Abu-Jamal Facing Execution

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Thomas J. Ridge signed an execution warrant Wednesday for former radio journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, less than two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his request for a new trial.

Ridge ordered that Abu-Jamal be executed by lethal injection Dec. 2. It was the second death warrant Ridge had signed for Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing a police officer and whose case has become a worldwide cause for opponents of capital punishment. His supporters say he did not get a fair trial.

Abu-Jamal’s lawyers responded by announcing they would file an appeal Friday in federal court in Philadelphia.

Abu-Jamal, 45, a former Black Panther, was convicted of murder in the 1981 shooting of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. Several witnesses identified him as the shooter, and two people testified that Abu-Jamal confessed at the hospital. Abu-Jamal has denied confessing.