Finally, Pennsylvania has put some teeth to new legislation that considers the rights of crime VICTIMS.

Thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Tom Corbett earlier this week, prosecutors and victims of a violent crime can sue the offender for "conduct which perpetuates the continuing effect of the crime on the victim." The conduct includes behavior that causes the victim "mental anguish."The case that inspired the new law and put it on a fast track through the state legislature involves Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted in the 1982 slaying of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. Earlier this month, Abu-Jamal was allowed to take part in a commencement ceremony in Vermont. Although he spoke via a prerecorded video message to a group of 20 students at Goddard College, the engagement was widely criticized.Maureen Faulkner, the widow of the slain policeman, called it despicable that our justice system would allow murderers to continue to have a voice over the public airwaves and at college commencement.Corbett said the law was not about one single criminal but admitted it was inspired by the excesses and pious hypocrisy of one particular killer (Abu-Jamal). At the signing on Tuesday, the governor said the law would curb the "obscene celebrity" of convicts like Abu-Jamal and that it "clarifies, strengthens and empowers the victims of heinous crimes" and makes it clear that victims have rights, too.It sickens us that Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther Party member and journalist who had been fired by National Public Radio for his outspokenness, became a celebrity of sorts and was able to rally support among anti-death penalty groups, left-wing extremists and academics. Benefit concerts were done to raise money for his defense, and the list of show business personalities who lent their names to advertisements for a new trial included Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman, Maya Angelou and Alec Baldwin.Corbett's assessment of this new law is correct. While law-abiding citizens are entitled to an array of rights - from free travel to free speech - convicted felons in prison are there because they abused and surrendered their rights.Maureen Faulkner had been married only slightly more than a year when Abu-Jamal made her a widow after the gun battle in the streets of Philadelphia 33 years ago. After the first exchange left both men wounded, Abu-Jamal stood over the downed officer and shot him four more times at close range, once directly in the face.If anyone has suffered mental anguish for the last three decades, it's the widow and family of Daniel Faulkner.By Jim Zbickeditor@tnonline.com