Statement by Robert R. Bryan, lead attorney of Mumia Abu-Jamal

San Francisco:

Today, on Dec. 14, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken its last decisions for this year, taking X-mas holidays till January 11, the day it will officially resume its work.

Surprisingly, in the case of my client Mumia Abu-Jamal the Supreme Court hasn't yet taken a decision whether he will live and get a new jury trial determining his sentence, or whether he will die under the hands of the executioner. Actually, we had won a partial victory last year before the U.S. Appeals Court since the federal judges with their March 27, 2008 decision held out the prospect of a conversion of the death verdict into a life sentence. All the same, Mumia is still on death row because the prosecution filed an appeal wit the Supreme Court in order to push through his execution. Mumia is now in the greatest danger to be executed since his arrest on December 9, 1981.