The last member of the radical group MOVE was released from jail on Friday.
Brad Thomson, an attorney for Chuck Sims Africa, confirmed the news on Twitter saying that Africa was release, the tweet read, “Chuck Africa of the #MOVE9 is now free after nearly 42 years behind bars! All of the #MOVE9 are now out of prison!”
Chuck Africa of the #MOVE9 is now free after nearly 42 years behind bars!
All of the #MOVE9 are now out of prison! pic.twitter.com/n8TTWsye5n
— Brad Thomson (@BradThomsonNoP) February 7, 2020
ABC reports that Thomson confirmed to them via email that Africa was free on Friday morning and was spending time with friends and family. All members took the last name Africa when they joined.
Chuck Africa was the last of the MOVE 9, back-to-nature, anti-establishment group to be paroled after he and his eight fellow members were convicted of the three-degree murder of police officer, James Ramp, in Philadelphia in 1978.
All of MOVE 9’s members were sentenced to somewhere between 30 to 100 years for Ramp’s death.
According to the ABC, in 1978, the group had a standoff with police. Cops tried to evict the group from their headquarters after complaints, which included sanitation and noise.
It was reported that the members barricaded themselves inside the home.
It is believed that Ramp was killed by friendly fire as gunfire was exchanged by both parties.
ABC reports that seven of the nine members who were jailed for the killing were released on parole. Two members of the group died in jail.
Even after the standoff, police and MOVE continued to clash.
In 1985, police dropped a bomb on MOVE’s headquarters in West Philly.
The bomb was dropped from a helicopter, and it ignited fuel from a generator. The fire spread to 60 rowhomes, with the flames killing 11 people, including five children.
Two of the children who died were the children of Jeanene Africa and Janet Africa; both members of MOVE. The women were in prison during the bombing, and were released in May 2019.
