DA: New Mumia Abu-Jamal files show no sign of judge conflict

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia prosecutors say they’ve found no hint from newly found files in a former Black Panther’s police slaying case that a judge involved had a conflict of interest.

Mumia Abu-Jamal recently won a chance to reargue his appeal in the 1981 slaying because a state Supreme Court justice who heard his 1998 appeal had been the city’s district attorney during an earlier one.

Current District Attorney Larry Krasner must soon decide whether to fight a city judge’s decision to give Abu-Jamal a new hearing.

In a letter Friday, the district attorney’s office says the case files found in a storage area include police paperwork, tapes and discovery material. But prosecutors say there’s no sign retired Justice Ronald Castille was directly involved in the case as district attorney.

Abu-Jamal is serving a life sentence after spending decades on death row.