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Mumia gives grads prison-cell pep talk

PLAINFIELD, Vt. - He's Mumia Abu-Jamal, the former death-row inmate now serving a life sentence for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.

PLAINFIELD, Vt.

- He's Mumia Abu-Jamal, the former death-row inmate now serving a life sentence for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.

He might seem a curious choice for a commencement speaker, but that's what he was yesterday.

Abu-Jamal spoke to students graduating from Goddard College in Vermont, encouraging them to strive to transform the world.

He spoke by video to 20 students who received their bachelor's degrees from the small, liberal-arts school. Abu-Jamal earned a degree from Goddard in 1996.

"Think about the myriad of problems that beset this land and strive to make it better," Abu-Jamal said in the video.

He said his studies at Goddard allowed him to learn about important figures in distant lands.

"Goddard reawakened in me my love of learning," he said. "In my mind, I left death row."

The former Black Panther did not address Faulkner's murder. He originally was sentenced to death for killing Faulkner on Dec. 9, 1981, but he was resentenced to life in 2012.

His claims that he's been victimized by a racist justice system have attracted international attention. A radio show, documentaries and books have helped publicize his case. Goddard College describes him as "an award-winning journalist who chronicles the human condition."

But the decision to allow Abu-Jamal to speak angered police and corrections officials in Vermont and Pennsylvania. The Vermont Troopers Association said it showed a disregard for the victim's family at a time when the nation is seeking solutions to gun violence.

The school, which has about 600 students, said the graduates chose Abu-Jamal as a way to "engage and think radically and critically."

Goddard students design their own curriculums with faculty advisers and do not take tests or receive grades.