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.<ref name=NYTobit /> Sabo served as a judge from 1974 until his retirement in 1998.<ref name=Phillyobit>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=Phillyobit />

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.<ref name=NYTobit /> 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.<ref name=NYTobit /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On September 15, 1995, Sabo denied Abu-Jamal a retrial.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sabo died in 2002 of heart failure.<ref name=NYTobit>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time of his death, he was living in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia.<ref name=Phillyobit />