We have previously noted the murder of James “Simmie” Lambert, 73, beaten to death by a group of seven young Philadelphia teens. There’s outrage in the city, as people have been asking, over and over again, why a group of kids ranging from (at least) 10 to 14 years old were out on the streets running wild at 2:30 in the morning on Friday, June 24th. ‘Where were their parents?’ is the usual cry.
Gamara Mosley, mugshot by Philadelphia Police Department, and is a public record. Click to enlarge.
Well, one of the parents, the mother of 14-year-old Gamara Mosley, who has been charged with third-degree murder, was dumb enough to talk to reporters:
‘I’m sorry, as a parent’: Mother of 14-year-old charged in death of James Lambert, Jr. speaks out
By Alex Holley | Published July 15, 2022 11:33PM | Updated July 16, 2022 7:17AM | Philadelphia | FOX 29 Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA – Young teens are charged as adults in the deadly assault of 73-year-old James Lambert, Jr. and the mother of one of those teens, 14-year-old Gamara Mosley, sat down with Alex Holley Friday to talk about her daughter.
“All social media about me and my child is not true. I’m not a bad mom,” mom Shara stated.
A whole lot of people would disagree that Shara — no last name is given in the article — isn’t a bad mother.
“What do you say to some people who looked at that video and say, ‘How could a good kid be capable of something like that, beating a 73-year-old man with the traffic cone to his death?” Holley asked.
“It’s the other kids and, you know, bad influence. She probably didn’t know, didn’t mean to do it,” Shara answered.
From Chapter 18 §2502.
Under Pennsylvania Title 18 §106(b)(2), “A crime is a felony of the first degree if it is so designated in this title or if a person convicted thereof may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the maximum of which is more than ten years.” The normal sentence would be 10 to 20 years, but it could be longer. Second-degree murder can carry a sentence of life in prison.
“Since her dad’s gone, it’s just…things are different cause we ain’t got that family no more, like we used to have. We used to be in the house and stuff like that as a family,” Shara explained. “She’s going through a lot.”
“Why was it important for you to talk to us?” Holley asked.
“That’s my daughter and I care. And, like I said, she wasn’t with me when it happened. She snuck out that night and been with some bad friends,” Shara answered.
“So, she’s never snuck out before?” Holley asked.
“No,” Shara replied.
Just how does her mother know that Miss Mosley has never “snuck” out before?
Shara apologized to the family of Mr Lambert in the interview, but the family were having none of it:
Family of 73-year-old murder victim speaks out, asking for all involved to be charged
By Shawnette Wilson | Published July 15, 2022 11:46PM
CENTER CITY – James Lambert’s niece says she wants all of the kids charged and she doesn’t accept an apology she heard from one of the parents Friday evening.Richard Jones, mugshot by Philadelphia Police Department, and is a public record. Click to enlarge.
“She’s not a bad kid. Why did she have to be around them kids that make her do them things?” stated the mother of one of the two teens charged, Shara.
Tania Stephens, the niece of James Lambert, Jr, reacting to the words from the from Shara, whose 14-year-old daughter, Gamara Mosley, is charged with murder and conspiracy in the death of Lambert.
14-year-old Richard Jones and Mosley are both charged with Third Degree Murder and Conspiracy, as adults, which is why their photos are being shown.
A 10-year-old was released and not charged and a 13-year-old girl, whose lawyer says she tried to stop it, was also released and isn’t facing charges.
Stephens reached out to FOX 29 to speak after seeing, over the past week, four children turn themselves in with lawyers and their family alongside them. “I want everyone to be charged. Everyone. I don’t want house arrest. They were all part of the crime, no matter if they actually threw a cone. They were there and everyone is guilty even the parents, from the 10-year-old, to the parents.”
Miss Stephens continued to say that those who physically assaulted Mr Lambert should be charged with murder, and those in the group who did not should be charged with aiding and abetting.
It has to be asked: what legal liabilities do the parents of these seven delinquents face? They clearly failed in their responsibilities as parents to rear their children properly. The answer is that they almost certainly face no legal problems, though they ought to be at the very least ostracized and run out of town. Of course, that would just mean that some other town would wind up with those parents living there.
The area in which Mr Lambert was murdered is not that bad looking. A row house at 2021 Cecil B Moore Avenue, a block from 21th Street where the murder occurred, is currently for sale, listed at $439,900, while another in the general area is listed at $405,900. There are some other properties in the area listed for lower, but some of them are vacant lots.
Yes, I do look at real estate listings to judge the character of a neighborhood, though I can’t imagine spending over $400,000 for those places. Of course, the fact that we just bought a house in better condition — at least now that my nephew and I redid the plumbing — than the ones listed for a whopping $69,999 might color my opinion on that, but that house is in a small town in east-central Kentucky!
I have to say that I agree with Miss Stephens: all of these kids need to be charged. I can understand why some people are reluctant to charge a 10-year-old, but in Pennsylvania, 10-year-olds can be declared delinquents, and the 10-year-old in question is the brother of 14-year-old Richard Jones, charged with murder, and very probably brought up the same as Mr Jones. The attorney of a 13-year-old girl involved claimed that she attempted to stop the beating, and called 911 to get Mr Lambert help after it was over, but she was still there, and under Pennsylvania law, she was an accomplice.
As we previously noted, The Philadelphia Inquirer printed an OpEd piece, 2½ weeks after Mr Lambert was murdered, claiming that the Commonwealth should cease charging juveniles with crimes to be tried in adult courts. But criminals charged as juveniles have one huge advantage: not only are they released based on age rather than the severity of the crime, but juvenile records are sealed, meaning that, if soft-hearted and soft-headed, social and racial justice warrior District Attorney Larry Krasner gets the charges knocked down to juvenile offenses, Mr Jones and Miss Mosley and perhaps some of the other three killers who have yet to turn themselves in, or be apprehended, could, after age 18, return into the community and apply for any job they wanted, and the fact that they killed somebody would not appear on their records.
If tried as adults, they would still get out of jail when they are in their prime crime-committing years.
Yes, despite her claim, it appears that Shara is a bad mother, but its more than that. Several mothers and (absent?) fathers were bad parents, in that they were allowing teenagers that young to roam the streets of North Philadelphia at 2:30 in the morning. What decent parent does that? Beyond that, the entire community apparently tolerates kids that age to be out on the streets at that time of the morning, and nothing is said.
Jail will (hopefully) punish these kids, but the prospect of prison doesn’t seem to deter most of the other bad kids in North Philly, and the cops can’t be everywhere; the Philadelphia Police Department are undermanned now, but even at full staffing they can’t cover everything.
The real solution, if there is one at all, must come from within the community itself. The people in the community must ostracize the bad kids, and rear the children who still have a chance at leading decent, normal lives to be good citizens. Race and poverty are not valid excuses.