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April 30, 2015

Judge Rejects Anti-Mumia Law on Prisoner Speech as "Manifestly Unconstitutional" 
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A federal judge has struck down a Pennsylvania law restricting the
speech of prisoners, calling it "manifestly unconstitutional." The law
was enacted after journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal,
who is imprisoned in Pennsylvania, gave a pre-taped commencement address
at Goddard College in Vermont. The law authorized the censoring of
prisoners' public addresses if judges agree letting them speak would
cause "mental anguish" to people impacted by their crimes. Judge
Christopher Conner called the law "unlawfully proposed" and "patently
over-broad." Supporters of the law plan to appeal.

 

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