【ghosts and empties】MOVE Members' Latest Parole Denial Legally Flawed, Federal Judge Rules

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A federal judge has ruled that the state parole board should not have withheld certain documents when considering the release of two MOVE members involved in a 1978 standoff in which one police officer was killed and several others were injured.

U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania agreed with defendants Janine Phillips Africa and Janet Holloway Africa that the parole board violated the women's due process rights for not allowing victim statements to be reviewed in their request for parole. Theghosts and empties women argued the documents were relevant in determining whether the board was swayed by the victims' stories in denying parole.

While Phillips Africa and Holloway Africa were apparently unarmed during the gunfight with police, they were convicted of third-degree murder and sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison in 1980.

"We conclude that good cause exists for discovery of the Office of Victim Advocate records," Bartle wrote in the court's opinion. "Such information will permit petitioners to investigate the extent to which any input from victims influenced the Parole Board’s decisions. It may also inform whether the Parole Board’s decisions were, in fact, arbitrary and whether the justifications provided by the Parole Board in its notices of decision were pretext."

The parole board argued that releasing such documents to inmates, as well as introducing them into discovery, is prohibited by law. However, the defendants said they were willing to enter into an agreement that would preserve the confidentiality of the files.

"Petitioners have stated that they will agree to enter into a protective order to maintain the confidentiality of these records," Bartle said. "We conclude that a protective order will be sufficient to protect the rights of the victims while allowing for discovery of potentially relevant information in these actions. Accordingly, the motions to compel production of the Office of Victim Advocate documents will be granted subject to the parties’ agreement to a protective order."

The defendants also asked for the production of information on the case of a MOVE member, Debbie Sims Africa, who was charged with the same offenses and granted parole on the same day they were denied.

Bartle said he had not reviewed the pertinent document and ordered to see it before making a decision.

"We will order the Parole Board to produce it to this court for in camera review. After review, the court will determine whether the decisional instrument for Sims Africa shall be produced to petitioners and under what circumstances."

Alan Robinson, who represents the Parole Board, did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did the Africas' attorney, Brad Thompson.

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