2/17 CHARLES EVERS INTERVIEW W/MRS. EVELYN RASCO

INTERVIEW EXCERPTS (INCLUDES HLN "ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL" MENTION) EDITED BY DARRYL MCCLAIN

3/5 DAY OF ACTION FOR THE SCOTT SISTERS + MORE!

Greetings all,

Mrs. Rasco has not received any updated information from either of her daughters to report, but as soon as we learn something that we can share we will most definitely make everyone aware of Jamie's condition. Your phone calls, e-mails and support continue to be very much needed as not knowing what's happening day to day is extremely hard on the family.

There has been a lot of activity going on in Mississippi in support of the Scott Sisters, which is fantastic! There was a little mainstream ink achieved last week after the rally:

Rally at state capitol to free Scott sisters
Posted: Feb 26, 2010 11:59 AM
By Julie Straw

http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=12047900

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - For nearly 16 years the Scott sisters have been behind bars serving double life sentences. Their crime? Two counts of armed robbery. Thursday dozens rallied at the state capitol and voiced that in this case the punishment does not fit the crime. They wanted both sisters released.

34 year old Gladys Scott and 38 year old Jamie Scott have been behind bars for more than 15 years. The women were convicted of two counts of armed robbery from an incident back in December 1993. Three males were also involved in the robbery. Two of them were teenagers that testified against the Scotts.

Only $11 was stolen and no one was hurt, but a jury decided the sisters should serve two life sentences each. "The crime that these allegedly young ladies does not merit the double life sentences that they were given," said District 28 State Senator Alice Harden.

Both women are mothers. A blog, complete with pictures of their children and grandchildren, pleads for help. "This case has been through trial. It has had an appeal. It has actually had a post conviction. Usually after you get finished with all of that you're dead and buried. It's almost impossible to do anything, but we have to make the impossible possible," said attorney Chokwe Lumumba who is representing the Gladys and Jamie Scott.

Jamie Scott is in the hospital due to kidney failure. Charles Evers who organized the rally said a compassionate release from Governor Haley Barbour is the Scott sisters' last hope. "The Governor and I happen to be political friends. And I feel like if I have any influence with a man that's a friend of mine I'll ask him to release these young ladies because they deserve it," said Evers.

©2010 WLBT. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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GET READY AND SPREAD THE WORD FOR THE FRIDAY MARCH 5 DAY OF ACTION FOR JAMIE AND GLADYS SCOTT!

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is faced with the possibility of releasing 3,400 inmates because of budget overruns in his state. There is no reason on this earth that Jamie and Gladys Scott should not be among the very first considered, particularly with Jamie's rapidly declining health!

On Friday we are asking everyone to CALL and FAX GOV. BARBOUR, give your name and state (country if from overseas) and
let them know that the whole world is watching and that he needs to PARDON Jamie and Gladys Scott now! Please be courteous and leave a VM if there is no answer. WE WANT TO RING THOSE PHONES OFF THE HOOK!!

COMPASSIONATE RELEASE FOR JAMIE SCOTT, #19197!
PARDONS FOR BOTH SCOTT SISTERS!
PLEASE MOVE JAMIE SCOTT TO THE MEDICAL BUILDING!
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Please continue to sign-on to the Change.org petition for the compassionate release of Jamie Scott at
http://tinyurl.com/yfrj5g6 and pass the word!
~~~~~~~~~~

Empress Chi, coordinator of the MWM/Black Women's Defense League, is organizing a Free the Scott Sisters Demo and Rally in Mississippi on March 26, 2010. To get involved in planning this and for more information call 267-636-3802 or e-mail:
nationalmwm@aol.com or BWDL7@aol.com.
======================

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

PLEASE CALL, FAX, AND WRITE AS OFTEN AS YOU ARE ABLE!

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

Attorney General Eric Holder
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
HOTLINE - 202-353-1555

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

WE NEED NATIONAL MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE!!

Please take a moment and fill out Oprah's Contact Form and tell her she must do a show on the plight of Jamie and Gladys Scott at https://www.oprah.com/plugform.jsp?plugId=220 Please include a link to Mrs. Rasco's website, http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com


CLICK FOR COMPLETE PRISON/MEDIA/POLITICAL CONTACT LIST

2/28 SCOTT SISTERS UPDATE!

Greetings all,

Thanks so much to all of the supporters of Jamie & Gladys Scott! Jamie reported that she was taken to a vascular clinic last Monday and an attempt was made to correct the displaced catheter in her neck, but the doctor had a problem getting into her vein. Tests were also run to determine whether she had remaining infection in her body. She is being told that she will return there next week to see her regular doctor, who was not present at the time of this visit. She was not given any information regarding any of the findings by staff.

On Wednesday she began having chest pains following her dialysis and was taken to the hospital. No blockage was detected following ultrasound and catheterization of her heart. She was returned to the prison on Thursday before she was told of any results.

Jamie sounded a bit stronger and her family and your activism have helped her to regain some of her fighting spirit! She was told by staff that she will be allowed to purchase some food on Monday and she is grateful for the donations she has received to be able to do so! Also, she has been told that the chaplain will be coming by a couple of days a week to do her laundry.

Jamie should not be in the prison infirmary, locked in a cell on a hospital bed on the mens' side of the prison, where the care is absymal and frighteningly inadequate, she has had more than enough medical emergencies! There is a medical building on the prison grounds where the environment is greatly improved and where Gladys can help her tend to her activities of daily living, as other incarcerated family members are permitted to do with their ailing relatives. We need the prison officials to know that we want Jamie to be in the environment most conducive to her health and well-being as she struggles with her many life-threatening medical conditions.
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Please continue to sign-on to the Change.org petition for the compassionate release of Jamie Scott at
http://tinyurl.com/yfrj5g6 and pass the word!
~~~~~~~~~~

The 2/27 Empowerment Hour Online University radio show hosted by Bros. Kermit Eady and Earnest McBride featured Mrs. Evelyn Rasco, Marpessa Kupendua (nattyreb), Nancy Lockhart, and Shakeerah Abdul al-Sabuur. There was a whole lot of good info put out and the archive is available to all at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eadyassociates/2010/02/27/the-empowerment-hour-online-university
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Empress Chi, coordinator of the MWM/Black Women's Defense League, is organizing a Free the Scott Sisters Demo and Rally in Mississippi on March 26, 2010. To get involved in planning this and for more information call 267-636-3802 or e-mail:
nationalmwm@aol.com or BWDL7@aol.com.
~~~~~~~~~~

PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS! -- We definitely appreciate every initiative that anyone can take to help win freedom for these
women and Sis. Agnes Johnson gave a perfect example of exactly what we mean by pulling out all the stops. She not only has been able to speak to John Conyers and get info on the Scott Sisters directly to his office, but here are excerpts of a report she gave on Friday, 2/26:

"I moved thru the snow and slush to get to Columbia Univ to attend the Obama Admin's NY Universal Periodic Review (UPR). These sessions are being convened across the country to solicit information and recommendations regarding the US Gov. fulfillment of its obligation to protect human rights. Every four years, the UPR assesses each country's adherence to its human rights obligations under the U.N. Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), human rights treaties ratified by the country, its voluntary commitments, and applicable international law. Reviews are conducted by the UPR Working Group, which consists of 47 members of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

"I spoke during the comment time in both the Health Section and the Criminal Justice Section. In the Health Section I demanded that those in US custody had a right to proper and life saving measures and what Jamie Scott was going thru was not just a barrier but a crime. Both times the comments were well received and people actually joined in to say Free the Scott Sisters now.The panel for Criminal Justice was even more cleansed of any of the lightning bolt cases of police brutality or political prisoners or even the presence of historical prison reform advocates.

"I would like to suggest that wherever this national listening event happens that folks attend to keep the Scott Sisters on the floor and even get on the panel to do a presentation. On the phones were reps out of DC Justice Dept and we should be hitting their emails and phones as well. They are:
Julie Fernandes, Deputy Asst Attorney General, Civil Rights Div, USDJ
Daniel Baer, Deputy Asst Sec, Bureau of Dem,Human Rights & Labor, USDJ
Christopher Camponovo, Senior Adv, Bur of Dem, Human rights & Labor, USDJ
Georgina Verdugo, Dir, Office of Civil Rights, US Dept of Health and Human Serv.
The UPR website is at http://www.ushrnetwork.org/campaign_upr."
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If possible please tune into Bro. Rip Daniels' radio show weekdays from 9a-11a MS time. He gives regular Scott Sisters updates and conducts hard-hitting interviews with prison officials, politicians, and many others concerned with the case of Jamie and Gladys Scott. Access this show any morning at http://www.itisanewday.com/

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