Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Corbett has signed a new law to silence Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal was
convicted of first-degree murder in the 1981 shooting of a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
police officer. Once known as the voice from death row, Abu-Jamal’s sentence
was commuted to life without parole in 2013.
The new law,
signed on Tuesday, allows victims of violent crimes to sue the offender for “conduct
which perpetuates the continuing effect of the crime on the victim.”
The law was
fast-tracked after Abu-Jamal delivered a commencement address at Goddard
College in Vermont. Abu-Jamal obtained a bachelor degree from Goddard while
behind bars in 1996. The law allows
victims and prosecutors to sue felons in prison or after they have completed
their sentence for conduct that the law says “perpetuates the continuing effect
of the crime on the victim”.
Corbett said
the law is intended to mute the “obscene celebrity” status of convicts like
Abu-Jamal, the Associated Press reported. Corbett signed the bill within
footsteps of where Daniel Faulkner was killed. Faulkner is the officer Abu-Jamal
was convicted of murdering.
“The law was
inspired by the excesses and pious hypocrisy of one particular killer,” Corbett
said.
Corbett may
find it difficult to curb Abu-Jamal’s celebrity status. The administration and student body at
Goddard College embraced his speech for reasons some can’t understand. They believe in his innocence. They are moved by his message behind prison
walls. They are inspired by his
humility.
None of that
will go away.
“Freedom was
taken away when he murdered a police officer in the line of duty,” Maureen
Faulkner, the widow of Daniel Faulkner, told Fox News. “It seems like our
justice system allows murderers to continue to have a voice over the public
airwaves and at college commencement. It’s despicable,”
Is that true?
Can one forfeit their Constitutional right to freedom of speech by virtue of
being incarcerated? Is that stated in
the Constitution, or do we allow for a provision that grants people the right
to punish people for garnering support and popularity?
“Essentially,
any action by an inmate or former offender that could cause ‘mental anguish’
could be banned by a judge,” Reggie Shuford, Pennsylvania ALCU director, said
in a statement to the Associated Press. “That
can’t pass constitutional muster under the First Amendment.”
Administrators
at Goddard College aren’t happy that a law was passed due to their acceptance
of Abu-Jamal.
“In essence
this law is suggesting that people are not capable of making choices about what
speech they will listen to and how they will react to that speech,” Samantha
Kolber, a spokesperson for Goddard College, told the Patriot-News of Central PA
.”That we wonder how libertarians and free-speech conservatives feel about this
action, and we also speculate about how far this diminishment of free-speech
rights will go.”
Prison Radio
has vowed to continue to broadcast Abu-Jamal’s words.
“Broadcasting
Mumia Abu-Jamal's voice is the best antidote to the Right Wing Attack on the
First Amendment,”said Noelle Hanrahan, producer of Prison Radio. (Link to
interview with Hanrahan: http://www.prisonradio.org/media/audio/mumia/fsrn-interview-519-noelle-hanrahan-10-14-2014
Hanrahan said
Prison Radio has dozens of notable people ready to stand in for and read
Abu-Jamal’s work if the District Attorney or Attorney General sues Abu-Jamal
Abu-Jamal has
recorded over 3,000 essays, published seven books with two more to be released
in 2015. He has three major broadcast and theatrical movies in which he is the
subject. His work has been translated in nine languages. Mumia:
Long Distance Revolutionary is currently airing on the STARZ Network.
I doubt if
the threat of a lawsuit will stop Mumia Abu-Jamal. Listen to what he has to say.
You never posted in the article the number of the bill. HR 2533, “Revictimization Relief.” Names of the elected officials from Philly who signed this into law?
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