Statement Concerning the Fanta Bility Murder
We, the Delaware County Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America (Delco DSA), condemn the actions of Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer in the case of the murder of Fanta Bility. On August 27th, 2021, three Sharon Hill police officers discharged their weapons into a crowd of people exiting a football game at Academy Park High School. Bullets they fired struck several people in the crowd, killing 8 year old Fanta Bility and injuring her sister. The DA’s office knows this to be true, and has “concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that it was, in fact, shots from the officers that struck and killed Fanta Bility and injured three others.”
Instead of promptly holding these officers accountable, the DA chose to charge two Black teenagers with first degree murder under the principle of “transferred intent,” because they were allegedly responsible for gunfire about a block away from where the officers discharged their weapons. The officers responsible were placed on administrative leave and their names were not released for 144 days, even to the Bility family. The two teenagers have had their names and photos published widely after the charges against them were announced in November. Additionally, the DA convened a grand jury to investigate the conduct of the officers. The teenagers were not afforded this same privilege, and have been awaiting trial for months while imprisoned without bail.
On January 18th, it was announced that the grand jury had concluded and officers Sean Dolan, Devon Smith, and Brian Devaney, would each be charged with twelve counts of manslaughter and reckless endangerment. It was also announced that charges of first degree murder against the teenagers would be dropped, although other serious charges against them remain. This action took far too long. Charging the teenagers with a murder they did not commit was unecessary, cruel, manipulative, and an example of the ways in which our current system mistreats vulnerable defendants while coddling law enforcement. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer has shown himself incapable of handling cases involving local police, as seen in the 2020 incident of Delaware County police officer Robert “Skippy'' Carroll. We call for DA Stollsteimer’s recusal in this case and all future cases of police conduct.
Finally, we want to thank Delco Resists and UDTJ for their tireless efforts in this case. Their leadership has been and will continue to be invaluable in the work to get these families the justice they deserve. We believe in a future without the violence of policing and mass incarceration. We believe that Black Lives Matter. We believe in the power of people to achieve these goals, and we will get there together.
In Solidarity,
Delco DSA