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Cop killer’s speech spurs new Pennsylvania victim rights law

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People in Pennsylvania can now take civil action against offenders for conduct that causes a “continuing effect of the crime,” drawing the ire of civil rights advocates who say the law violates the 1st Amendment.

Standing at the scene where Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner was killed in 1981, Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday signed the “Re-victimization Relief Act,” a bill that sped through the Legislature after a college’s decision to let Faulkner’s killer speak at its commencement ceremony sparked a furor among law enforcement leaders.

“Although the law that I have signed today is not about any one single criminal, it was inspired by the excesses and pious hypocrisy of one particular killer,” Corbett said, according to a news release. “This law clarifies, strengthens and empowers the victims of heinous crimes and makes it abundantly clear that victims have rights too.”

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Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is serving a life sentence for killing Faulkner, delivered a prerecorded commencement speech at Goddard College this month.

The bill, an amendment to the state’s Crime Victims Act, allows victims of a personal-injury crime to ask a judge to file injunctions against offenders who commit acts that perpetuate “the continuing effect of the crime on the victim.” That includes conduct “which causes a temporary or permanent state of mental anguish,” according to the bill.

The Pennsylvania chapter of the ACLU has already argued that the bill contains highly vague language that could have a chilling effect on free speech.

“This bill is written so broadly that it is unclear what behavior is prohibited,” Reggie Shuford, executive director of the state chapter of the ACLU, said in a statement. “Essentially, any action by an inmate or former offender that could cause ‘mental anguish’ could be banned by a judge.”

Andy Hoover, legislative director for the state chapter of the ACLU, told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that the group will likely file a lawsuit challenging the bill by November.

State law already allows crime victims to bring civil actions against offenders who cause them emotional distress, Hoover said, and victims can also file criminal harassment charges in some situations.

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“The answer to speech we don’t like is more speech to counter it, not government censorship of speech,” Hoover said.

The ACLU has also argued that Abu-Jamal did not mention Faulkner’s death during the speech. Abu-Jamal’s guilt has remained the subject of intense debate for decades. He was sentenced to death in 1982, but a federal judge overturned that ruling and his sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2001.

Jennifer Storm, Pennsylvania’s appointed victims advocate, said the bill was not designed to chill free speech or to stop inmates from speaking in public forums. She also said the Abu-Jamal case was not the lone driving force behind the legislation.

“The Goddard College thing was just a breaking point where we said ‘Enough is enough, we’re going to do something,’ ” Storm said.

Asked to provide examples where the bill might have allowed a victim to seek aid, Storm said she had received calls for help from a dance instructor who had been the victim of a sexual assault in recent years.

The suspect’s family allegedly enrolled his daughter in a dance class taught by the victim, and sat through each lesson glaring at the woman.

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“So she has to suffer through this every week?” Storm asked.

Under the bill signed by Corbett on Tuesday, the victim would have been able to petition a judge to bar the man from attending her dance studio, Storm said.

Corbett, a Republican, is seeking a second term in office but trails Democratic challenger and former State Secretary of Revenue Tom Wolf by double digits, according to the results of a Qunnipiac University poll released this month.

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Reggie Shuford

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