Partisan Defense Committee Letter

27 June 2011

Partisan Defense Committee P.O. Box 99, Canal Street Station, New York, NY 10013

email: partisandefense@earthlink.net   www.partisandefense.org

Contact: Kevin Gilroy (212) 406-4252

Free the MOVE 9!

The following June 27 protest letter was sent by the Partisan Defense Committee to Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole chairman Catherine C. McVey.

The Partisan Defense Committee yet again joins with those supporting the release of the eight surviving political prisoners who have been collectively known as the MOVE 9.

By any of your standards—ties to the community and a support network outside to “ease their transition”—there is absolutely no reason that any one of these men and women should be denied parole.

Up to this point, the pretext for keeping the MOVE members locked behind bars is their refusal to express “remorse” for the killing of police officer James Ramp.  This is a well-known ruse to deny parole to those who have been imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. After the trial, when presiding judge Edwin Malmed was asked, “Who shot James Ramp?” he replied, “I haven’t the faintest idea.”  Evidence released over time has clearly shown that Officer Ramp was killed in the massive crossfire by nearly 600 police officers who besieged the MOVE home on 8 August 1978. 

It is an injustice that these men and women were ever incarcerated at all. Their continued confinement compounds that injustice on a daily basis. We call once more for the immediate, unconditional release of Debbie Africa, Janine Africa, Janet Africa, Chuck Africa, Eddie Africa, Phil Africa, Delbert Africa and Mike Africa.