Spring Break
MOVE still looking for Philadelphia justice
Robert Zaller
Issue date: 8/22/08 Section: Ed-Op
Why does this matter now?
Abu Jamal has now been on death row for more than a quarter century, even though his capital sentence was vacated by Federal Judge William H. Yohn Jr. in 2001, a ruling upheld by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals this March. But the courts continue to deny him a new trial. A cynical observer might conclude that the appellate bench has decided that the political fallout of either retrying Abu Jamal or executing him would be too great, but that letting him live out his days in prison is the least negative option, being equally unsatisfying to all sides. The only problem is that Abu Jamal has never been fairly convicted of anything.
Meanwhile, 30 years after the Powelton shootout, seven of the eight surviving MOVE members convicted in the death of Ramp (only one of whom, please remember, could have been even notionally guilty of it) came up for parole this spring. All petitions were fiercely opposed by the Philadelphia District Attorney's office and by the Fraternal Order of Police. All were denied.
Philadelphia is in many ways a city in decline. It is poor, violent and drug-ridden. The heart of its decay, however, is as much moral as anything else. And no stain runs deeper than the continuing injustice of the MOVE story. This city will never mend, I think, while that injustice persists.
Robert Zaller is a professor of history. He can be reached at ed-op@thetriangle.org.
Abu Jamal has now been on death row for more than a quarter century, even though his capital sentence was vacated by Federal Judge William H. Yohn Jr. in 2001, a ruling upheld by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals this March. But the courts continue to deny him a new trial. A cynical observer might conclude that the appellate bench has decided that the political fallout of either retrying Abu Jamal or executing him would be too great, but that letting him live out his days in prison is the least negative option, being equally unsatisfying to all sides. The only problem is that Abu Jamal has never been fairly convicted of anything.
Meanwhile, 30 years after the Powelton shootout, seven of the eight surviving MOVE members convicted in the death of Ramp (only one of whom, please remember, could have been even notionally guilty of it) came up for parole this spring. All petitions were fiercely opposed by the Philadelphia District Attorney's office and by the Fraternal Order of Police. All were denied.
Philadelphia is in many ways a city in decline. It is poor, violent and drug-ridden. The heart of its decay, however, is as much moral as anything else. And no stain runs deeper than the continuing injustice of the MOVE story. This city will never mend, I think, while that injustice persists.
Robert Zaller is a professor of history. He can be reached at ed-op@thetriangle.org.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
J. J. Hohenstein
posted 8/22/08 @ 9:32 AM EST
Professor Zaller you need to grow up.
MOVE was a health hazard and hypocritical. The were back to nature but had electric bull horns and the biggest hoagie consumers in the neighborhood. (Continued…)
Post a Comment