Philadelphia, April 24 (RHC)-- U.S. political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal turns 70-years-old today.  He is currently locked up at the State Correctional Institution SCI Mahanoy in Frackville, Pennsylvania.

The imprisoned journalist and former Black Panther has been jailed for over 42 years. 

Supporters of Mumia rallied near Philadelphia City Hall today, where they delivered petitions collected in France calling for his release.

Mumia Abu-Jamal is an award-winning journalist and spent more than 28 years on death row for allegedly killing a white police officer in Philadelphia.  His death sentence was commuted to "life" in December 2011 when a series of appeals were considered by the courts.  Mumia's defense team argued that he did not get a fair trial because the jury was racially biased, misinformed and the judge was a racist.  

Terri Maurer-Carter, a former Philadelphia court stenographer, stated in a 2001 affidavit that she overheard the judge in the case, Judge Albert Sabo, say: "Yeah, and I'm going to help them fry the nigger" in the course of a conversation with three people present regarding Abu-Jamal's case.  The judge, of course, denied having made any such comment.