SCOTT SISTERS IN JACKSON ADVOCATE NEWSPAPER!

Bro. Earnest McBride wrote an excellent article on the 3/5 Scott Sisters rally held in Jackson, MS which is featured on the FRONT PAGE of the current (3/4-3/10) issue of the Jackson Advocate newspaper! Many thanks to Bro. McBride for this article as well as his top-notch and very informative blogtalk radio duties on the Empowerment Hour Online University along with Bro. Kermit Eady, which has featured the case of the Scott Sisters several times and together are broadcasting regularly towards their freedom! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eadyassociates

The Jackson Advocate newsclippings can be viewed at:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/28041786/JACKSON-ADVOCATE-1A-FRONT

http://www.scribd.com/doc/28041845/JACKSON-ADVOCATE-10A-CONT

Forward ever to more and more mainstream media coverage!

3/6 HLN ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

PLEASE USE THIS MEDIA TO GET MORE MEDIA, SPREAD FAR AND WIDE!

3/5 SCOTT SISTERS MEDIA UPDATES!

This is a Scott Sisters media report, let's keep sending info into mass media outlets and shine the light worldwide on this travesty of justice!
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From: http://www.my601.com/news/local/story/Ailing-Pearl-Inmate-Out-of-Hospital/c_ZJKUQBC0K-HxCnNp33Vg.cspx

Ailing Pearl Inmate Out of Hospital

Reported by: Kathy Times
Email: kathytimes@jxntv.com
Last Update: 3/04 8:19 pm

UPDATE - An inmate at the center of a state capitol protest is out of the hospital and back at the state prison in Pearl.
Last week, supporters of Jamie Scott demanded her release.

They say she needs a kidney transplant, and she is not getting adequate treatment at the state prison.

Suzanne Singletary of the Mississippi Department of Corrections says Scott went to the hospital last week for tests and “everything is normal.”

Scott is back at the prison.

The spokesman says inmates must be terminal or totally disabled before they're considered for medical release.

Scott and her sister Gladys Scott have been in prison for 15 years. Their supporters say they should not have been convicted for a questionable robbery that netted eleven dollars.

To follow the Scott sisters' case, click here. (Freethescottsisters.blogspot.com)
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And this fantastic piece by James Ridgeway!

From: http://solitarywatch.wordpress.com/about/for-jamie-scott-an-11-robbery-in-mississippi-may-carry-a-death-sentence/

For Jamie Scott, an $11 Robbery in Mississippi May Carry a Death Sentence

On February 25, a small crowd gathered outside the state capitol in Jackson, Mississippi, to push for the release of sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott, who are serving two consecutive life sentences apiece for a 1993 armed robbery in which no one was injured and the take, by most accounts, was about $11. Supporters of the Scott sisters have long tried to draw attention to their case, as an extreme example of the distorted justice and Draconian sentencing policies that have overloaded prisons, crippled state budgets, and torn families apart across the United States. But in recent months, their cause has taken on a new urgency, because for Jamie Scott, an unwarranted life sentence may soon become a death sentence.

Jamie Scott, 38, is suffering from kidney failure. At the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF) in Pearl, where Jamie and Gladys are incarcerated, medical services are provided by a private contractor called Wexford, which has been the subject of lawsuits and legislative investigations in several states over inadequate treatment of the inmates in its care. According to Jamie Scott’s family, in the six weeks since her condition became life-threatening, she has endured faulty or missed dialysis sessions, infections, and other complications. She has received no indication that a kidney transplant is being considered as an option, though her sister is a willing donor.

Jamie Scott’s family and legal advisors believe the poor health care she is receiving in prison places her life at risk. They have sent pleas for clemency or compassionate release to Governor Haley Barbour, whose tough-on-crime posturing and dubious record on issuing pardons do not bode well for Jamie. The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) has a provision for what it calls “conditional medical release,” but Scott is not a candidate, department spokesperson Suzanne Garbo Singletary said in an email last week, because “MDOC policy provides that an inmate must have a condition that is ‘incapacitating, totally disabling and/or terminal in nature’ in order to qualify.” So Jamie Scott appears to be caught in a deadly Catch-22: In order to be released from prison, she must convince the MDOC that her illness is terminal or “totally disabling”; but the only sure way for her to prove this is to die in prison.

Cruel and Unusual Health Care

In telephone interviews earlier this week, the Scott sisters’ mother, Evelyn Rasco, described the treatment Jamie has received at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF), based on her own observations and information provided by her two daughters. Jamie, who has diabetes and bouts of high blood pressure, said that medical staff at the prison first diagnosed possible kidney problems in 1997–but until recently, she received minimal treatment outside of her regular insulin. Jamie’s physical and mental health suffered last fall when she spent 23 days in solitary confinement (for being found in an “unauthorized area” in the prison gym) and was cut off from her routine of work, classes, church, and occasional visits with her sister. Then, in mid-January, Jamie became seriously ill when both her kidneys began shutting down. She was sent to the prison infirmary and, after a week’s delay, taken to the hospital. There, doctors inserted a shunt in Jamie’s neck to allow her to receive dialysis through a catheter, and she was promptly returned to prison.

Rather than letting Jamie Scott leave the prison regularly for dialysis, prison authorities chose to truck in dialysis machines. About three times a week, Jamie has received hemodialysis in a trailer on the prison grounds—if the machines are working properly, which she reports isn’t always the case. At one session, Jamie told her mother, the blood was flowing out of her through a catheter into the dialysis machine—but it wasn’t flowing back in, so the treatment had to be stopped. At the end of January, another inmate looked in on Jamie, who was locked up alone in her cell, and found her unconscious. She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors told her there were problems with the shunt inserted into her neck. They made adjustments, and she was again taken back to prison.

Evelyn Rasco lives in Pensacola, Florida, where she cares for her daughters’ five children while they are behind bars. Since Jamie and Gladys went to prison, Rasco’s husband of 30 years died of a heart attack; another daughter died of congestive heart failure; and her oldest son was away for several years serving with the Army in Iraq. In a letter to supporters last year, Jamie Scott wrote: “When I think of the word ‘strongest,’ I think of my mother. She is 4 feet 9 inches tall and has the strength of Job in the Bible.”

Rasco lacks the time and financial resources to visit her daughters often, but in mid-February, she managed to make the trip to Mississippi. When she visited the prison on February 18, along with Jamie’s 18-year-old son, Jamie was feeling sick but was able to make it to the visiting room. When Rasco returned two days later, she found Jamie in a cell attached to the infirmary. “She was real weak,” Rasco said. “She couldn’t walk.” An infection appeared to have developed at the site of Jamie’s catheter, which had filled with blood and pus. Nurses reportedly told Rasco that Jamie should be in the hospital, but the paperwork hadn’t been done.

Rasco said that when she entered her daughter’s cell, Jamie was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed with dirty linens, near a toilet and wash bowl that had not been cleaned. Prison staff arrived with a plate of food—a hamburger swimming in grease, some side dishes, and a cookie–but Jamie said it looked so bad she couldn’t eat it. The doctors at the hospital had given her a list of foods she should eat, including meat, fish, and vegetables, but they were not available, and she did not have permission to purchase food at the prison commissary. (That permission has since been granted.) So Jamie sat on her grimy bed eating a Snickers bar. “She sat right there with me,” Rasco said, “and tried to give me a piece.” Knowing it was the only nourishment her daughter was likely to have, her mother declined.

(Cont'd)

FULL ARTICLE IS ALSO HERE: http://www.scribd.com/doc/28142096/solitwatchjmp

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!
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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.
======================

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!
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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.
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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).