2/25 BRIEF UPDATE & RALLY REPORT!

Yesterday Mrs. Rasco received an unconfirmed report that Jamie had been rushed to the hospital due to chest pains and today that information has been confirmed. To the best of anyone's knowledge Jamie is still in the hospital and Mrs. Rasco has been told that she is "resting comfortably." She has been given no information regarding Jamie's diagnosis or condition. We will post updates as soon as they become available.

Today was dedicated to the Scott Sisters by Mississippi Radio's Rip Daniels, where a ton of information has been regularly aired and today even a song was dedicated to them. It was stated that now, after 15 years, Mississippi is finally hearing Mrs. Rasco's pleas for justice for her daughters. Mrs. Rasco is very grateful to Bros. Rip Daniels and Charles Evers for doing such a fantastic job raising this case to a high level in Mississippi.

Mrs. Rasco was interviewed by WLBT Mississippi TV 3 reporter Julie Straw for a 10pm story they are working on covering today's rally. Bro. Earnest McBride's report on the rally follows. Please continue to support however you are able!

FREE THE SCOTT SISTERS NOW!

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REPORT ON RALLY FOR THE SCOTT SISTERS THURSDAY AT THE MISSISSIPPI STATE CAPITOL

The rally opened Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. sharp. Charles Evers, the brother of civil rights martyr Medgar Evers hosted the rally inside the first floor rotunda of the Mississippi State Capitol. Evers, the general manager of radio station WMPR 90.1 FM said that he got involved because of the work Rip Daniels was doing on the air with his show, "It's a New Day." Daniels broadcasts out of Gulfport, but the daily program is simulcast on WMPR in Jackson. It's all on the Internet, too.
Daniels has been promoting the Scott Sisters' more than any of the other media in Mississippi.

Jackson Advocate Publisher Alice Tisdale asked that we remember her late husband, Jackson Advocate Charles Tisdale,the first person who actually took up the cause way back in 1993 and 1994 when the two sisters were first brought to trial. The Jackson Advocate shared the same building with Attorney Chokwe Lumumba at the time and Tisdale and Lumumba shared the same burning interest in cases like the Scott Sisters' injustice.

About 10 black state legislators appeared and spoke. Attorney Chokwe Lumumba, the attorney who handled the Scott Sisters appeal that was denied by the Mississppi Supreme Court, spoke on the injustice of the case. He urged people to flood the Governor Haley Barbour and Prison Commissioner Christopher Epps with emails and prepare to stage more and more demonstrations near the Scott County site of the miscarriage of justice.

At least five female lawmakers spoke and said they would not let the case rest. They led the cry of "Let my sisters go!" Next action is to get the Legislative Black Caucus on board. Black Caucus Chairman Billy Broomfield, a very competetent and savvy leader, was caught up with other legislative business and was unable to attend. But he will rally the entire Black Caucus. He is personally committed to the Scott Sisters' cause, but he will have to bring the issue before the entire Black Caucus in order to take a specific action in the name of the Black Caucus.

Three Local television channels and the Jackson Advocate were on hand to cover the event for the media. Earnest McBride, the Jackson Advocate contributing editor, also co-hosts the Empowerment Hour and will give a full report on the event this Saturday on BlogTalk Radio. (Check the Empowerment Hour Website for more information.)

None of the Rasco family was present. Mrs. Rasco rushed to Mississippi twice during the last two weeks on word that Jamie Scott's condition was critical. She does not have the money to travel back and forth to important events such as Thursday's rally. For this reason, Charles Evers and the rally organizers urged people to send money donations to Mrs. Evelyn Rasco, P.O. Box 7100, Pensacola, Florida 32534.

Rallies of this sort, while generating a lot of enthusiasm, and getting word out about the cause, tend not to get to the heart of the issues, to the real hurt and damage and suffering inflicted on the victims and the families of the victims.

Although just about everybody there truly sympathized with the Scott Sisters and Mrs. Rasco, their mother, and the children, other sisters and whoever, it is a difficult to say exactly how many of the rally attendees truly empathized with them. Please call us on the Empowerment Hour Saturday 6- 8 p.m. Eastern Time at: 646-716-7472.

Earnest L. McBride

Addendum: The Rally was held at the Rotunda in the Capitol Bldg. and about 200 people gathered at it's peak. One television station did a brief report at http://www.my601.com/default.aspx --(Scroll thru the videos til you see Charles Evers with the grey hat on).

CONTACT REQUEST FOR SCOTT SISTERS

Mrs. Rasco is still trying to get updated info on Jamie, so i unfortunately can't confirm whether or not she was taken to the hospital yesterday. We will definitely give an update on Jamie as soon as we get word and do an official Scott Sisters posting.

This is my personal request that i hope that you'll participate in. Today, 2/23, i watched a portion of the Oprah Winfrey Show as she tearfully embraced the family of American student Amanda Knox, sentenced to 26 years for killing her roommate in Italy. She lavished such great empathy and seemingly heartfelt support that all i could do was think about all the ways that the case of the Scott Sisters completely trumped this one and should engender even more concern. Unlike Amanda Knox, this is a case where no one was killed or injured; the best years of two women's lives have been stolen by an extremely draconian double-life sentence each; they've already served 15 yrs for a first-time offense; they were wrongfully convicted in a trial where witnesses and two alleged victims stated that they had nothing to do with the robbery; they're from her home state of Mississippi, and one of them is suffering kidney failure and miserable medical care in deplorable conditions!

i'm not naive by any stretch, i'm hip to the world of ratings, celebrity-worship, salaciousness, etc., and that neither i nor Mrs. Rasco or the Scott Sisters particularly fit into Oprah's "putting a pot roast in the oven" suburban demographic. Still, i can't find fault in at least flooding her website with Scott Sisters information, particularly since it's so quick and easy and we are trying everything we can think of to do.

If we all did this activity together, perhaps we could catch the attention of one of her staffers who may at the very least put a bug into her ear. Surely this case could be a ratings grabber, it has all the mystique and intrigue of anything else she's got happening!

Below is what i've plugged in there & i hope you'll take just a few moments to try to see if we can get this case on her radar, using part of this and putting your own flavor in there, or completely using something totally different, please just be sure to include the link to Mrs. Rasco's website, thanks so much! The link to Oprah's contact form is at http://www.oprah.com/ownshow/plug_form.html?plug_id=220

"i watched your interview with the family of Amanda Knox today and am writing to ask that you give the same consideration to the Mississippi Scott Sisters, Jamie and Gladys, who have been incarcerated for 15 years of an astonishing double-life sentence (each) for an alleged robbery which was said to have netted approximately 11 dollars! No one was killed or injured during this alleged robbery and this was the first offense for both of these young women, who have maintained their innocence. Witnesses and the two alleged victims testified that Jamie and Gladys had absolutely nothing to do with this robbery and that the sheriff coerced and threatened them to lie on them at the original trial. After 15 hard years of prison life both women suffer from chronic depression and at just 38 years of age, Jamie Scott has a myriad of health issues and most recently suffered complete renal failure! Her thrice weekly dialysis is complicated by machine breakdowns, infections and lack of adequate nutrition resulting from miserable medical care and deplorable living conditions. NATIONAL ATTENTION TO THIS CASE COULD LITERALLY SAVE HER LIFE. These young women's children and grandchildren are all being cared for by their long-struggling mother, Evelyn Rasco, who single-handedly has cared for as many as 10 children at once, all while worrying about her son serving in Iraq and her daughters subsisting in the prison. All of the necessary information is online at http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com. Please take the time to review it and you will agree that this shocking and horrific injustice absolutely must be exposed! We need to hear from you."

Thanks to everyone and please pass this on!

Sis. Marpessa Kupendua

2/20 JAMIE SCOTT UPDATE!

Greetings all,

Mrs. Evelyn Rasco has been going non-stop in Mississippi advocating on behalf of her daughters since the 2/17 update, she is absolutely incredible and a force to be reckoned with!

Mrs. Rasco was able to get into see both of her daughters on 2/18. Gladys reports that she is doing OK but is of course greatly concerned about Jamie. Jamie was able to come to the visiting room and visit with her mother and son but was very obviously not doing well medically. She has lost weight and is extremely weak. The temporary catheter in her neck has been replaced twice but is still malfunctioning with infection in her neck and breast area, which she was able to show her mother evidence of.
One of her medications is being denied to her because the state won't pay for it. Jamie's blood pressure and diabetes are not under control.

As soon as Mrs. Rasco left the prison she attended a meeting of the legislature in the Capitol Bldg. in Jackson dealing with prison budget cuts and other prison-related issues. She recognized Commissioner Epps from his photo at the prison and walked right up to him and told him all about Jamie's poor condition and shoddy medical treatment. He stated that he was getting messages from all over the world (thanks to all of you!). He stated that he was going to do everything that he could to obtain clemency or pardon for the Scott Sisters and that he was giving his word on this, although he had no power to actually make it happen himself. Dr. Gloria Perry was also there and defended the medical care that Jamie Scott is receiving despite all of the evidence to the contrary.

Mrs. Rasco has done several MS radio shows and even spoke at a high school last night. She was preparing to return home today but received a call in the middle of last night telling her that she needed to get back to the prison today (2/20) and see about Jamie. Since today is Jamie's regular visiting day she was able to go right down there to see her. This a.m., however, Jamie was too weak to walk to the visiting room, but Mrs. Rasco was able to go to the infirmary where Jamie is being kept on a hospital bed inside of a cell.

She was horrified at Jamie's living conditions in the infirmary, she could not believe what she saw there. She stated that there was trash all over the floor. Jamie's bedding was dirty and her facebowl and toilet were filthy. Jamie's floor had bags of dirty clothes. The paint was peeling and the infirmary was nasty. Jamie told her that the dialysis machine broke down again, this time during her last treatment and that she only received one hour on there.

The nurse said that Jamie needs to be hospitalized RIGHT NOW because of a huge knot of infection that has amassed in her neck. The catheter has drifted and is again non-functional. The nurse is giving her antibiotics and said she should have been hospitalized yesterday but that the paperwork had not been completed. She is hoping that Jamie will get sent back to the hospital on Monday. The food in the tray that was delivered to Jamie while Mrs. Rasco was there was swimming in water and unfit to eat. Jamie refused it and said she has not been receiving the nutrition that dialysis patients are supposed to have.

One of Mrs. Rasco's legal advisers, Chokwe Lumumba, urged that we strive to get support from a medical foundation or institution that can help to get Jamie moved into a medical facility ASAP in order to save her life. The infections and her horrible living conditions, her lack of consistent dialysis, medications, and nutrition and her serious illnesses have left Jamie barely able to walk. If you are able to help Jamie purchase her food, or even would like to put money on Gladys' books, please go to http://www.inmatedeposits.com and register for Access Corrections to help them.

Please continue to contact the Governor, prison officials, politicians and media, there is a lot of renewed focus on the case of the Scott Sisters and Mrs. Rasco said that information is going out all over Mississippi radio.

There are some upcoming events for the Scott Sisters, including a gathering at the Capitol in Jackson, MS being organized by Bro. Lumumba for next week. The MWM/Black Women's Defense League rally is being organized by Empress Chi for March 26, 2010. The "FREE THE SCOTT SISTERS" Protest Demonstration and Rally will also help to further the building of the "FREE THE SCOTT SISTERS" DIRECT ACTION TASK FORCE that is being coordinated by the BWDL To get involved with the FTSS-Task Force or for more information call 267-636-3802 or e-mail: nationalmwm@aol.com or BWDL7@aol.com.

Please subscribe to the mailing list and check the website and Facebook Group for updates. Mrs. Rasco is still unable to respond to e-mails as she is away from her computer, so please send urgent messages to nattyreb@gmail.com until she returns.


Thanks to everyone, please help spread the word & ACT!

2/13 Chokwe Lumumba on Jamie and Gladys Scott

Very informative interview w/hosts Kermit Eady & Associates and guest Chokwe Lumumba, legal supporter to the Scott Sisters, which goes deep into the struggle to save Jamie Scott's life and gives a good overview of the case of the Scott Sisters. Please check it out when you have the chance, it's well worth the time and we need to be as informed as possible when engaging this cold-blooded system in the struggle for Jamie's life. Please don't forget to sign the petition! Thank you!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eadyassociates/2010/02/13/the-empowerment-hour-online-university

2/12 KEEP THOSE CALLS COMING FOR JAMIE!

Greetings all,

Mrs. Rasco has finally made it to Mississippi. She won't be able to drive to the prison to try to get the officials to let her in to see her daughters until Tuesday, 2/16 due to there being several inches of snow on the ground at the time of this update and then the prison being closed for the Monday holiday. She is thankful to everyone and wants anyone who wrote her to know that she is going to be there for the next few days and won't be able to respond until she returns. Will post any updates from Mississippi as they come in!

PLEASE keep on blasting Governor Haley Barbour's office & sign the petition, as of now there are less than 300 signatures and we are shooting for 1,000.

Saturday, February 13th (6pm EST/5pm CST), The Empowerment Hour Online University has scheduled attorney and MS Councilman Chokwe Lumumba as their guest, who is currently acting as an adviser and supporter in helping obtain medical assistance for Jamie Scott. This program is at http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/eadyassociates, call-in Number 646-716-7472.

SPECIAL THANKS TO RIP DANIELS AT WJDZ Radio Station, Gulfport, MS, for his consistent broadcast journalism around this case!

A few sites of note:

Heidi 'Raw" Phillips-West has dedicated part of her website to support the call for Compassionate Release for Jamie Scott at
http://concretemuse.webs.com/justusforjamie.htm and is working to try to get artists together to put on an event! Please be in contact if you are in the Indiana area.

Midge Hough of http://mergeleft2010.wordpress.com/ has dedicated
a page of her site entitled "A Cry for Help" to Jamie Scott in the midst of her own personal tragedy and given us space to place updates.

The SF Bay View has added much more to the piece at:
http://www.sfbayview.com/2010/compassionate-release-for-jamie-scott/

Today and until Jamie is released, PLEASE ASK GOVERNOR BARBOUR TO GRANT INMATE JAMIE SCOTT, #19197, CMCF, COMPASSIONATE RELEASE DUE TO SERIOUS MEDICAL ILLNESS. She is not a threat to anyone and has a supportive family willing to care for her and obtain the medical care that she has not adequately received while in prison. She is a first-time offender who has served 15 years in prison and is not a risk for recidivism, particularly with the gravity of her declining health. We are asking for her release AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

Thanks to everyone, please help spread the word & ACT!
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BE DIRECT BUT PLEASE BE COURTEOUS -- NO YELLING OR CURSING!
IT WILL ONLY TAKE A FEW MINUTES, PLEASE PARTICIPATE!

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)

Dorothy Kuykendall
Personal Assistant to Gov. Barbour
(601) 359-3150
DKuykendall@governor.state.ms.us
P. O Box 3150
Jackson, MS 39205

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

Emmitt Sparkman, Deputy Commissioner
(601) 359-5610
esparkman@mdoc.state.ms.us

Margaret Bingham, Superintendent of Central Mississippi Corrections Facility
(601) 932-2880
mbingham@mdoc.state.ms.us
FAX: (601) 664-0782
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, Mississippi 39208

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

Attorney General Eric Holder
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

2/10 IMPORTANT ORGANIZING UPDATES FOR JAMIE!

PLEASE keep on blasting Governor Haley Barbour's office! Jamie Scott was taken by ambulance to the hospital yesterday and returned to the prison thereafter and we've been told that she is very severely depressed. We have no official report on what was done to her there but believe that it could at the very least have included her having a dialysis treatment performed. We have some important organizing updates to share, so please forward and ACT!

Peggy Plews of Mississippi Prison Watch did an outstanding appeal to the Mississippi Kidney Foundation at http://mississippiprisonwatch.blogspot.com/2010/02/mississippi-kidney-foundation-appeal.html, which includes the following powerful statement: "It may well be that Jamie's crisis is the catalyst that gets so much needed focus on the critically and terminally ill in prison; without her voice, countless others may suffer in invisibility. And her example of survival and resistance is an inspiration to other women living and dying there, too." Check it out, she was very thorough!

The Women Behind the Wall blogtalk radio program hosted by Mary Ellen and Gloria on 2/9 provided a lot of education and insight from those who could personally testify to being sick inside of those hellholes and the lack of caring offered by the corporations which dole out what passes for medical care, some of which has to come directly from the inmates' own pockets! This program featured Mrs. Rasco and Shakeerah Abdul al-Sabuur, paralegal, and is archived at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/4justicenow/2010/02/09/women-behind-the-wall?autm_source=remail&utm_medium=listener

The fantastic San Francisco Bay View continues to be our leading print resource and has posted a wonderful new piece today at the site: http://www.sfbayview.com/2010/compassionate-release-for-jamie-scott/

We've added in a new link to the Govs' assistant and ask that folks please CALL into the governor's office for maximum effect, but additionally follow-up with e-mails, letters, faxes and anything possible. **Please do something rather than nothing at all!

Thank you so much, everyone!

BE DIRECT BUT PLEASE BE COURTEOUS -- NO YELLING OR CURSING!
IT WILL ONLY TAKE A FEW MINUTES, PLEASE PARTICIPATE!

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)

Dorothy Kuykendall
Personal Assistant to Gov. Barbour
(601) 359-3150
DKuykendall@governor.state.ms.us
P. O Box 3150
Jackson, MS 39205

CLICK FOR COMPLETE PRISON/MEDIA/POLITICAL CONTACT LIST

MRS. RASCO RADIO INTERVIEW W/BLOCK REPORT RADIO

Mrs. Rasco had a great interview with Bro. JR on 1/22/10, the first time Jamie was taken to the hospital and the temporary catheter was initially placed. This interview took place before we were aware that Jamie had already been thrown back into the prison that very same day. Thanks to the Block Report for always supporting those who need it most!