A Letter

 A sample letter regarding the freeing of the MOVE members from over 30 years in prison! 

Michael C. Potteiger, Chairman

Pennsylvania State Board of Probation and Parole

Eastern Region Office 
2630 North 13th Street
Suite 100
Philadelphia, PA 19132 

Dear Mr. Potteiger, Governor, and Members of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole: 

As a 49 year old life-long citizen of our great state, I am writing to express my disappointment in your decisions not to recommend the following for parole not once but on several occasions:  Janine, Debbie, Janet, Delbert, Mike, Phil, Eddie, and Chuck Africa.  Unfortunately it is too late for Merle.     I myself have never written any appeal letter before, but I decided to write this letter out of the compassion to which I was moved when I read their stories and researched their fates.

It is hard to find precedence for not offering parole for those convicted of third degree murder.  Each of the aforementioned individuals has been incarcerated 34 years, far too long for the charges for which they were found guilty.  If they have acted as model prisoners (which I believe to be the case), and the determination to deny parole is based wholly on their refusal to confess to a crime for which they believe they are innocent, then I am very much disheartened by your rationale.  No human being should be expected to confess to any action for which he or she is convinced of his or her innocence:  this is not only a sin against one’s own conscience, but it compels one to discard the one virtue that has granted individual dignity and inner freedom, the truth.  I am not writing to express my disagreement with the verdict; indeed, that fight can wait, as it has these many long years, for another day.  Justice can be accomplished right now, if you would recommend these individuals for parole in order to give them a chance to live out the fractions of their lives that remain to them.  I believe that they will become positive members of our free society, an opportunity that they now deserve and for which they have already waited far too long. 

There must be one of you whose conscience must be moved toward compassion if not for justice.  We are race of people who believe in second chances when they are warranted. 

There are individuals who have been placed by God in positions of authority, individuals like you.  I myself am a teacher and know what responsibility comes with this position.  Each day we are presented with opportunities in which we have the ability to impact another’s life positively or negatively.  I believe that one day we will all be held accountable for the decisions we make when presented with these sacred duties; and at the very least, we too will find ourselves dependent on the good will of others.  I am asking you to choose to do rightly by the eight remaining members of MOVE who are still incarcerated and to recommend their freedom.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully submitted: