Friends of Justice Special Report: Governor Barbour Suspends Scott Sisters Sentences

Dr. Alan Bean of the Friends of Justice reports that Governor Hailey Barbour has suspended the sentences of Gladys and Jamie Scott.

As the announcement appears below indicates, this was a political compromise. According to the governor's announcement, "The Mississippi Parole Board reviewed the sisters' request for a pardon and recommended that I neither pardon them, nor commute their sentence." If no one in the wider world was paying attention, this would have been the end of the matter. But thanks to Nancy Lockhart, the civil rights community is well aware of this egregious case and, with Mr. Barbour already on the hot seat for his racial tin ear he had good reason to look for a third way.

Like the vast majority of defendants, the Scott sisters can't prove their innocence. The case against them was badly over-prosecuted, state witnesses have complained of harassment, and the trial was a travesty. But even if you think Gladys and Jamie done the deed, it is difficult to justify a five-year sentence in a case like this let alone double-life. What kind of jury would hand down sentences appropriate to an abduction-torture-rape-murder scenario for an alleged crime netting $11?

Well, if the comments section in Mississippi newspapers is anything to go by, there are a lot of folks in Mississippi who are quite prepared to take an eye-for-an-ear-lobe for any sort of crime if the defendants are presented as stereotypical thugs. The response of the Mississippi Parole Board is disappointing, to say the least. A recommendation of pardon or commutation would have amounted to an admission of judicial over-kill. A mere suspension creates the impression that the Scott Sisters deserved every year of their sentences but the good governor has a compassionate heart.

I doubt Gladys and Jamie are particularly concerned about the legal niceties--they just want to breathe in the free world again. And soon they will! That is good news indeed.

Dec. 29, 2010

GOV. BARBOUR’S STATEMENT REGARDING RELEASE OF SCOTT SISTERS

"Today, I have issued two orders indefinitely suspending the sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott. In 1994, a Scott County jury convicted the sisters of armed robbery and imposed two life sentences for the crime. Their convictions and their sentences were affirmed by the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 1996.

"To date, the sisters have served 16 years of their sentences and are eligible for parole in 2014. Jamie Scott requires regular dialysis, and her sister has offered to donate one of her kidneys to her. The Mississippi Department of Corrections believes the sisters no longer pose a threat to society. Their incarceration is no longer necessary for public safety or rehabilitation, and Jamie Scott's medical condition creates a substantial cost to the State of Mississippi.

"The Mississippi Parole Board reviewed the sisters' request for a pardon and recommended that I neither pardon them, nor commute their sentence. At my request, the Parole Board subsequently reviewed whether the sisters should be granted an indefinite suspension of sentence, which is tantamount to parole, and have concurred with my decision to suspend their sentences indefinitely.

"Gladys Scott's release is conditioned on her donating one of her kidneys to her sister, a procedure which should be scheduled with urgency. The release date for Jamie and Gladys Scott is a matter for the Department of Corrections.

"I would like to thank Representative George Flaggs, Senator John Horne, Senator Willie Simmons, and Representative Credell Calhoun for their leadership on this issue. These legislators, along with former Mayor Charles Evers, have been in regular contact with me and my staff while the sisters' petition has been under review."

Link to Friends of Justice News Feed -- http://feeds.feedburner.com/FriendsOfJustice

Haley Barbour’s Yazoo City Also Home To Mississippi’s Most Prominent Lawyer, John Satterfield, Nationally Known Segregationist and Twice President of American Bar Association

John Satterfield Also Prominent in Citizens Councils Legal Wizardry

By Susan Klopfer

If Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has some explaining to do over Mississippi’s racist past, one of Barbour’s fellow Yazoo City Rotarians, John Satterfield, would also have the same problem – except that he’s dead, so maybe the American Bar Association could enlighten us.

The assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy left most civil rights activists grief-stricken. Kennedy had been the first president since Harry Truman to support equal rights for black Americans, even if he was not always successful. Some activists knew that Lyndon Baines Johnson, the president’s successor, had been one of only three Southern politicians who refused to sign the Southern Manifesto in protest of Brown and also orchestrated Eisenhower’s weak 1957 Civil Rights Act that helped kick-start the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

But could Johnson, a politician first and foremost, be trusted to work for civil rights instead of supporting his fellow white Southerners – men like Senator James O. Eastland of Sunflower County?

Apparently he could, and on November 27, 1963, President Johnson called for passage of the Civil Rights Bill as a monument to the late President Kennedy. Johnson and others knew this would not be an easy task, but few could have predicted the massive effort coming from Mississippi to undermine this legislation. By the fall of 1963, “Mississippi public funds” were already underwriting “the most active lobby [in Washington, D. C.] against civil rights legislation,” reported Ben A. Franklin in a special report to The New York Times. (It would be learned years later, the majority of funds actually emanated from a racist New York financier.)

Franklin correctly discovered money coming from (actually passing through) the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission to initiate activities of the Coordinating Committee for Fundamental American Freedoms, Inc. (CCFAF) at the Mississippi taxpayers’ expense. CCFAF was organized in July 1963, registering as a lobby to oppose the Administration’s Civil Rights Bill and “all similar legislation.” In all, over $300,000 would be collected and spent on this legislation and related Mississippi segregationist projects, according to the New York Times reporter. Sovereignty Commission files, opened to the public years later, revealed the original major source of these funds, Wickliffe Draper.

It was an intriguing group that came together to battle the civil rights legislation: Chairing CCFAF was William Loeb, the controversial and conservative editor and publisher of the Mancheser (N.H.) Union Leader and other newspapers. James J. Kilpatrick, editor of the Richmond News Ledger was Vice Chair while secretary-treasurer and most active top officer was John Satterfield of Yazoo City, a close adviser to Governor Ross Barnett and president of both the Mississippi and American Bar Associations (in 1961 and 1962), positions he used in fighting the Civil Rights Bill.

Satterfield was clearly the conservative’s conservative -- once charging the U.S. Supreme Court with “eroding state’s rights and threatening the country’s liberty and security” by giving “inordinate weight” to the rights of individuals. By the end of the 1960s,Time magazine would label this Yazoo City lawyer as "the most prominent segregationist lawyer in the country.”

A year before the Washington, D. C. effort, Satterfield served as a special adviser to Governor Ross Barnet during James Meredith’s successful integration of the University of Mississippi, and wrote a report to the Mississippi legislature blasting Kennedy and the federal government’s intervention.

Like any power broker, Satterfield had his enemies, including Rev. Ed King of Jackson, a well-known Tougaloo College chaplain and civil rights activist. King had helped coordinate the Jackson lunch counter protests with his ally, sociologist John R. Salter. In a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Methodist Conference rally a year following the murder of NAACP state leader Medgar Evers, King appeared in front of the session to brand Satterfield as “the chief [functionary] of the Nazi operation that operates the state of Mississippi.” Satterfield was attending as leader of the lay delegation of the Mississippi Methodist Conference and King reported on Satterfield’s “$20,000 a year to lobby against civil rights legislation in Washington.”

Despite its detractors, Mississippi’s fight over civil rights legislation, albeit short-lived, was an upscale operation under Satterfield’s direction, with an office suite serving as CCFAF headquarters at the Carrol Arms Hotel, a Capitol Hill landmark overlooking the Senate office buildings.

John Satterfield, born July 25, 1904 in Port Gibson, Mississippi, the son of a Claiborne County attorney, began working part-time in his father's office at the age of ten. Admitted to the Mississippi bar in 1929, Satterfield joined the practice of Alexander & Alexander in Jackson. That same year, the twenty-year-old was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives where he remained until 1932.

In 1969, Time described Satterfield as "the most prominent segregationist lawyer in the country." Satterfield drafted legislation for the Citizens' Councils and acted as counsel to the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission, the Coordinating Committee for Fundamental American Freedoms. In 1969-70, Satterfield served as special counsel for a number of public school districts across Mississippi and the South seeking to delay desegregation, a consolidated case that reached as high as the Supreme Court.

Satterfield was president of the Mississippi State Bar in 1954-55, and was an active member of the American Bar Association, serving on numerous committees over the years including: Rules & Calendar, Jurisprudence & Law Reform, Resolutions, Individual Rights as Affected by National Security, Continuing Legal Education, Awards to Media of Public Information, Economics of Law Practice (chair). He served on the organization's Board of Governors from 1955 through 1958 and represented Mississippi in the House of Delegates for twelve years. In August 1960, he became president-elect of the American Bar Association and held the presidential office from 1961 through 1962.

Satterfield was also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, served as director of the American Judicature Society, and also belonged to the American Law Institute, the International Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the American College of Probate Counsel, the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association, the International Association of Insurance Counsel. Satterfield was a member the Masons, the Rotary Club of Yazoo City, and the Kiwanis Club of Jackson. He attended both Galloway Memorial Church in Jackson and First Methodist Church in Yazoo City, serving on various local and district boards.

Satterfield died on 5 May 1981 reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
***

Some resources uses for this article

"Satterfield, ex-ABA chief, dies at 76" Jackson Clarion-Ledger (7 May 1981): 10B.

William H. Tucker, The Funding of Scientific Racism: Wickliffe Draper and the Pioneer Fund (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2002), pp. 64-94.

Finding-Aid for the John C. Satterfield/American Bar Association Collection (MUM00685), Archives and Special Collections, The University of Mississippi Library

Parts Excerpted from Where Rebels Roost; Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited (Klopfer, 2005)

Mississippi Scott Sisters Emergency; Jamie Scott in Crisis, Says Long-time Supporter

Nancy LockhartAugust 23, 2010 at 9:09am
Subject: Urgent ~ Please E-mail and Call For Jamie Scott ~ Once Again Jamie Needs Hospitalization

(This email just arrived from Nancy Lockhart. Remember these women when Haley Barbour announces his run for the presidency. Susan Klopfer, publisher)

Dear Supporters:

Jamie was hospitalized this weekend but, is now in the prison infirmary. The hospital scheduled surgery for her this morning at 8:30am to unclog the fistula in her arm which is used for dialysis treatments. Jamie was not taken back to the hospital for this surgery.

Please write Dr. Gloria Perry, cc Christopher Epps and Margaret Binghman. Flood their offices with e-mails and ask them to have this surgical procedure done immediately at the hospital. Your e-mails and phone calls have saved Jamie's life in the past and will continue to do so. Let these officials know that Jamie needs to be in a hospital NOW!

Dr. Gloria Perry - gperry@mdoc.http://www.facebook.com/l/80563ZFHpwgTcx4oid9jqDgDhGQ;state.ms.us
Margaret Bingham - mbingham@mdoc.http://www.facebook.com/l/80563ZFHpwgTcx4oid9jqDgDhGQ;state.ms.us
Christopher Epps - CEPPS@mdoc.http://www.facebook.com/l/80563ZFHpwgTcx4oid9jqDgDhGQ;state.ms.us

You may also call.- Dr. Gloria Perry - (601) 359-5155
Margaret Bingham- 601-932-2880
Christopher Epps - 601-359-5600

Thank you,

Nancy Lockhart, M.J.

Mississippi Scott Sisters Documentary Now In Production

News Release from Nancy Lockhart
Subject: July 4th 2010 - Jamie Scott's Birthday - Documentary of The Scott Sisters and Thank You's

Dear Supporters:

Jamie and Gladys would like to thank all supporters for everything that is being done to assist in securing their freedom. They would especially like to thank The Gray Haired Witnesses for the most recent Washington, DC event.

Jamie sends a special thank you to everyone for contacting the Health Department regarding conditions at MDOC's- Quickbed Unit which is where she and many other inmates are housed. She has said that the prison made noticeable improvements and are continuing to do so. Many other inmates have also expressed their thanks to everyone who called and wrote the Mississippi Health Department. The Health Department did visit the prison and it has made a great difference in the lives of inmates.

Mrs. Rasco said that Jamie has broken out in boils again. The medical clinic has given her antibiotics and hopefully this will clear her condition. Although Jamie is sick; she is in very high spirits because of the improved living conditions. I would personally like to thank Ms. Gloretha Darlene Pinckney-Gray for sharing the idea of contacting OSHA and the Health Department. Ms. Gray - you have made a difference in many lives there at MDOC - Quick Bed. We thank you!

Jamie's Birthday is on July 16th and she would very much appreciate receiving cards and letters from supporters. Please write to Jamie Scott at the following address:
Jamie Scott # 19197
CMCF/2A-B-Zone
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, MS 39288-8850

Anyone who wishes to send funds directly to Jamie for her commissary privileges may do so by following instructions provided via this link.
http://www.facebook.com/l/e2562k4JxBBnwJ_upwwubxSISMw;www.mdoc.state.ms.us/Sending%20Money.htm

Free The Scott Sisters T-Shirts are available and may be purchased via the link below. Thank you to Paul Lefrak for organizing this and to Jack and Mike for picking up the torch! Please order your shirts, wear them and assist us in spreading the word.
http://www.facebook.com/l/e2562zJyAar_WkJeTgARchD8K_w;www.radicaljack.com/scsit.html

Last but not least, a documentary is now being produced of The Scott Sisters, their family and this tragic case. The producer and his team are working around the clock to meet deadlines and ensure that all bases are covered. This documentary should be released in a few months!

In Solidarity,

Nancy R. Lockhart, M.J.

Civil Rights Activist Dick Gregory Urges Mass Support for the Gray-Haired Witnesses Fast for Justice

Contact: Nancy Lockhart
June 4, 2010 at 8:28am
Subject: DICK GREGORY Urges Mass Support for the Gray-Haired Witnesses Fast for Justice ~ By Sis. Marpessa

P r e s s R e l e a s e

Contacts: B.J. Janice Peak-Graham / Marpessa Kupendua 1- 866-968-1188, Ext. 2 ghwitnesses@gmail.com http://www.facebook.com/l/787a2;www.grayhairedwitnesses.blogspot.com/

WASHINGTON, June 3/Gray-Haired Witnesses for Justice News -- Fiery human rights activist, Dick Gregory, urged everyone to support the June 21, 2010 Gray-Haired Witnesses Fast for Justice in DC in an interview yesterday. The upcoming day-long event is to call attention to the shocking case of the Mississippi Scott Sisters, two women who each received double-life sentences for an alleged robbery of $11.00 almost 16 years ago. The public fast, press conference and rally also calls attention to the entire system of justice which increasingly incarcerates and oversentences non-violent Black female first time offenders, such as Jamie and Gladys Scott, punishing and many times actually destroying entire families.

"This is one of the worst cases I have ever heard of in my life," exclaimed Gregory, "My jaw dropped when I read that these women have been in prison for almost 16 years and aren't even charged with laying a hand on anyone! This country should be embarrassed to have such a blatant travesty of justice exist while wagging our finger at people abroad for human rights abuses. What we have going on here is the epitome of cruel and unusual punishment and is outrageous, even for Mississippi!".

The Gray-Haired Witnesses Fast for Justice was prompted by the very serious illness of now 38-yr. old Jamie Scott who entered prison in 1994 a healthy young woman yet suffered kidney failure this past January and was deprived adequate medical treatment for an extended period of time. Jamie has quickly declined to stage 5 (end stage) kidney disease and has suffered many life-threatening medical emergencies in an unclean environment.

Mr. Gregory was dumbfounded as to why MS Governor Haley Barbour has ignored all calls to pardon the women. "They went in at the ages of 19 and 22 with no prior criminal record, have consistently maintained their innocence, and even the testimony against them is documented as having been coerced! Even if they were guilty, we are talking about double-life sentences each, how does that make any kind of sense, don't their lives mean anything at all? If Gov. Barbour won't do the right thing then we need Eric Holder and President Obama to immediately step in! Washington, DC should be packed with people on June 21, demanding the immediate release of the Scott Sisters!".

On June 21, 2010, the Gray-Haired Witnesses will commence a Fast at the Department of Justice in a 10:00 a.m formal appeal to Eric Holder, rejoin at the White House at Noon with a press conference and formal appeal to President Obama, and then continue at Lafayette Square Park from 1PM until 9PM for the duration of the fast with speakers, live performances and artists. The Gray-Haired Witnesses are calling on all people of good will to join them on that day and demand justice for the Scott Sisters and an end to the oversentencing, degradation and dehumanization of Black women in this system and nation as a whole.

Mississippi Scott Sisters Update: Fellow Prisoner Collapses, Dies: Had Just Questioned Her Medical Care

Jamie and Gladys Scott, Mississippi Inmates, $11 Robbery

(Ed. Note. Learn more about the Scott Sisters at the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission blog.)

Update From: nattyreb
Subject: [scottsistersupdates] !*CHECK IT: 5/5 SCOTT SISTERS UPDATE!
To: "Evelyn Rasco"
Date: Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 12:28 PM

Mrs. Rasco received word that last evening a 13 yr. friend of Jamie Scott's took a few steps toward her and fell down dead. The guards ran to her aid and tried CPR and everything that they could, but the woman had passed away. Jamie became hysterical,vomited blood and began losing breath. The guards there calmed Jamie, prayed with her, and stayed with her until her heart rate returned to normal.

This woman had issues with her medication and health care in the prison for years, and was just questioning her medication earlier that day. The consensus among the inmates was that this woman's death was just another example of the poor medical care in that hellhole.

The issue remains of Jamie vomiting blood, as well as reporting that there
are large, infected knots spread in various parts of her body which are painful and full of pus and blood. Jamie is terrified that she will be the next one to die and reports that her body is again full of infection. She has also been told that she has become anemic and that her blood sugars are only checked on a once weekly basis!

Please support by participating in two action requests!
--

1. ACTION

Jamie needs to be hospitalized and cleared of these infections! There also
needs to be a determination about the level of medical care she is receiving as it is apparent that she is not being monitored carefully as these infections continue to thrive and remain untreated until there is a demand from the outside.

Please contact these officials and let them know that Jamie Scott, #19197, needs to be hospitalized ASAP as she has infections throughout her body that need immediate treatment!

Attorney General Eric Holder
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
HOTLINE: 202-353-1555
PHONE: 202-514-2000
202-307-6777 fax
AskDOJ@usdoj. gov

Dr. Gloria Perry, Medical Department (601) 359-5155
gperry@mdoc. state.ms. us

Christopher Epps
601-359-5600
CEPPS@mdoc.state. ms.us
723 North President Street
Jackson, MS 39202

Governor Haley Barbour
P.O. Box 139
Jackson, Mississippi 39205
1-877-405-0733 or 601-359-3150
Fax: 601-359-3741
(If you reach VM leave msgs, faxes, and please send letters)

============ ======

2. ACTION

Please e-mail, the following persons at The American Bar Association in support of the Scott Sisters. Please blind Copy (bcc) and paste in all e-mail addresses. A 1-800 number is also included below. Our goal here is to have thousands contact the ABA as there is power in numbers.

PilchenI@staff. abanet.org
KEnglehart@staff. abanet.org
CurdB@staff. abanet.org
windsorp@staff. abanet.org

American Bar Association
Attention: President Carolyn Lamm
321 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60654-7598
800.285.2221

Dear President Lamm:

I would like to bring your attention to the Case of The Scott Sisters. In the state of Mississippi, Jamie and Gladys Scott were convicted of armed robbery. A jury found the sisters guilty in 1994, transcripts conflictingly state that $11 dollars was netted. The sisters received double life sentences each for this crime, had no prior criminal records, and no one was injured in any way. A 14 year old testified that he was coerced and threatened to be sent to Parchman Penitentiary if he did not lie on the sisters by signing a statement. Other witnesses stated that the sisters were not involved in this crime. Jamie and Gladys Scott were convicted with no physical evidence.

The sisters are in need of a pro bono criminal law attorney. Currently, an attorney is handling Jamie Scott’s medical issues as she has had kidney failure and is receiving sub standard medical care via the MDOC and Wexford Health Sources, Inc.. Jamie Scott is in stage 5 of kidney failure, which is the final stage.

I am requesting that you assist in securing a criminal attorney to review their prior appeals process and determine additional ways to re enter state or federal court. Above all, the sisters should be immediately exonerated.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.


Sincerely,


(Your name)


Case Summary: http://freethescott sisters.blogspot .com/search/ label/Case% 20Summary
Legal Transcripts: http://www.scribd. com/doc/21748820 /Scott-transcrip t

============

Jamie and Gladys want to thank all of the supporters so much for everything that's being done on their behalf,they are so happy to receive mail and to know that we are out here fighting for them and want to make sure that you know how grateful they are!

Gladys Scott, #19142
CMCF/B-Bldg.
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, MS 39288-8550

Jamie Scott, #19197
CMCF/2A-B-Zone
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, MS 39288-8550

Please help spread the word to the media, Mrs. Evelyn Rasco is available for interviews and can be reached at rqueenbee2222@yahoo.com. We need the Scott Sisters case to be known worldwide!

------------ ---
Visit and LINK to: http://www.freethes cottsisters. blogspot. com
Subscribe to our group: Send a blank e-mail to scottsistersupdates -subscribe@ yahoogroups. com and share information!
Facebook Group: Free The Scott Sisters
Facebook Fan Page: Free The Scott Sisters
Free the Scott Sisters Petition: http://www.ipetitio ns.com/petition/Free-Jamie- Gladys/index. html
Free the Scott Sisters Flyer: http://www.scribd.com/doc/28847395/Scott-Sisters- Flyer-Black- 23-Mar-2010- 20
Legal Transcripts: http://www.scribd.com/Scott%20Sisters

Update: Jamie Scott, Mississippi Prisoner; Severely Ill Scott Wakened by Warden, Ordered to Work

Nancy LockhartApril 19, 2010 at 1:00pm
Subject: UPDATE: 4/19 ~ Jamie Scott Ordered To Scrub Prison Walls with One Arm - From Sis. Marpessa

Jamie Scott called her mother this morning and informed
her that Warden Holman woke her from sleep, demanding
to know what her mother was posting on the internet
regarding mold on the walls and leaking in her unit.
She got up and showed him the mold all over the walls
as well as sewage that was coming up out of the toilets
and the spiders overrunning the unit.

The warden then told Jamie (who only has the use of one
arm) to scrub down the walls, to which she refused! Jamie
told him that her mother is posting the truth and would
continue to post about the disgusting conditions of the unit
and how it was making her sicker and more prone to
infection, and that all of those years of mold would need
more than scrubbing anyway. She told him if she was
allowed to lay there and die that he hasn't seen anything
yet and would never hear the last of her mother!

The other women were awakened by the Warden and told
to scrub the mold off of the walls and they also refused!
They told the Warden that they were glad that everybody
is finding out about their horrible living conditions and that
the building needs to be torn down! No matter how the prison
tries to hide it, the truth will continue to be told!

One prison doctor has diagnosed Jamie with an infection
and another has not, but she has the discoloration that
is a hallmark of recurrent infection. She clarified that
it was determined that she was only on Heparin while in
the hospital and that it had been discontinued.

PLEASE PARTICIPATE in e-mailing our press release to at
least three press contacts as often as possible! It's at:
http://www.facebook.com/l/387a0;www.scribd.com/doc/30178263/Scott-Sisters-Press-Release
Many newspapers can be reached by e-mail or contact form
at http://www.facebook.com/l/387a0;www.usnpl.com/ - please also contact other forms
of media that you can easily find info for. We need a whole
lot of help to attract as much attention to this case as
possible to truly make a difference!

Thank you all, don't let up!!
--------------

Federal Judge to Mississippi: Cease School Segregation

US District Judge Tom Lee has given the Walthall County School District in Mississippi 30 days to amend its student transfer policy and ordered an immediate halt to the alleged "clustering" of white students into certain classes in Tylertown, Miss., elementary schools.

"The district shall cease using race in the assignment of students to classrooms in a manner that results in the racial segregation of students," Judge Lee said in his eight-page order.

"The district shall randomly assign students to classrooms at the Tylertown Elementary Schools through the use of a student management software program," the judge said.

The action stems from a federal desegregation order issued in August 1970 – nearly 40 years ago. The case was closed for lack of activity in 2001.

In 2007, lawyers with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division contacted the Mississippi school district to monitor its compliance with the 1970 desegregation order. The action revealed two alleged violations.

The district was allowing more than 300 students – most of them white – to transfer from their assigned schools to a predominately white school, the Salem Attendance Center, outside their residential zone, according to court documents.

The second alleged violation involved grouping white students into a few designated classes at three other schools in Tylertown. The action created a significant number of all-black classrooms at each elementary grade level, documents say.

“It is unacceptable for school districts to act in a way that encourages or tolerates the resegregation of public schools,” said Thomas Perez, who heads the Civil Rights Division.

Warren Richey of the Christian Science Monitor continues:

Update on Mississippi Scott Sisters; Nancy Lockhart: You Can Send a Letter to Gov. Haley Barbour

Jamie and Gladys Scott, Imprisoned in Mississippi
Important Update on Mississippi Scott Sisters
Nancy Lockhart
April 5 at 6:35 pm:

Jamie Scott was returned to her regular jail cell at CMCF in 2A B Zone on approximately March 30. A permanent fistula was placed in her arm, however she still has the painful catheter in her groin area. Jamie was told this will remain there for about 6 more weeks as her arm heals and her veins become strong enough to take the dialysis.

After surgery her potassium spiked and she had vomiting and seizure. She has been stable since that time as far as we have been able to determine. One of the doctors who examined Jamie told her that she is at stage 5 kidney failure,which is the worst and considered end stage, and that in the "free" world she would qualify to be on the list for a kidney transplant. Other testing confirmed this and concur that it is the fault of MDOC because they should have caught it much sooner than when it reached stage 5, especially in light of Jamie's constant medical complaints and their denial or shuffling of her medications.

MDOC should not have been placing those temporary catheters into her neck instead of placing a shunt in her arm before now, but they were basically taking the cheap way out. Jamie needs to be RELEASED because the prison cannot be trusted to give her ANY SEMBLANCE of adequate medical care, particularly in her advanced stage of disease!

As has been posted previously, Dr. Gloria Perry stated that Jamie is not a candidate for transplant! Jamie's sister and other family members have offered to be tested for compatibility, yet been denied by MDOC. In a Mississippi Clarion Ledge article on March 18, Commissioner Epps was quoted as stating: "We've got a lot of sick people in Mississippi," he said. "Prison is just a subculture of the culture. When they come in to us, unfortunately, many times they haven't gotten treatment until we get them." All told, Epps said MDOC has 258 male and female inmates with HIV or AIDS.

But it doesn't end there. Altogether there are 5,621 inmates with medical conditions ranging from failing kidneys to heart disease."Those are some staggering numbers for a population of 21,000 people," he said.He said he hopes the department can "get by" spending $50 million this year on medical costs. Some inmates with complicated medical problems are released, he said. "I just signed off on 72 persons for medical release," he said.

Neither Jamie nor Mrs. Rasco have received any information to indicate whether or not Jamie's name might be on this list.

======

Free The Scott Sisters Now in Mississippi is collecting 10,000 signatures on the below letter, so please support and pass them on! Please copy and paste the below, sign and return to Atty Lumumba's office as instructed,this is very important so please participate!!

FREE THE SCOTT SISTERS NOW

Information Line: 1-888-600-5311
Governor Haley Barbour
P. O. Box 139
Jackson, MS 39205

RE: The Scott Sisters

Dear Governor Barbour:

I would like to bring your attention to the case of Jamie and Gladys Scott. These sisters have served more than 15 years of a double life term where no one was murdered or injured. State’s witnesses have testified to their innocence. Jamie Scott’s kidneys have failed and her health is fading fast.

We need your help now. Mississippi needs to know that those of us who believe in justice and human rights are prepared to take a stand for the Scott Sisters.

FREE THE SCOTT SISTERS NOW!!!!!

Signed,

(Your Name)

Truly Concerned Name: ______________________________

Address: ____________________________________________


Please forward this letter of support to:

Free the Scott Sisters
c/o Attorney Chokwe Lumumba
440 N. Mill Street Jackson, MS 39205

Jamie Scott Rushed Back To Prison So Mother Could Not Visit Hospital 3/25 Mississippi Scott Sisters Update

Jamie and Gladys Scott








Nancy LockhartMarch 25, 2010 at 5:24am
Subject: Jamie Scott Rushed Back To Prison So Mother Could Not Visit Hospital
3/25 SCOTT SISTERS UPDATE!

NOTE: If reading this before 10:00 a.m. EST or 9am CST on 3/25, please tune into http://www.facebook.com/l/9e070;www.wjzd.com for a Scott Sisters update from Mrs. Rasco on the Rip Daniels "It's a New Day" (http://www.facebook.com/l/9e070;www.itisanewday.com) show. Rip Daniels is a very dedicated supporter who starts each show off at 10 a.m. daily counting down how long Jamie and Gladys have been wrongfully locked down and tormented in that prison and will even discuss the case during some mornings on his program, so please check in as regularly as you can.
* * *

Mrs. Rasco and her entire family are in Mississippi to visit Jamie
and Gladys as well as to participate in the 3/26 MWM/BWDL Press
Conference scheduled for 12 noon in front of the Jackson, MS
Capitol Bldg. at 400 High St. The organization is asking for letters
of support for their campaign by 12 midnight 3/25 to be sent to
nationalmwm@aol.com or officialmwm@yahoo.com
For more info call: 267-636-3802.

Jamie has been in the hospital since 3/15 with a very serious infection,
severe weakness, extreme pain and swelling. Jamie stated that
she was "kicked out" of the hospital on Tuesday to prevent Mrs. Rasco
from coming in and asking questions, in fact an extra
guard was placed there to make certain that Mrs. Rasco didn't
come in there to see her. Jamie told Mrs. Rasco that she couldn't
believe how her 4' tall momma caused so much worry among those
prison officials!

She was abruptly moved to her old cell in the prison to await the visit with her mother and family to take place Wednesday for an hour, after which her family was to visit with Gladys for an hour. However, the Assistant Warden met them at the entrance and stated that some of the children weren't on the list to come in. After much wrangling and his personally searching the young men he permitted everyone to visit both women together BUT for one hour total, which actually ended up being less than an hour due to all of the wasted time spent being searched and with the Asst Warden on the phone rechecking names in the waiting area. The family watched in tears as Jamie climbed off of a bus and limped slowly and weakly to the visiting area and questioned staff as to why she wasn't given a wheelchair,to which they had no answer.

Jamie and Gladys grabbed onto each other and their family members
for a very emotional reunion, especially for the children. Both women
had lost quite a bit of weight, Gladys from extreme stress and depression
and Jamie due to her serious illness. Jamie stated that she was told by
the doctor that 6 catheter infections was much too much and that
she never should have had so many temporary catheters, which blew out
all of her veins where they were placed. She currently has a shunt in her
groin which is extremely painful and must be surgically removed next
week. She is scheduled to stay in her old cell until Friday, at which
time she is told that she will be returned to the hospital.

Both Jamie and Gladys want all of their supporters to know that
our activities are very greatly appreciated and that they want us to
keep on! Mrs. Rasco and family are also very thankful and hopeful
that together we can get those women released from this horrific
situation soon! If we keep pushing and use our creativity to call
attention to this case, it will happen! If you write, then write about
it; if you sing, sing about it; poet about it; creatively perform about
it; print out flyers and distribute them at programs and events, however
you can do it, please help get the word out about the plight of these
women, there's something that every one can do!

The Days of Blogging for the Scott Sisters that happened on 3/18 and
is so wonderfully happening again today will really help get the word out
on the case in wider and broader areas of the internet and hopefully lead
to much more support and national attention! Thanks so much to all
of the participants and we will be posting links to all of the blogs that
participated at the Scott Sisters site, so please send them in so that
you can be acknowledged! Of course everyone is encouraged to
continue blogging beyond today and please do!
~~~~~

We still don't trust that Jamie will receive adequate medical care once
these hospitalizations are completed, which was proven by the fact that
as soon as she was returned from the hospital yesterday she was
put right back in that moldy building where she was originally housed!
JAMIE SCOTT NEEDS TO BE HOUSED IN THE MEDICAL BUILDING.
Someone as seriously ill as Jamie needs to be somewhere that she can
get assistance in better living conditions, and that's not in the infirmary
and definitely not in her original cell. The Medical Bldg. would give her
access to her sister, Gladys, who would help her with her activities of
daily living and monitor her condition, just as other family members
incarcerated together there are permitted to do with less life-threatening
illnesses than Jamie suffers.

We must keep pushing for media attention to what's going on and are
continually pressing for nationwide press. A complete and in-depth
examination of this travesty of justice must be exposed!! Please
forward all of the info at the site to anyone, anywhere that can help
to make that happen, the Scott Sisters need to go prime-time to
apply enough pressure to make this Gov. do the right thing.

Jane Velez-Mitchell should do an entire segment on the Scott Sisters
now that she is aware of the case, please contact her and urge her to
follow-up her brief mention of the Scott Sisters on her 3/6 "Issues with
Jane Velez-Mitchell" with a more significant segment that will focus on
Jamie's serious medical condition and the Scott Sisters case
period. The contact form is at http://www.facebook.com/l/9e070;www.cnn.com/feedback/tips/newstips.html

EDITED FROM SCOTT SISTERS LIST SERVE

New Blogging Day Set For Scott Sisters of Mississippi

Nancy LockhartMarch 22, 2010 at 5:50am
Subject: 3/25 DAY OF BLOGGING FOR THE SCOTT SISTERS ~ By Sister Marpessa
PLEASE PARTICIPATE AND SPREAD THE WORD!
3/25 DAY OF BLOGGING FOR THE SCOTT SISTERS
* * *

Thanks to the many excellent bloggers who participated in our
initial Day of Blogging for the Scott Sisters on 3/18!! The notices
didn't reach everyone in a timely manner and so we are happy to
announce a new date for bloggers to unite around this case
of Mississippi injustice and particularly to intervene in the
prison's medical malpractice being suffered by Jamie Scott!

In early January both of Jamie Scott's kidneys shut down and
she has been swiftly declining due to unprofessional medical
care that is inadequate, cut-rate and frighteningly inept. Jamie
was rushed to the hospital last week due to severe infection
and the need for prolonged medical attention. However,
Jamie continues to require ongoing close monitoring as when
she is returned to the prison it is well documented that the
medical staff there has provided abysmal health care in filthy
conditions that have put Jamie's life at risk far too many times
to be acceptable. Jamie needs to be released from prison,
period!

We ask that bloggers put out calls for students, clubs,
churches/temples/mosques, organizations, creative artists,
media, politicians, community leaders, journalists, etc. to
become aware of the case of the Scott Sisters and to make
certain that all of their contacts are informed, as well. There is
something that each person can do and we need to get Jamie
home while she still has time to be with her family!

Thanks to all who will participate in this and help to raise the call to
FREE THE SCOTT SISTERS throughout the blogosphere 3/25
and beyond! In the spirit of International Women's Month,
please support our women! Please send notification of any
blog postings to nattyreb@gmail.com!
----------------------

In conjunction with: http://www.facebook.com/l/dcf86;www.blackperspective.net

For Immediate Release
Afrosphere Action Coalition – March 22, 2010
Contact: Marpessa Kupendua of the Committee to Free the Scott Sisters at nattyreb@gmail.com

Wrongly Convicted In Dire Health Situation
3/25 DAY OF BLOGGING FOR THE SCOTT SISTERS

On 12/24/93, the Scott County Sheriff’s Department arrested Jamie and Gladys Scott for armed robbery even though three young males, ranging from ages 14 to 18, confessed to committing the crime and the women have unwaveringly maintained their complete innocence. Despite this, the corrupt Mississippi sheriff used coercion, threats, and harassment to compel the young men to turn state’s evidence against the Scott Sisters due to a long-standing vendetta against a family member. In 10/94 the Scott Sisters were sentenced to extraordinary double-life terms each, despite the facts that no one was harmed, neither sister had prior convictions, no weapon was ever recovered, and the amount alleged to have been taken was approximately $11.00. Even if they were guilty as charged, this sentence is completely outrageous and cruel.

Jamie Scott, who entered the prison system as a healthy young woman, is now suffering from complete kidney failure and other life-threatening medical conditions. Since January, 2010 Jamie has endured almost weekly severe health setbacks that the state has either outright refused to address or handled in a slipshod manner. Jamie has had weeks of serious infections that could have taken her life, has gone into shock, been given sporadic dialysis treatments, and suffered the state's refusal to provide her with adequate nutrition as required for her serious medical condition.

The Scott Sisters are now in their 16th year of incarceration and their five children and grandchildren are being raised by their now ailing mother. The defendants and their family are wholly dependent on support from the press, organizations, and all those dedicated to justice in making this debacle as public as possible. The lengthy incarceration of these women to date and their draconian sentences are completely shocking and must be challenged, enough is enough!

Mrs. Rasco and Afrosphere Bloggers are calling on the public to press the governor's office to pardon the Scott Sisters and release them, particularly Jamie who needs to be at home with her family during her very serious illness. Please ask that the media and politicians do an investigative inquiry about this tragic situation and the outrageous case of the wrongfully convicted Scott Sisters!

CONTACT GOV. BARBOUR’S OFFICE
P.O. Box 139
Jackson, Mississippi 39205
1-877-405-0733 or 601-359-3150
Fax: 601-359-3741
(If you reach VM leave msgs, faxes, and please send letters)

Congressman Bennie Thompson
3607 Medgar Evers Blvd.
Jackson, MS 39213
601-946-9003(ph)
601-982-5337 (fx)
Benniethompson@mail.house.gov

Congressman John Conyers
2426 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Ph: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072
---
For Complete Information - Free the Scott Sisters: http://www.facebook.com/l/dcf86;www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com
Compassionate Release Petition: http://www.facebook.com/l/dcf86;www.scribd.com/doc/26252282/COMPASSIONATE-RELEASE-FOR-JAMIE-SCOTT
Free the Scott Sisters Petition: http://www.facebook.com/l/dcf86;www.ipetitions.com/petition/Free-Jamie-Gladys/index.html
Legal Transcripts: http://www.facebook.com/l/dcf86;www.scribd.com/Scott%20Sisters

Days of Blogging Brings Out Supporters of 'Free Scott Sisters' From Mississippi Prisosn

For Immediate Release
Afrosphere Action Coalition – March 18, 2010
Contact: Marpessa Kupendua of The Committee to Free the Scott Sisters at nattyreb@gmail.com

Wrongly Convicted In Dire Health Situation
DAY OF BLOGGING FOR THE SCOTT SISTERS

Jamie Scott, who was convicted with her sister Gladys Scott and given double-life sentences each for an $11.00 robbery of which there was no credible evidence presented at trial, is suffering from complete kidney failure and other life-threatening medical conditions. The prison is aware of Jamie’s current condition yet Jamie remains in the prison infirmary.*

Mrs. Rasco and Afrosphere Bloggers are calling on the public to request that elected and prison officials in Mississippi immediately move Jamie to qualified medical facilities where she can receive proper medical care forthwith. We also ask that the media do investigative inquiry about this tragic situation and the outrageous case of the wrongfully convicted Scott Sisters!

CONTACT GOV. BARBOUR’S OFFICE
P.O. Box 139
Jackson, Mississippi 39205
1-877-405-0733 or 601-359-3150
Fax: 601-359-3741
(If you reach VM leave msgs, faxes, and please send letters)

CONTACT CHRISTOPHER EPPS
Christopher Epps, Commissioner of Prisons for the State of Mississippi
601-359-5600
CEPPS@mdoc.state.ms.us
723 North President Street
Jackson, MS 39202

Congressman Bennie Thompson
3607 Medgar Evers Blvd.
Jackson, MS 39213
601-946-9003(ph)
601-982-5337 (fx)
Benniethompson@mail.house.gov

Congressman John Conyers
2426 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Ph: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072

On 12/24/93, the Scott County Sheriff’s Department arrested Jamie and Gladys Scott for armed robbery even though three young males, ranging from ages 14 to 18, confessed to committing the crime and the women have unwaveringly maintained their complete innocence. Despite this, the corrupt Mississippi sheriff used coercion, threats, and harassment to compel the young men to turn state’s evidence against the Scott Sisters due to a long-standing vendetta against a family member. In 10/94 the Scott Sisters were sentenced to extraordinary double-life terms each, despite the facts that no one was harmed, neither sister had prior convictions, no weapon was ever recovered, and the amount alleged to have been taken was approximately $11.00. Even if they were guilty as charged, this sentence is completely outrageous and cruel.

The Scott Sisters are now in their 15th year of incarceration and their five children and grandchildren are being raised by their now ailing mother. The defendants and their family are wholly dependent on support from the press, organizations, and all those dedicated to justice in making this debacle as public as possible.

Their Story has had some success in getting media of late, the most notable being a very brief mention on HLN’s “Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell”, a clip of which is available to view here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO_p3tbjy5E

*Although Jamie was recently hospitalized due to a life-threatening infection, she continues to require ongoing close monitoring as once returned to the prison it has been proven on many occasions that are well documented at the website that the medical staff there has provided abysmal health care that has put Jamie's life at risk far too many times to be acceptable.

Black Perspective Announces Upcoming Day of Blogging For Scott Sisters

Black Perspective
Yobachi Boswell
Website

Sis. Marpessa, who works with Mrs. Rasco’s the Scott sister’s mother; has asked Afrosphere bloggers to conduct a day of blogging to help the wrongly convicted sisters specifically at this time of medical need.

Below is a preliminary press release for the Thursday March 18, Day of Blogging. It should provide the info you need if you’re not familiar with the situation or just need more details. You can also visit Mrs Rasco’s site:

http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com.