http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com
‘So Utterly Inhumane'
By BOB HERBERT
The New York Times
October 12, 2010
You have to believe that somebody really had it in for the Scott
sisters, Jamie and Gladys. They have always insisted that they had
nothing to do with a robbery that occurred near the small town of
Forest, Miss., on Christmas Eve in 1993. It was not the kind of crime to
cause a stir. No one was hurt and perhaps $11 was taken.
Jamie was 21 at the time and Gladys just 19. But what has happened to
them takes your breath away.
They were convicted by a jury and handed the most draconian sentences
imaginable short of the death penalty. Each was sentenced to two
consecutive life terms in state prison, and they have been imprisoned
ever since. Jamie is now 38 and seriously ill. Both of her kidneys have
failed. Gladys is 36.
This is Mississippi we're talking about, a place that in many ways has
not advanced much beyond the Middle Ages.
The authorities did not even argue that the Scott sisters had committed
the robbery. They were accused of luring two men into a trap, in which
the men had their wallets taken by acquaintances of the sisters, one of
whom had a shotgun.
It was a serious crime. But the case against the sisters was extremely
shaky. In any event, even if they were guilty, the punishment is so
wildly out of proportion to the offense that it should not be allowed to
stand.
Three teenagers pleaded guilty to robbing the men. They ranged in age
from 14 to 18. And in their initial statements to investigators, they
did not implicate the Scott sisters.
But a plea deal was arranged in which the teens were required to swear
that the women were involved, and two of the teens were obliged, as part
of the deal, to testify against the sisters in court.
Howard Patrick, who was 14 at the time of the robbery, said that the
pressure from the authorities to implicate the sisters began almost
immediately. He testified, 'They said if I didn't participate with them,
they would send me to Parchman and make me out a female.'
He was referring to Mississippi State Prison, which was once the
notoriously violent Parchman prison farm. The lawyer questioning the boy
said, “In other words, they would send you to Parchman and you would
get raped, right?”
“Yes, sir,” the boy said.
The teens were sentenced to eight years in prison each, and they were
released after serving just two years.
This is a case that should be repugnant to anyone with the slightest
interest in justice. The right thing to do at this point is to get the
sisters out of prison as quickly as possible and ensure that Jamie gets
proper medical treatment.
A number of people have taken up the sisters cause, including Ben
Jealous, the president of the N.A.A.C.P., who is trying to help secure a
pardon from Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi. 'It makes you sick to
think that this sort of thing can happen,' he said. 'That these women
should be kept in prison until they die well, that's just so utterly
inhumane.
I have no idea why the authorities were so dead set on implicating the
Scott sisters in the crime and sending them away for life, while letting
the teens who unquestionably committed the robbery get off with much
lighter sentences.
Life sentences for robbery can only be imposed by juries in Mississippi,
but it is extremely rare for that sentencing option to even be included
in the instructions given to jurors. It's fair to think, in other
words, that there would have to be some extraordinary reason for
prosecutors and the court to offer such a draconian possibility to a
jury.
Chokwe Lumumba, a lawyer representing the sisters, captured the
prevailing legal sentiment when he said: “I don't think Mississippi law
anticipates that you're going to be giving this instruction in a case
where nobody gets hurt and $11 is allegedly stolen. In the majority of
robbery cases, even the ones that are somewhat nasty, they don't read
that instruction.
The reason for giving the jury the option of imposing life sentences in
this case escapes me. Even the original prosecutor, Ken Turner, who is
now retired and who believes the sisters were guilty, has said that he
thinks it would be 'appropriate' to offer them relief from their extreme
sentences. He told The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., 'It was not a
particularly egregious case.
The appeals process for the women has long since been exhausted. It is
up to Governor Barbour, who is considering petitions on the sisters
behalf, to do the humane thing.
A pardon or commutation of sentence some form of relief that would
release Jamie and Gladys Scott from the hideous shackles of a lifetime
in prison is not just desirable, it's absolutely essential.
Listen To The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Specials:
Still Strange Fruit: 'The Eyes Of Willie McGee' Author Alex Heard & Major Scott Sisters Update (2nd Hour)...
All Eyes Are Still On Mississippi: Free The Scott Sisters!!!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/09/17/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio
Also On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio...
***Check Out The Scott Sisters Update Featuring Sis. Nancy Lockhart 3/24/2010 (Starts In The 2nd Hour)***
Also On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio...
***Check Out The Scott Sisters Update Featuring Sis. Nancy Lockhart 3/24/2010 (Starts In The 2nd Hour)***
***
UNTIL THE SCOTT SISTERS ARE FREE NEITHER ARE WE!!!
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