PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Former death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal has lost his last legal appeal.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has rejected a challenge regarding forensic evidence in his racially charged case.
The onetime Black Panther was found guilty in 1982 of fatally shooting white Philadelphia police Officer Daniel Faulkner.
Abu-Jamal spent nearly 30 years on death row while pursuing numerous legal appeals. On March 26, the state Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s denial of the forensics claim.
Abu-Jamal’s attorney didn’t immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the Philadelphia district attorney’s office declined to comment.
One of Abu-Jamal’s appeals led a judge to order a new sentencing hearing. Instead, prosecutors in December agreed to allow him to serve a life sentence.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.