Albert F. Sabo
Albert F. Sabo (December 21, 1920 – May 8, 2002) was an American lawyer and judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. He is known for presiding over the 1982 murder trial of Mumia Abu-Jamal.[1] Sabo served as a judge from 1974 until his retirement in 1998.[2]
Born in Philadelphia in a family with Slovak origins, Sabo grew up in the Northern Liberties neighborhood and graduated from Roman Catholic High School in 1938.[3] He earned two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania: a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School in 1942 and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1948. Sabo was a World War II veteran and part of the United States Army Air Forces.[2]
Sabo served as county undersheriff for 16 years before being elected to the bench. For 15 years while on the bench, Sabo exclusively heard homicide cases.[1] Sabo presided over 31 cases that resulted in the imposition of the death penalty, which was reported in 1992 by The Philadelphia Inquirer to be the most in the state.[1] In 1995, in the time before Abu-Jamal was scheduled to be executed, Sabo had 24-hour security due to angry, offensive faxes and calls directed to him.[4] On September 15, 1995, Sabo denied Abu-Jamal a retrial.[5]
In 2000, the stenographer at the Abu-Jamal trial, Terri Maurer-Carter, signed an affidavit stating that during the trial she overheard the judge saying of the defendant, "Yeah and I'm gonna help 'em fry the nigger."[6]
Sabo died in 2002 of heart failure.[1] At the time of his death, he was living in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Albert F. Sabo, 81, Judge in Murder Trials". New York Times. May 13, 2002.
- ^ a b c Pray, Rusty (May 10, 2002). "Albert F. Sabo, 81, Abu-Jamal trial judge". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. B7. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012.
- ^ Zoroya, Gregg (1995-09-13). "Journalist's Death Sentence Has People Judging the Judge". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ Lounsberry, Emilie (July 18, 1995). "Abu-jamal Case Puts Focus On Sabo - Again". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
- ^ Kaufman, Marc; Quinones Miller, Karen E.; Cass Julia (September 16, 1995). "Sabo Denies Retrial For Abu-jamal". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
- ^ "Why freedom for Abu-Jamal makes even more sense now". 11 December 2011.