audiotaped lesson in civil rights to Antioch College's graduating class while Faulkner's widow and others protested outside.