Former death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal has been moved into the general prison population for the first time since his arrest in a Philadelphia police officer's murder three decades ago.
Susan McNaughton, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, told The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper that Abu-Jamal was moved Friday from the restricted housing unit at the Mahanoy state prison in Frackville, about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Law professor Judith L. Ritter, who represented Abu-Jamal in recent appeals, called it "a very important moment for him, his family and all of his supporters."
Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner. Prosecutors agreed to a life term after a federal appeals court ordered a new sentencing hearing, citing flawed jury instructions.
Abu-Jamal, a one-time radio journalist and former Black Panther, garnered worldwide support for his claims that he was the victim of a racist justice system.
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