Judge Denies Hepatitis C Cure for Mumia Abu-Jamal, But Finds Lack of Care in Prison Unconstitutional

http://democracynow.org - A federal judge has denied a request from the former Black Panther and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal for life-saving medication that could cure his hepatitis C. Last year, Mumia sued to receive an antiviral treatment for hepatitis C after he was placed in critical condition, and officials said he was was not sick enough to be eligible. The medication has about a 95 percent cure rate. But it costs the state about $55,000 for a 12-week course of the drug. Even as the judge denied Mumia’s motion, he also found that Pennsylvania’s hepatitis C protocol for inmates fails to meet constitutional standards and could prolong suffering. We hear reaction from Mumia Abu-Jamal and speak with his lawyer, Bob Boyle, and correspondent Renée Feltz. Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: http://democracynow.org Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: http://democracynow.org/donate FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE: Facebook: http://facebook.com/democracynow Twitter: https://twitter.com/democracynow YouTube: http://youtube.com/democracynow SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/democracynow Daily Email: http://democracynow.org/subscribe Google+: https://plus.google.com/+DemocracyNow Instagram: http://instagram.com/democracynow Tumblr: http://democracynow.tumblr.com Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/democracynow iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/democracy-now!-audio/id73802554 TuneIn: http://tunein.com/radio/Democracy-Now-p90/ Stitcher Radio: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/democracy-now