“MOVE 9" To Have Parole Hearing In April

(James Ramp who was murdered by MOVE)

According to a post at the Philly IMC by a Mumia and MOVE supporter there will a parole hearing for the eight surviving members of the "MOVE 9".

The members of the cult were convicted of murdering Philadelphia Police Officer James Ramp and on a host of other charges stemming from a MOVE instigated "confrontation" that culminated in a shoot-out that left Ramp dead and several other Police Officers and Firefighters wounded.

In one of the longest and costliest trials in Philadelphia’s history, the cult members were all convicted and given 30-100 year sentences. Another MOVE member who was tried separately has already been released from prison and served out her parole and is currently a full-fledged member of the group. This fact should be a reminder that MOVE members can be released on parole, despite their history and the nature of their crimes.

MOVE supporters are stepping up their efforts to gain the release of those MOVE members still imprisoned. A new statement about their efforts was recently posted online that provides some insight into the minds of those who would support members of a child-abusing, cop-killing cult.
According to the MOVE supporter:

"This April parole hearing is SO important. Letters and calls to the Parole Board now can really help. Phil is asking that folks send copies of their letters to him. He wants to take a pile of copies of our letters to the hearing as a show of public support.

It is probably a good idea for folks to send letters to each of the nine Board members. The chairperson was appointed by Ed "1985 Bomber" Rendell so don't count on her getting your message to the whole Board."

In addition to exhorting their followers over the internet, MOVE members, through their international travels have been gaining signatures and having people from all over the world send letters and make calls to the parole board in an effort to convince the board that the cultists should be released.

For those of you who don’t know, the case against the "MOVE 9" is and was solid. Ballistics evidence linked the murder weapon to MOVE, the group threatened to murder police, eyewitnesses testified to seeing MOVE firing, and their own children confirmed the fact that MOVE fired on Police Officers. The Officer who was killed, James Ramp, a Korean war veteran and a two decade veteran of the mean streets of Philadelphia was cruelly shot down as he broke cover and went to aid a fellow Officer who had been gravely wounded by gunfire coming from the MOVE compound. He had no chance to say good-bye to his wife and son as he died on the cement across the street from MOVE members who undoubtably celebrated their "achievement".

For their part, MOVE members have not once taken responsibility for their actions on that day. They claim they had no weapons, that the weapons that were found in the house had been placed there by police. They have consistently claimed that they never fired a shot that day and that James Ramp and the others wounded that day were struck by gunfire from fellow Officers who were looking for a pretext to destroy MOVE. And for the record, if that were true, it would have been the largest "friendly fire" incident in Police history. This would also mean that dozens of Police Officers who were at the scene, ballistics experts, and numerous others who had knowledge of the case were a part of a conspiracy that lasts to this day. The conspiracy theory is absurdity in the extreme, but there are those who will always believe such things, but there are those who will listen or rather read evidence.

In order to thoughtfully counter some of the pro-MOVE propaganda and activism, I started a petition and provided contact information for the parole board in the hopes that people will express their disgust at the idea of releasing convicted cop-killers out onto the street.
The murderers of James Ramp would be released from prison back into the day to day operations of the MOVE cult. It is a group that celebrates the murder of Police Officers, but that is just one aspect of the group.

It is essentially a criminal organization from the top down. From simple welfare fraud, to the illegal fund-raising for Mumia, to the intimidation of it’s critics, MOVE is a vile enterprise. And worse yet, the group is dedicated to de-humanize the children in their midst while forcing girls as young as 11 or 12 to become pregnant. Girls who can barely write their names, who never had a chance, and remain the group’s constant victims. Babies having babies who are emotionally crippled and are fulfilling the one role that John Africa had set for the girls of MOVE and that is to produce more children for the cult to control.

The group continues to entice new followers through it’s online activities and through the "Free Mumia" movement. They also are cast in a sympathetic light in the new film about Jamal called "In Prison My Whole Life", as they ply their trade of that of being perpetually victimized by the evil "system".

Worse yet, there are those who ought to know better serving as enablers for MOVE. They place MOVE members upon a pedestal and in doing so give the group a sense of legitimacy that the sect does not deserve. By keeping quite about the child-rape in MOVE, they allow it to continue and their silence about the murder in 2002 of former MOVE adherent John Gilbride is nothing short of deafening.

The murder of Officer Ramp was indeed a tragedy. To release MOVE members out into the streets that he died trying to keep safe is not only a smack in the face of the city’s police officers.
In releasing them, the parole board would ensure that the children of MOVE will continue to be abused, that more MOVE members will be recruited, and a group of violent zealots will be allowed to walk the street or scarier still, disappear into the world of MOVE.

Please sign the petition and encourage others to do so as I would like to have it sent out prior to the hearing. Also, the phone calls and letters cannot hurt. I am also looking to provide a place on my website for those who were victimized by MOVE or would like to share their experiences with the group from a law enforcement perspective. I can be reached at sept27th2002@yahoo.com

You can reach the Parole Board at:

Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole
1101 South Front Street, Suite #5100,
Harrisburg,

PA 17104-2517, tel: (717) 787-5699

Sign the petition to keep the MOVE 9 in jail go to:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/no-to-parole-for-the-move-9.html

For more information about those responsible for Officer Ramp’s death visit
http://themoveorganization.com/or you can search this site or email me at sept27th2002@yahoo.com