Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Update on Terrance Scott Hearing



From Mrs. Evelyn Rasco

Dear Supporters:

Thanks to your help, Terrance's sentencing hearing has been put off until July 28. This will give more time for supporters to write letters and fax his attorney as she is working very hard to get him the least amount of time that she can, due to the great injustice Jamie and Gladys suffered.

Atty Contact is:

Jennifer Hart
3 West Garden St, Suite 200
Pensacola, FL 32502
Fax: 850 434 3855
Office: 850 432 1418.

Terrance Scott is Jamie Scott's oldest son.

Thank you on behalf of Jamie and Gladys.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Plea from Evelyn Rasco to Call-in for Grandson, Terrance Scott



From: Mrs. Evelyn Rasco - rqueenbee2222@yahoo.com

I am asking all of our supporters to please email or fax my grandson's attorney to ask the judge to have mercy on Terrance Scott. He is Jamie's oldest son that went on a rampage due to our long fight to free Jamie and Gladys and his belief that his mother would die in prison. Crimes have been put on him by the state that he did not do. He has pled guilty to federal charges so he will be sentenced on July 19. I am asking just for your help so the system will know that someone cares for Terrance just as so many of you cared for Jamie and Gladys. His attorney is Jennifer Hart, fax her at 850 434 3855, office number 850 432 1418. Terrance had no convictions until all this happened and no one was hurt or killed in the crimes he pled guilty to, so please i need your help. Send a fax, please, time has run out for letters to reach Pensacola, FL. Just ask the judge to have mercy on Terrance and state that what happened to his mother, Jamie, pushed him off the edge and drinking that 4LOKO beer that has killed some teens in the past. So please help me to save my grandson's life, please everyone fax as quickly as possible. You all freed Jamie and Gladys and I know you can make an impact on what the judge does to Terrance.

Thank you so much for your support, Evelyn Rasco (Jamie and Gladys Scott's mother). My fight for my kids will never end, thank you.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

SCOTT SISTERS APPEAR ON THE MONIQUE SHOW













From: BET.com / 5-11-11

Tonight on The Mo'Nique Show: NAACP President Ben Jealous Joins the Scott Sisters to Discuss Their Landmark Case

Also, Grizz Chapman talks about his kidney scare and VaShawn Mitchell sings for the Scott sisters.
By BET-Staff

BET's The Mo'Nique Show is the boldest talk show on TV. Tonight the Queen of Late Night welcomes:

LOCAL HEROES GLADYS AND JAMIE SCOTT, WHOSE LIFE SENTENCES WERE CUT SHORT. The Scott sisters discuss their 16 years in prison, how they overcame their circumstances and the deal that ultimately set them free.

NAACP PRESIDENT BEN JEALOUS, WHO CAME TO THE SCOTT SISTERS' RESCUE. Ben Jealous joins the Scott sisters on the couch to discuss what attracted the NAACP to the Scott sisters' case and how they were able to land another major victory in Civil Rights history.

ACTOR GRIZZ CHAPMAN, WHO WENT FROM PERSONAL SECURITY GUARD TO PLAYING ONE ON TV. Chapman talks about his real-life kidney-transplant scare as well as his role on the hit sitcom 30 Rock.

GOSPEL SINGER VASHAWN MITCHELL, WHO DEDICATES HIS PERFORMANCE TO THE SCOTT SISTERS. VaShawn Mitchell explains the history of "Nobody Greater" to Mo'Nique before delivering an emotional performance in honor of the Scott sisters.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

4/23 SCOTT SISTERS FEATURED IN BROOKLYN EVENT

SATURDAY, 4/23: SCOTT SISTERS SPEAK IN BROOKLYN!


Malcolm X Grassroots Movement & National Conference of Black Lawyers To Host Forum featuring Jamie & Gladys Scott and Chokwe Lumumba, with panelists Michael Tarif Warren, Marc Lamont Hill, and Rukia Lumumba, moderated by April R. Silver:

April 23 at Restoration Plaza, 1:00pm


WHO: Featured Guests: Jamie and Gladys Scott (aka the Scott Sisters) will be featured guests via teleconference.


Panelists: Chokwe Lumumba (legal counsel to the Scott Sisters); Michael Tarif Warren (lawyer activist), Marc Lamont Hill (activist, author, scholar), and Rukia Lumumba (activist); April R. Silver (activist, writer), moderator.


Organizers: The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the National Conference of Black Lawyers.


WHAT: Mississippi, Goddam! The Scott Sisters Speak in Brooklyn – a community forum regarding the case of the Scott Sisters (see background note below). Attorney Chokwe Lumumba will give updates about the current state of affairs of this case and will provide information about the campaign for their full release. Jamie and Gladys Scott will be teleconferenced in live to share their experiences as well as their ongoing commitment to help others with similar cases. This forum is free and open to the public.


WHEN: Saturday, April 23, 2011 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 p

WHERE: Restoration Plaza, First Floor –
Multi-Purpose Room

Located at 1368 Fulton St Brooklyn, NY 11216

CONTACT: For more information, contact Lalit Clarkson at 917.468.7348 or info@mxgm.org. freethescottsisters.blogspot.com

~ more ~

BACKGROUND

In 1993 in Mississippi two young Black women, Jamie and Gladys Scott were each sentenced to double life sentences for an $11 robbery. The trail and conviction of the then 19 and 22 year old women wreaks of the blatant race, gender and class oppression that is rampant throughout the criminal justice system in America. Their defense attorney, who was later disbarred for unrelated incompetency, never called a single witness in the sister's defense. One of the witnesses who testified against them has since recanted his testimony saying he was threatened by police. Ultimately, two of the three men who indeed committed the robbery served 2 years in prison in exchange for testifying against the Scott sisters. Jamie and Gladys maintain their innocence


While in prison, Jamie and Gladys suffered all of the usually physical and psychological abuses of incarceration. The lack of decent health care and nutrition put Jamie Scott in critical need of a kidney transplant. Support for their release grew over the decade and a half of their incarceration, ultimately leading to a suspension of sentence in January of this year - conditional on Gladys donating a kidney to her ailing sister.


Today, the Scott family and their supports urge the governor of Mississippi for a full pardon. Under the suspended sentence they must pay $52 a month for parole, abide by a strict curfew, and live with the constant fear of a parole violation - which would land them back in prison to serve their double-life sentences. Furthermore, without a full pardon, they still live with the stigma of being convicted felons. As felons, they are unable to get jobs, decent housing, and other critical services.

##

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

PRESS RELEASE: Jamie Scott Hospitalized



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: MRS EVELYN RASCO
850-375-4336

E-Mail: thewrongfulconviction@gmail.com

JAMIE SCOTT HOSPITALIZED - BROTHER IN AFGHANISTAN NEEDS TO COME HOME

(Pensacola), FL – 1/25/11 – Jamie Scott has been hospitalized with an excessively high potassium level. The sisters were released from prison to serve life on parole and have had a very rough time adjusting with little funds to support themselves. Their mother is on a fixed income and unable to make necessary repairs as a result of storm damage to the house. These
repairs require immediate attention to accommodate Jamie upon her release from the hospital.

Currently, their brother serving in Afghanistan owns the home and is the only person who is able to conduct business regarding the house -- the insurance company will not comply with Mrs. Rasco. Willie James Scott Jr., is in need of your assistance to get home. Please contact all media outlets and make this information public.

--
Nancy Lockhart, M.J.
http://www.nancylockhart.blogspot.com
843.217.4649

Saturday, January 8, 2011

1/7 CNN Interview w/Gladys & Jamie



THE SCOTT SISTERS ARE IN NEED OF DONATIONS, THEY ARE REQUIRED TO PAY $52 EA. PER MONTH AND HAVE MANY EXPENSES. PLEASE SEND ANYTHING YOU CAN TO JAMIE AND GLADYS SCOTT C/O MRS. EVELYN RASCO, P.O. BOX 7100, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA 32534. THANK YOU!




Friday, January 7, 2011

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Haley Barbour to Free the Scott Sisters: Beyond Race to the Bitter Aftertaste



See The Entire Story Here ~~~

http://www.blogher.com/haley-barbour-will-free-scott-sisters-and-its-bittersweet-aftertaste?page=full

Editor's update: A spokesperson for the Scott Sisters, Nancy Lockhart, announced tonight, Wednesday, January 5, that the Scott Sisters will be released from prison on Friday to start their lives on parole.

By now you may have heard that on December 29, 2010, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, possibly a Republican contender for the presidency in 2012, has suspended indefinitely the life sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott. You've probably also heard that Jamie Scott was on dialysis in prison and that a condition of her sister's release is Gladys must donate a kidney to Jamie as soon as possible by decree of Gov. Barbour. That condition is only one of many disturbing elements in the sisters' journey through hell to freedom.

My mantra for this post: I am happy Haley Barbour will free the Scott Sisters. God bless those young women. They are overjoyed to know freedom. God bless social media activists. God bless the NAACP. God bless the sisters' attorney Chokwe Lumumba. God bless America. I am happy. Breathe.

The Scott Sisters are African-American women who were convicted of armed robbery in 1994 in Mississippi's Scott County based on the testimony of three teen males who took plea bargains and swore the women planned the robbery. Both sisters were considered first-time offenders, and so neither had a criminal record before their convictions.

They were not accused of handling a weapon or of demanding anyone's money, but the jury found them guilty and the judge sentenced them to life in prison. According to Nancy Lockhart, an advocate for the sisters, and others, they actually received two life sentences each, "double life." This is a complicated story, and so, the devil's in the details when we consider how these two young mothers landed in jail. You may read the bedtime version here, and the fuller background at this 2010 BlogHer post.

When I first heard that Barbour had suspended their sentences, I rejoiced, but not as much as I would have rejoiced had the governor pardoned the women because it is my understanding that an indefinite suspension amounts to life on parole and leaves both women with felony records, making it difficult for either to find work.

I was also leery. Barbour, a real-time, good-old boy of the South had been pressured for years with blasts from activist bloggersand other purveyors of social media and then the johnny-come-lately grumblings of the NAACP that arose in September to let the sisters go. Their release seemed like it would never come, but when the timing was right, when Barbour found himself wading in hot water after an attempt to rewrite history and paint segregationist Citizens Councils of the 50s and 60s as warriors against the KKK╉to tell a story that even some white conservative southerners refused to buy╉then Mississippi Parole Board deemed the Scott Sisters no longer a threat to society and Voila! Presto. Free at last!

Free sort of, that is. Time served on a sentence that even Barbour himself called longer than usual for the alleged crime committed wasn't enough payment; a kidney was due. When I read that Barbour╉a "tough on crime" governor╉said the condition for freedom for Gladys, who had already said a year ago without coercion that she wanted to donate a kidney to her sister, was she must part with an organ, a little more of that initial happiness ebbed from me. "What!" I said and decided not to write too much about it then lest my anger set the computer on fire.

I don't have to go into exactly what's wrong with the "kidney deal" here. Bioethicists have already objected. Barbour's "quid pro quo" order violates 50 years of organ transplant law, they say. But the governor, with his sights on the Oval Office, is not worried. In fact, he seems to think he's found a new way to claim that he's fiscally responsible as he signs off on the sisters' release.

Undoubtedly nodding to some constituents who never saw a budget cut they couldn't love, Barbour framed Jamie's release in terms of cost savings. In his official announcement he says:

"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.

Jamie's dialysis, according to Barbour, could cost the the state $200,000 per year and that's the best reason to release her. A release in the name of justice, in the name of compassion? No, can't have that. It's far better to court the muses of Southern Grotesque.

And Barbour's very pleased with himself about his decision. In the video below you'll hear a clip of the governor on WMPR talking to Charles Evers, the station's manager, a small-town mayor, civil rights activist and older brother of the late Medgar Evers (Yes, that Medgar Evers). Someone is chuckling off camera while Barbour discusses how ridiculous it is for the State of Mississippi to pay for a prisoner's dialysis.

SCOTT SISTERS TO BE RELEASED FRIDAY 1/7!!


From: Jerry Fort Robinson

The Scott Sisters Will Be Released On Friday at which time they start LIFE ON PAROLE w/ a $52.00 per month fee each.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Grit TV w/Anthony Papa and Atty Jaribu Hill


From: Nancy Lockhart

Listen to Anthony Papa and Attorney Jaribu Hill - The Scott Sisters

Anthony Papa, author of 15 to Life, discusses Haley Barbour's stipulation that Gladys Scott had to donate a kidney to her sister to earn a commuted sentence for both. (1minute)

Watch the full conversation at GRITtv: Freeing the Scott Sisters: Clemency and Race - http://www.blip.tv/file/4587955

(12 minutes)

The price of freedom from an overly harsh sentence in Mississippi? Apparently, one kidney. That's the promise Mississsippi governor Haley Barbour extracted from Gladys Scott--that she would donate a kidney to her sister Jamie in order for both of them to have their sentences commuted. The sisters had served nearly 17 years in prison for an armed robbery worth $11, and a prolonged grassroots effort finally paid off in achieving their freedom--though it may have more to do with Barbour's attempt at making up for his recent approving comments about the White Citizens' Councils.

Joining us to discuss are Anthony Papa, author of 15 to Life and manager of media relations at the Drug Policy Alliance, and from Mississippi, Jaribu Hill, executive director of the Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights.



* *

NORDETTE ADAMS INTERVIEW W/MRS. RASCO


From: Nancy Lockhart
Date: January 4, 2011 10:21:33 AM EST

http://bigsole.blogspot.com/2011/01/mother-of-scott-sisters-discusses-their.html


Mother of Scott Sisters Discusses Their Release

By now many of you have heard the good news that this past Wednesday December 29, 2010, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour announced that he is suspending indefinitely the sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott, African-American sisters who have been in a Mississippi Prison since 1994 on armed robbery charges. Despite neither sister having a criminal record, the two were convicted on the words of three teenage boys who confessed to the crime and received reduced sentences in exchange for testifying against the sisters.

Jamie and Gladys were ages 22 and 20 respectively at the time of conviction and each was sentenced to double life with no chance of parole for 20 years. No one was physically injured during the crime, and the boys who handled the gun and walked off with the $11 stolen, were released years ago. The sisters have maintained their innocence, but whether you believe they are guilty or not, most people concede, after hearing of their sentences, that Mississippi treated the Scott Sisters unjustly. And while supporters are overjoyed at Gov. Barbour's decision to free the sisters, the victory for many seems bittersweet. Jamie has been on dialysis for the last year and one condition of her sister Gladys's release, said Gov. Barbour, is that she donate a kidney to Jamie as soon as possible.

Nordette Adams talks to their mother, Evelyn Rasco who now lives in Pensacola Florida about their impending release. Mrs. Rasco, with the help of advocate Nancy Lockhart, has worked tirelessly for her daughters' release since their conviction. As would be expected, she is overjoyed that after 16 years, her daughters will come home.

CLICK BELOW FOR:

SCOTT SISTERS CASE TRANSCRIPTS

SCOTT SISTERS CASE OPINION

SCOTT SISTERS INDICTMENT




IF YOU WISH TO DONATE, PLEASE SEND MONEY ORDER TO:

MRS. EVELYN RASCO
P.O. BOX 7100
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA 32534

Email Mrs. Rasco


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