Death Row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, the man who counts Rage Against The Machine among his celebrity supporters, lost his Supreme Court appeal on Monday.
Mumia (an outspoken member of the Black Panthers and MOVE as well as a radio journalist) was convicted in 1982 of the shooting death of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. Mumia and his legal team claim that the conviction was the result of an unfair and unconstitutional trial and have been fighting to overturn the conviction for the last seven years.On Monday, however, the court shot down Mumia's latest appeal, opening the door for Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge to set an execution date. Mumia can still challenge the verdict in Federal Court.
Despite a considerable amount of evidence against Mumia, enough questions have been raised about his trial to build a solid foundation of support, including high-profile entertainment industry allies such as Whoopi Goldberg, Oliver Stone, and Paul Newman.
Rage Against The Machine has long lobbied for a new trial for Mumia, and earlier this year the band teamed with the Beastie Boys to stage a controversial benefit show for the prisoner's defense fund (for more on the case, see "Weeding Through The Rhetoric: What's The Rage/Beastie's Benefit About?").
Rage even touches on the case in two songs on its upcoming album, "The Battle Of Los Angeles," referencing Mumia on "Guerilla Radio" and "Voice Of The Voiceless.""Hope sometimes exceeds expectations," Rage frontman Zack de la Rocha said via a statement released to MTV News. "We were not shocked, but extremely disappointed in the Supreme Court's denial of Mumia Abu-Jamal's appeal. But it assigns us to the fact that Mumia's life will only be defended on the streets and that the Supreme Court's silence must not be met with more silence, but action."
