Supreme Court Tosses Re-Sentencing for Mumia Abu-Jamal
The Supreme Court has thrown out a lower-court ruling ordering a new sentencing for the journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal. The decision orders the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to revisit its ruling that Jamal deserves a new sentencing because of flawed jury instructions. The Supreme Court cited its own recent decision in an Ohio death row case it says raised similar issues. Abu-Jamal was convicted for the 1981 killing of a white police officer following a controversial trial before a predominantly white jury. Abu-Jamal contends the case was marred with racial bias, including the deliberate exclusion of blacks from the jury. If re-sentenced, Abu-Jamal will face either death or life in prison without parole.


GOP Candidate Wins Upset Race for Mass. Senate Seat
In Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown has won an upset victory over Democrat Martha Coakley in a special election for the Senate seat vacated by the late Edward Kennedy. Brown’s victory will leave Democrats in nominal control of fifty-nine seats, one short of the sixty needed to overcome Republican filibusters. The result could immediately derail President Obama’s push for a healthcare reform bill, which Kennedy described as the cause of his life. Addressing cheering supporters, Brown said he would vote against the current legislation.

Sen.-elect Scott Brown: “One thing is very, very clear, as I traveled throughout the state: people do not want the trillion-dollar healthcare plan that is being forced—that is being forced on the American people. And this bill is not being debated openly and fairly. It will raise taxes. It will raise taxes. It will hurt Medicare. It will destroy jobs and run our nation deeper into debt.”

In addition to his stance on healthcare reform, Brown has voiced support for the torture technique known as waterboarding on foreign prisoners and has opposed a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants unless they first leave the United States. Coakley began the race as a heavy favorite, but was criticized for what some characterized as a lackluster campaign. In her concession speech, Coakley invoked the words of the late Senator Kennedy.

Martha Coakley: “OK, so this is the deal. Although our campaign ends tonight, we know that our mission continues and our work goes on. I am heartbroken at the result, and I know that you are also.”


Casting Doubt on US Claims of Suicide, Attorney Scott Horton Reveals 3 Gitmo Prisoners Died After Torture at Secret Site
New evidence has emerged suggesting three Guantánamo prisoners whom the US claims took their own lives in June 2006 died not from suicide, but torture. A six-month investigation by Harper’s Magazine indicates the three prisoners were suffocated and tortured during questioning at a secret black site facility at Guantánamo known as “Camp No.”
The article is based in part on testimony from a former staff sergeant who says the Obama administration has refused to investigate.


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