Justice For All

Send letters of support for Marshall Eddie Conway

2011-10-24T03:08:00.000-04:00

Send letters of support to the Maryland Parole Commission

Good news! I was just told that I have a parole hearing on November 1, 2011. We will need as many letters of support as we can get. I would appreciate any assistance you can give in our pursuit of a favorable recommendation from the parole board. If you need any information please call Dominique Stevenson at 410-948-6302.

Please encourage people to send letters on my behalf. They can simply say they believe I should be granted parole based on my many contributions to the prison population through mentoring projects and other activities, and my record as a "model" prisoner. For those of you that know me personally, please speak to the work I have done for prisoners and the community.

Send letters of support for Marshall Eddie Conway's parole to:

Maryland Parole Commission
Attention: Mr. Blumberg
6776 Reisterstown Road
Suite 307
Baltimore, MD. 21215

(Letters should be mailed no later than Weds 10/26)

Or Call
1-877-241-5428

Or Fax
FAX 410-764-4355

Please send an additional copy to Eddie for his records at:

Marshall Eddie Conway #116469
P.O. Box 534
Jessup,MD
20794

For more info about Eddie Conway, former Black Panther and political prisoner, add Eddie as a friend on Facebook or go to the Causes page Free Eddie Conway and All Political Prisoners!

REBEL DIAZ - TROY DAVIS LIVES FOREVER (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

2011-10-16T00:39:00.000-04:00

Grassroots Organizing In The Trenches: 7 of 9 Witnesses Say Troy Davis IS Innocent. Stop ...

2011-09-21T17:08:00.000-04:00

Grassroots Organizing In The Trenches: 7 of 9 Witnesses Say Troy Davis IS Innocent. Stop ...

FREE Marshall "Eddie" Conway

2011-05-09T22:20:00.000-04:00

Marshall Conway (born April 23, 1946) was the Minister of Defense of the Baltimore chapter of the Black Panther Party. In addition to his position within the Black Panther Party he was also employed by the United States Postal Service. Conway, however, was unaware that some of the founding members of the Baltimore chapter were actually undercover police officers with the Baltimore Police Department. These officers would report daily on his particular activities within the chapter. At the same time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had also started its own investigation of Conway, recording his whereabouts, contacting his employers at the Post Office and maintaining liaison with the Baltimore Police Department.

On the night of April 23, 1970, Baltimore Police Officers Donald Sager and Stanley Sierakowski were shot by three assailants who fired at least 8 rounds at the officers while answering a domestic disturbance call. Officer Sager was slain and Officer Sierakowski was critically wounded. Two men were also arrested about an hour later near the scene of the first shooting by Officer James Welsh and Officer Roger Nolan, based on information Welsh and Nolan had received over the police radio. Two pistols were found near the location that the two men were hiding.

These two men, Jackie Powell and Jack Ivory Johnson, had either alleged affiliations to or knew members of the Baltimore Black Panther Party chapter the police determined. Immediately subsequent to the contact with the two men, Officer Roger Nolan was involved in a brief foot chase with a black male as Nolan tried to make contact with the male. The black male then fired several shots at Nolan and escaped. Nolan stated that he had previously seen this man on his assigned beat and could recognize him, although he did not know his name. Based on the affiliation of the two suspects with the Black Panther Party, Nolan was shown two photo line-ups of party members. In the first line-up, Nolan claimed that a picture of Conway taken 7 years earlier in 1963, resembled the shooter. In the second line-up, which used a current photograph of Conway, Nolan positively identified Conway as the individual that had shot at him. Welsh also positively identified Conway as the individual that Nolan had chased. The next day, Conway was arrested while working at the Post Office. Following an investigation where the ballistics of both shootings were determined to be a match, Conway was charged with both the murder of Officer Sager and the attempted murders of Officers Sierakowski and Noland. Conway happened to be working during the time of the shooting and his boss at the Postal Office verified his alibi, but this did not change his conviction. One of the weapons found with Powell and Johnson was also matched through ballistics testing to the murder of Officer Sager.

These charges, came at a time when there was already considerable media attention focused on the Baltimore Chapter of the Black Panther Party. This included front-page coverage of the multiple indictments of this case, and a mass arrest of the Baltimore Panthers for the purported torture/murder of an informant who participated in local chapter activities. In the first trial following the mass arrest, the prosecution witnesses proved to be both contradictory and not credible to the jury. The first defendant charged with the torture/murder and conspiracy was acquitted after just 2 ½ hours of jury deliberation. None of the remaining cases were ever tried, and all those arrested were released.

The FBI surveillance of Mr. Conway and the Black Panther Party in Baltimore had begun even before these events, and were part of Mr. Conway's FBI files, secured by him through the Freedom of Information Act. The FBI's letter to Baltimore's Postal Inspector dated 10/22/69 provided notification that Mr. Conway, a Postal employee, was a member of the Black Panther Party. An additional memo in the file was from the Baltimore FBI, dated 11/28/69, and stated that 1) the Panthers were under constant surveillance and investigation, and 2) that the Baltimore chapter had already been infiltrated by government agents and informants. That memo refers to a "highly sensitive source who is of continuous value to the Bureau." The same memo also confirmed that from November of 1969 on, there was direct coordination of the surveillance of the Baltimore Panthers by the FBI and the Baltimore City Police Department.

Conway appealed to the court to have either Charles Garry or William Kunstler, two attorneys who consistently represented party members, represent him at his trial. Both lawyers had offered their services free of charge. The court, however denied Conway’s request. Instead of lawyers of his own choosing the court appointed a lawyer who performed no pre-trial investigation and never met with Conway. Conway therefore chose to absent himself from much of his January 1971 trial.

Prior to the trial, Johnson had confessed to the police, naming Powell and Conway as the ones who shot Officers Sager and Sierakowski. According to court testimony, Johnson stated he fired into the air because "I didn't have the heart to kill the pig." Johnson later refused to testify against Conway and claimed his statement was coerced.

The state’s case was one based partially on the evidence of a photo identification made by Officer Nolan. In an effort to strengthen their case, the state called one Charles Reynolds, a known jailhouse informant. He testified that while he shared a cell with Conway prior to trial, Conway confessed to him. However, as was verified by the court transcript, Conway protested greatly when Reynolds was placed in his cell because everyone knew he was an informant. One of the points that proved to be key to the truthfulness of Reynolds was the fact that Reynolds was told by Conway that he had taken Officer Sierakowski's watch, a fact that was not released by the police during the investigation.

Finally, the ballistic evidence connecting the weapons to the murders also played a significant role in the trial. After hearing all of the evidence, the jury convicted Conway of the murder and both he and Powell were sentenced to life in prison. Both men appealed and the appellate court upheld the convictions.

There are several controversies involving the trial and conviction of Conway. The trial took place just two years after the 1968 Baltimore riot, the use of the photo line-up was questioned and the reliability of the jailhouse informant was brought up. In addition, Conway fired two lawyers, the first (Nelson Kandel) over trial strategy differences and the second one that was appointed to represent him and who Conway refused to cooperate with. Conway requested that his cellmate, attorney Arthur Turco, be appointed to represent him. Turco requested bail to be able to do so, but both of these requests were denied. Conway claims to be a political prisoner.

Mr. Conway was never linked by any physical evidence to the crimes for which he was tried. There were no fingerprints, and no physical evidence linking him to either the crime scene or the weapons. Mr. Conway maintained his innocence at the trial, and continues to do so.

Mr. Conway rejected the use of a criminal defense, which in all likelihood would have ended in his acquittal, based on lack of evidence. Instead, he accepted advice to use a 'political' defense, and was wrongfully convicted. With adequate legal representation denied him, an acquittal could have been convincingly argued. At his trial, the prosecution primarily relied on the testimony of an informant, placed, in Mr. Conway's cell under suspicious circumstances and against Mr. Conway's written protests to the guards. It was to this informant that Mr. Conway supposedly then confessed. Such use of informants was common knowledge to all Black Panther Party members. The only other evidence came from the third officer who responded to the shooting, who stated he ‘followed a man who seemed to be acting suspiciously' near where the two suspects were arrested. The officer's identification of Mr. Conway came about only after he was given a set of photos and he recognized no one. The same officer was then given a second set of photos in which Mr. Conway's photo was the only one repeated from the first set, and he 'identified' Mr. Conway. Since Mr. Conway was being held in a cell at that very station house as the photos were being shown to the officer, a lineup (considered a more reliable means of identification) could easily have been arranged, but was not.

Mr. Conway was connected to the shooting of the two officers in the patrol car only by the disputed statements of Charles Reynolds, the jailhouse informant, placed in Mr. Conway's cell despite documented protests to guards by Mr. Conway. Reynolds was inexplicably transferred to Mr. Conway's cell in the Baltimore City Jail from a Maryland prison, where he was serving time on an assault conviction. Reynolds was in route to Michigan where he was wanted on forgery charges. With his record of four previous convictions, and prior service as a police informer, Reynolds wrote to Baltimore police from Detroit and offered them his testimony in exchange for intercession with the Michigan Parole Board. Nothing came of an interview done by the Baltimore police officer flown to Detroit. When it became evident that the case against Mr. Conway was weak however, one of the prosecutors flew to Detroit for a second interview, and as a result, Reynolds was brought back to Baltimore for the purpose of testifying at Mr. Conway's trial.

On most days of the trial, Mr. Conway left the courtroom while the trial proceeded because the trial judge denied him an attorney of his own choosing, or to represent himself. Instead, only the court-appointed lawyer for Mr. Conway was allowed question witnesses. That lawyer spent only 45 minutes prior to trial with his client, and during the trial often appeared to be intoxicated, (Apparent from the transcript itself is the lawyer's inadequate and inappropriate demeanor in the afternoons, following lunch recess.)

Certainly a factor in the trial was Mr. Conway's appearance to the jurors: in shackles, with his imposing height, huge Afro, and raised-fist salutes to supporters in the crowded courtroom before his refusal each day to sit at the trial table. Prior to their selection, the jurors had been exposed to weeks of inflammatory media coverage of the Black Panthers in Baltimore in connection with allegations of kidnapping and murder. This mirrored the media's negative national coverage of the Panthers throughout this period. Pervasive negative media attention has since been authoritatively attributed to the FBI's Counter Intelligence Program [“COINTELPRO”], and other national security operations, as part of their stated intention of destroying the Black Panther Party. Prior to and during the trial, stories were in both of Baltimore's daily papers and in the Afro-American each Friday. The jury was not sequestered, and could have had access to these materials.

Mr. Conway has been incarcerated since April 1970. He has now spent almost three decades [now three and a half decades] in Maryland's prison system. He is currently classified as medium security prisoner, and is being held in a maximum-security institution at the Maryland House of Corrections in Jessup, MD.

A vicious beating by Maryland Penitentiary guards in 1974 was part of an attempt to destroy the Panther Collective, formed by Mr. Conway in the Penitentiary. As a result of that attack, Mr. Conway suffered a broken shoulder and compound fracture of his jaw, necessitating surgery and a three-month hospitalization. Although Mr. Conway filed a civil rights action against the guards, an all-white federal jury refused to hold the guards accountable for their actions. The US Court of Appeals subsequently refused to substitute its judgment for that of the jury but did acknowledge that: "The severity of the injuries ... presents a closer question of whether excessive force was used, amounting to a constitutional deprivation."

Mr. Conway earned his high school GED while in the US Army, and while incarcerated, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science from Coppin State College. In addition, as his interest and expertise in computers grew, he also earned an Associate of Arts degree in Computer Science and Business Studies from Essex Community College. While incarcerated, Mr. Conway was also the Inmate Coordinator for the Penitentiary Library, and worked to secure a $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Mr. Conway directed the project supported by this grant which resulted in To Say Their Own Words, fifty videotaped discussion sessions between 100 prisoners and a wide-ranging group of published authors, recorded over a one year period.

Throughout his years of incarceration, Mr. Conway has provided inspiration and leadership in numerous other efforts to benefit fellow prisoners. Some examples of this are:

1) the formation of the United Prisoner's Labor Union at the Maryland Penitentiary, which signed up 500 members, and secured the support of the labor community;

2) a counseling program for youths at risk for imprisonment, which operated for 12 years, that provided court assigned youth with 10-week counseling sessions by Penitentiary inmates;

3) the ACLU-affiliated Prison Committee to Correct Prison Conditions, which was chaired by Mr. Conway, and worked with a team of ACLU lawyers to litigate overcrowding, brutality, and health issues at Maryland House of Corrections [the resulting court decree is still in effect; at the time of the suit the MHC population was 2,100, which was reduced to and remains at 1,200]; and

4) the Maryland Lifers Association, now ten years old, with chapters in three institutions, which created African-centered holiday celebrations for prisoners with their families; a program which used four computers to teach 600 prisoners computer literacy; and the first ever prison-based Touchstone Project, which is based on weekly discussions of classical literature.

IV. Current Status of Efforts to Free Eddie Mr. Conway

Mr. Conway has been unable to receive any recommendation for parole from the Parole Board in spite of encouraging meetings with them. This is because Maryland's Governor has communicated to the Parole Board his intention of not granting parole to any lifers except the aged and terminally ill. The issue of ‘no-parole for lifers’ is now under review by Maryland's highest court. Attorneys for the prisoners argued in the appeal that such a policy negates the intention of courts to impose some life sentences with the possibility of parole. If the 'no-parole for lifers' policy is allowed to stand, it will permit the executive to interfere with the exercise of judicial power which rests solely with the courts.

Meanwhile, a habeas corpus petition to Maryland's highest state court on behalf of Mr. Conway is currently being prepared by attorneys as part of an effort to exhaust legal remedies so that a Clemency Petition can be presented to the Governor. Baltimore City Mayor Kurt Schmoke has written Governor Glendening, on behalf of Mr. Conway suggesting that consideration be given to returning Mr. Conway to the community. The Baltimore Chapter of the NAACP has also called for Mr. Conway's release from prison. Church leaders have voiced their support for Mr. Conway, including the Rev. Frank Reid, Pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Baltimore City. Support for Mr. Conway's release from prison has also been expressed by some members of Maryland's General Assembly, the Baltimore City Council, and by the community.

As the previously undisclosed records of the FBI and other security agencies are brought to light, Americans are reexamining what was done by the government and the courts in the name of its citizens during the turbulent period of the 1960's and 1970's. Across the country, efforts are being made to Win release for the wrongfully convicted and still-incarcerated targets of the FBI's COINTELPRO, including Marshall 'Eddie' Conway.

As one part of this effort, Amnesty International called for an independent commission of inquiry into the effects of abuses by the FBI on trials in the US. In a press release dated October 13, 1981, Amnesty International asked that the inquiry determine "whether misconduct which judges might have treated as isolated irregularities formed part of a pattern." These abuses were documented in the 144-page report released on that date, and included those that were part of the FBI's COINTELPRO program aimed at disrupting target organizations such as the Black Panther Party. Amnesty international’s study was based on an examination of thousands of pages of official transcripts and documents, and cited many examples of irregularities by the FBI in the cases of activists from militant groups, including the Panthers, targeted for FBI intelligence work. According to that study:

Production of false evidence, misstatements about FBI action, harassment, infiltration of defense teams by informants and failure to make available information which the defense might have used are all shown to have occurred. (Proposal for Commission of Inquiry into the effect of domestic intelligence activities on criminal trials in the United States of America, 1981)

Document prepared by Mardon Walker, Esquire; January 1999.
__________________
"We must continue to move forward and do everything we can to outlaw legal lynching in America. We must continue to stand together in unity and to demand a moratorium on all executions. You must stay strong. You must continue to hold your heads up, and to be there. We will prevail. Keep marching Black people. They are killing me tonight. They are murdering me tonight." -- Excerpts of Last Words of Bro. Shaka Sankofa, an innocent man executed by the state of Texas, 6/22/00. www.myspace.com/nattyreb7

During his imprisonment, Conway has earned three college degrees, started a literacy program, and has been an "exemplary" prisoner. During the entire time, Conway has maintained his innocence. In February 2001, the Baltimore City Council passed a resolution urging the Governor of Maryland to pardon Conway, over the strident protests of police officers. There is a "Free Eddie Conway" website that continues to lobby for his release, with the support of various groups such as the NAACP. In addition, Conway has written a book on his life, Marshall Law: The Life & Times of a Baltimore Black Panther, that was released on April 4, 2011.

The Scott Sisters, Nancy Lockhart and the Politics of Freedom

2011-01-06T00:39:00.000-05:00

The Scott Sisters, Nancy Lockhart and the Politics of Freedom

Seattle Times Scott Sisters Article

2010-12-05T05:50:00.000-05:00

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2010

Seattle Times Scott Sisters Article

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sisters may or may not be guilty, but Mississippi assuredly is

Let's assume they did it.

Let's assume that two days before Christmas in 1993, a 22-year-old black woman named Jamie Scott and her pregnant 19-year-old sister Gladys set up an armed robbery. Let's assume these single mothers lured two men to a spot outside the tiny town of Forest, Miss., where three teenage boys, using a shotgun the sisters supplied, relieved the men of $11 and sent them on their way, unharmed.

Assume all of the above is true, and still you must be shocked at the crude brutality of the Scott sisters' fate. You see, the sisters, neither of whom had a criminal record before this, are still locked away in state prison, having served 16 years of their double-life sentences.

It bears repeating. Each sister is doing double life for a robbery in which $11 was taken and nobody was hurt. Somewhere, the late Nina Simone is moaning her signature song:

"Mississippi Goddam."

For the record, two of the young men who committed the robbery testified against the sisters as a condition of their plea bargain. All three reportedly received two-year sentences and were long ago released. No shotgun or forensic evidence was produced at trial. The sisters have always maintained their innocence.

Observers are at a loss to explain their grotesquely disproportionate sentence. Early this year, the Jackson Advocate, a weekly newspaper serving the black community in the state capital, interviewed the sisters' mother, Evelyn Rasco. She described the sentences as payback for her family's testimony against a corrupt sheriff. According to her, that sheriff's successor vowed revenge.

You don't have to believe that to believe this: Mississippi stands guilty of a grievous offense against simple decency.

But there is hope. Recently, the sisters' cause has been championed by high-powered allies. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert and the NAACP have called on Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to pardon the two women. I add my voice to theirs.

I have no way of knowing if the Scott sisters' fate is tied in to some sheriff's revenge and at some level, the question is moot. Whatever the proximate cause of this ridiculous sentence, the larger cause is neon clear: the Scott sisters are black women in the poorest state in the union. And as report after report has testified, if you are poor or black (and God help you if you are both), the American justice system has long had this terrible tendency to throw you away like garbage. Historically, this has been especially true in the South.

If you doubt it, play with the scenario in your head. Try to imagine some rich white girl doing double life for an $11 robbery. You can't.

But then, that girl has access to a brand of justice unavailable to women like Jamie and Gladys Scott. She will receive every break the law allows her and maybe a few it does not. No one will throw her away.

And while it would be nice to think this problem of discarding people's lives would be solved by the release of the Scott sisters, the truth is, that wouldn't even address it.

How many other Scott sisters and brothers are languishing behind bars for no good reason, doing undeserved hard time on nonexistent evidence, perjured testimony, prosecutorial misconduct or sheer racial or class bias?

So fixing the problem the Scott sisters represent involves nothing less than the reformation of the justice system, a commitment to make it, as the name implies, a system that reliably produces justice â€” as opposed to these too frequent miscarriages thereof.

Meantime, Jamie Scott, who is in her late 30s now, is in poor health. She is said to be losing her vision and both her kidneys have failed. And we wait for common sense to take hold in Mississippi.

It is a situation that shocks the senses, even if we assume they did it.

Now, assume they did not.

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.'s column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is: lpitts@miamiherald.com

From: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2013477385_pitts21.html

ACTION ALERT FOR JAMIE SCOTT

2010-10-05T02:50:00.004-04:00

ACTION ALERT FOR JAMIE SCOTT

From: Nancy Lockhart October 2 at 1:47am

Please e-mail and/or call Drs. Gloria Perry and Zein-Ahmed and request that Jamie Scott #19197 immediately receive proper medical treatment. Jamie has been vomiting for 5 days now and is in need of immediate attention. I apologize for being so crude here but, this is the case and it is urgent. Please assist us in saving her life until she is released!

Dr. Gloria Perry - gperry@mdoc.state.ms.us

(601) 359-5155

Dr. Zein-Ahmed - MZein-Ahmed@mdoc.state.ms.us

(601) 359-5155

You may cc and call the following if time permits.

Margaret Bingham - mbingham@mdoc.state.ms.us

601-932-2880

Christopher Epps - CEPPS@mdoc.state.ms.us

Epps ph. 601-359-5600

Nancy Lockhart

free the scott sisters

2010-10-01T18:33:00.000-04:00

Ben Jealous Requests Pardon for Scott Sisters

2010-10-01T18:26:00.000-04:00

MESSAGE FROM MRS. RASCO:

2010-09-30T04:59:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all of the supporters that have helped with Jamie and Gladys' case. It is because of all of you that it has came down to what it has. You all have worked hard to help to free Jamie and Gladys and I feel like now we are on the final step to freedom.

I am asking that everyone Write and Fax all the Parole Board members to ask for justice for Jamie and Gladys. They need all of your help, the ones that can tweet it, please do. Jamie and Gladys' life depends on you all so that another injustice won't be done to them. Let the Parole Board know that the world is looking at this injustice.

Shannon Warnock - Chairman

Bobbie Thomas - Board Member

Clarence Brown - Board Member

Betty Lou Jones - Board Member

Danny Guice - Board Member

State of Mississippi Parole Board
660 North Street
Suite 100A
Jackson, MS 39202
Fax: (601) 576-3528

Please contact these Board Members and keep doing it until Jamie and Gladys are free. Love to every one of you.

Evelyn Rasco

Parole Board investigator meets with Scott sisters

2010-09-29T03:50:00.000-04:00

Parole Board investigator meets with Scott sisters
The Mississippi Link: News

For the first time in their 16-year imprisonment, Gladys and Jamie Scott have gotten some action from the Mississippi Department of Correction Parole Board.
According to their attorney, Chokwe Lumumba, an investigator from the Parole Board visited the sisters in the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility early this week. However, he was not given the opportunity to be present.

“They did not tell me that they [the Parole Board] were going to see them,” Lumumba told The Mississippi Link Tuesday night, Sept. 21. “This is not really characteristic of Parole Board procedure. It is inappropriate not to allow council to be present.”
The sisters are incarcerated for their alleged involvement with two other teenagers in a 1993 armed robbery of two men of $11. They are serving double life sentences. They maintain their innocence. No one was killed.
For more information and updates about the sisters ordeal, log on to http://freethescottsisters.blogspot.com/
The fact that Lumumba was not privy to the investigator’s visit with the sisters has alarmed their mother Evelyn Rasco of Pensacola, Fla.
“I don’t know why they would not want Mr. Lumumba present. This has me very concerned,” Rasco said, who recently lost her father. Her daughters were allowed to attend their grandfather’s wake in Forrest, Miss., but not his funeral.

While his office will inquire why he was not alerted, Lumumba, at the same time, said he is hoping the Board is acting in good faith. He said he is optimistic that the Parole Board has been moved to do something, but he wants that something to be positive.
The “move” comes after a loud cry for justice for the Scott sisters went out last Wednesday, Sept. 15, when hundreds marched and rallied from Farish Street Park to the Governor’s Manson on to the state capitol in downtown Jackson. The crowd chanted: “We are here - without fear - and we want our sisters free;” “Haley Barbour, can’t you see? The Scott sisters must be free. Right now, Right now!” and “Fifteen years is too long; Send our sisters home!”

NAACP President Ben Jealous was also in town last week to accompany Lumumba in submitting a petition with more than 2,000 signatures in support of freeing the Scott sisters to the Governor’s office.
Mississippi Parole Board Chairman Shannon Warnock told The Mississippi Link that the Board has received the clemency request from Lumumba. “We’ve received a request from the Governor to proceed with the clemency investigation as we would any other pardon applicant,” she said. “I’ve asked our investigator to launch that process. Once we receive the report, we will interview the candidates. Then make our recommendation to the Governor, along with submitting the complete investigative report. I’m sorry, but I cannot commit to a time line. Typically, it takes several months. But I can say this, once we make our recommendation to the governor, it is his discretion at that point.”

Make the Call: Help Jamie Scott

2010-09-18T00:48:00.000-04:00

Gray-Haired Witnesses for Justice

2010-09-18T00:37:00.000-04:00

Free the Scott Sisters

2010-09-18T00:22:00.000-04:00

Call Charlie Rubisoff

2010-08-28T03:43:00.000-04:00

Nancy Lockhart --- Call Charlie Rubisoff - Continue to call every day - demand an investigation into Jamie and Gladys' case - 601-359-3680

Scott Sisters - Call Investigator Charles Rubisoff & Demand Justice!!!

SPONSORS NEEDED FOR MISSISSIPPI BUS TO D.C.

2010-06-06T19:19:00.002-04:00

SPONSORS NEEDED FOR MISSISSIPPI BUS TO D.C.!

Sponsors are needed to help pay for the bus bringing Mrs. Rasco and supporters in Mississippi up to the Gray-Haired Witnesses Fast for Justice so that she, her children and grandchildren can speak on behalf of Jamie and Gladys Scott. Gloria's Kitchen is one of Mrs. Rasco's greatest supporters in Mississippi and have made bumper stickers, t-shirts, lots of phone calls, flyering and much more in the fight for freedom for the Scott Sisters and are now making arrangements for the bus, but the expense is great.

Please mail an M.O. for whatever you can spare (no amount is too small!) ASAP made out to Donnie Finley and mail to:
Donnie Finley c/o Gloria's Kitchen
2855 Bailey Ave.
Jackson, MS 39206.

If you need more info please phone Donnie at: 601-454-6507. Thank you in advance for your kind support!

SUPPORT THE GRAY-HAIRED WITNESSES FAST FOR JUSTICE!

2010-05-28T14:36:00.000-04:00

5/28 GRAY-HAIRED WITNESSES FLYER + UPDATES

SUPPORT THE GRAY-HAIRED WITNESSES FAST FOR JUSTICE!
JUNE 21, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, DC
10 AM - DEPT. OF JUSTICE
12 NOON - WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCE
1PM-9PM - LAFAYETTE SQUARE PARK

We need our community to support us in this effort to bring national attention to the case of the Scott Sisters and all other women who have been incarcerated wrongly and egregiously over-sentenced, punishing and destroying our families and children.

Please print out and help distribute our flyer this long weekend, particularly in the DC, MD, VA area. (Thanks Bro. Thunder X!) The flyer is downloadable at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/32114384/Gray-2

Bro. Dalani Aamon of Harambee Radio did a PSA in support, it's about 2 1/2 mins. please air it on your radio programs: http://www.divshare.com/download/11504574-e65 - please share this!

We need volunteers, particularly those in the tri-state DC, MD, VA area, to contact us!! We need assistance distributing information and in carrying out the event on that day, please get involved!

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IN SOLIDARITY:

Free The Scott Sisters!

It grieves me Bros, Sis and Comrades, in this day and age, that we even have to come together and mount a campaign to call for the Freedom of the Scott Sisters.

If ever there was a self-evident case, where there was NOTHING even to talk about, and that cried out for JUSTICE - this is it! We have two sisters, Jamie who's very seriously ill, and Gladys, both imprisoned in Mississippi, sentenced to double-life for a $11 robbery in which no one was injured and they've already done 15 years!!!.... not even considering they've staunchly proclaimed their innocence and are crying out for help!

It could be your sister, my sister, anybody's sister! So i gladly join the June 21st fast in solidarity with the Gray-Haired Witnesses White House demonstration demanding freedom for Scott Sisters. It's the very least i or anyone of us could do and i'm urging my family and friends to attend and fast also. If that doesn't get immediate result i hope you'll consider coming back with a campaign to boycott of the state of Mississippi, or some similar action, till they do free the Scott Sisters. Stay strong, and keep fighting, i will too. Free the Scott Sisters!
Sundiata Acoli, Political Prisoner
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Harambee Radio and TV Network is honored to stand in solidarity with the quest for justice for Jamie and Gladys Scott, two sisters who have been imprisoned for over 16 years. We deem it unconscionable that the Scott sisters received two life sentences for a crime that netted a mere eleven dollars; a crime for which they have always proclaimed their innocence.

The Harambee Radio and TV Network is pleased to be able to spotlight this egregious case, a case which continues to shock the conscience of those who hear it. Harambee features commentary and interviews from the most respected activists from across the nation and we seek to actively broaden awareness around the sisters’ case. As part of our solidarity, we are opening our airways with a special focus on this travesty of justice through both our online radio and television outlets. And, in concert with our mission statement, we will collaborate and partner with others to strengthen the movement that will allow justice to prevail.

Dalani Aamon, CEO and Founder
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Thanks to the African-American Freedom and Reconstruction League for their beautiful letter of solidarity, please view it at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/32111420/Letter-in-Support-of-Scott-Sisters

Udja Temple's letter got it started, and is at: http://grayhairedwitnesses.blogspot.com/2010/05/press-release-gray-haired-witnesses-621.html

Please send us your organization's statement of solidarity and present it at the event if at all possible!
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Endorsement list is in formation, please send in your name and affiliation (if any) no later than June 15 to ghwitnesses@gmail.com. Updated endorsement lists will be posted in updated mailings, at the website and at the Facebook group.

Action Committee for Women in Prison
Agnes Johnson, The 1212 Community in the Bronx
Bonnie Kerness, AFSC*
Brenda Scott Lowery
Bro. Moorbey, Chairman, Black Unity Movement
Bro. Sauti & Sis. Shiriki, KCBLR.ORG Radio
Charles E. Campbell, Allen Hydro Energy Corporation (AHEC)
Cleo Silvers
David Blanchard
Dominique Reed, HRC-Fed Up!
Donna Wallach, Justice for Palestinians
Eddie Griffin (BASG)
Fayemi Shakur, Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign
Harambee Radio and Television Network
Int'l Concerned Family/Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Jacqui C. Williams
Leonna A. Brandao, S.W.III, New Vision Org., Inc.
Malaika H. Kambon, People's Eye Photography
Mary Ratcliff, Editor, San Francisco Bay View Newspaper
Mississippi Prison Watch
Monica Moorehead, Women's Fightback Network, NYC
Nathan Hare, Black Think Tank
People's Organization for Progress
Rev. Majadi Baruti, Udja Temple Ministries
Senghor Jawara Baye, President General UNIA-ACL
Sistah Q, Author of Maintaining Our Temples
Sundiata Acoli
Tara Graham
Terry Howcott
The African American Freedom & Reconstruction League
The MOVE Organization
4JusticeNow
(* For ID purposes only)

We need you to support by doing some or all of the following:
- STAND WITH US IN WASHINGTON AND BRING OTHERS!
- Post our statement to your Facebook and other social netwoking sites. Help us get the word out.
- Forward the press release to your email colleagues. (Press release is at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/31674423/grayhairpr)
- Issue a statement of support on an individual or organizational level on this endeavor. Or, ask us to list you as an endorser.
- Write a blog, article or commentary on the statement's mission and call, post it and pass it on for posting on our website.
- Write and publish an article on the state of the Scott Sisters and the issue of Black incarceration. (Case Summary on the Scott Sisters is at http://freethescottsisters.blogspot.com/search/label/Case%20Summary)
- Volunteer to help us prepare for the day, particularly if you live in the DC, Balt., VA area

Check us out on Tuesday June 1 at 11 pm on Garvey's Voice hosted by President General UNIA-ACL, Senghor Jawara Baye and on Thursday June 3 at 7 pm on The Legacy Justice Radio Show hosted by Nkechi Taifa, Esq, both on the Harambee Radio and Television Network.

"We stand on this history today. We stand before you as Gray-Haired Witnesses asking freedom-loving people of all colors who believe in the dream of Ida B. Wells, of a just, safe and open America for all peoples regardless of our different social locations to break the veil of silence and stand strong in a renewed spirit of moral consciousness for this country. The greatest asset we have is our body, mind and spirit and our willingness to step out of the daily flow of life and stand tall for what is right and just. The jagged tears in the social and cultural infrastructure of Black and poor communities and families are unconscionable and unacceptable to us. We come ready to repair them. In the tradition of race women throughout history and our survival, we declare our presence and we will not be silent and we are not afraid." From the Call.

Contact us at ghwitnesses@gmail.com, 1- 866-968-1188, Ext. 2, and please link to us at
http://www.grayhairedwitnesses.blogspot.com/

5/11 - JAMIE SCOTT ACTION ALERT!

2010-05-11T23:36:00.000-04:00

Today at 10:24pm
From: Nancy Lockhart
----
This is an update on the condition of Jamie Scott.
Jamie Scott did not receive dialysis today as the fistula in her armed has clogged up! It is my understanding that it may be unclogged at this present time.
After passing out today, Jamie was rushed to the hospital by ambulance, from prison.
At the hospital she was given an antibiotic shot.
Jamie has many boils over her body which are running pus and blood.
The doctors at the hospital cleaned the boils and Jamie was sent back to the prison.

Jamie does not sound well at all.

Please contact these officials and let them know that Jamie Scott, #19197, needs to be hospitalized ASAP as she has infections throughout her body that need immediate treatment! Please ask the individuals below to ensure that Jamie Scott remains in the hospital until the infection clears totally.

Attorney General Eric Holder
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
HOTLINE: 202-353-1555
PHONE: 202-514-2000
202-307-6777 fax
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

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

Christopher Epps
601-359-5600
CEPPS@mdoc.state.ms.us
723 North President Street
Jackson, MS 39202

Governor Haley Barbour
P.O. Box 139
Jackson, Mississippi 39205
1-877-405-0733 or 601-359-3150
Fax: 601-359-3741

5-5-10 SCOTT SISTERS UPDATE

2010-05-05T23:20:00.001-04:00

Today at 12:32pm
Greetings all,

Mrs. Rasco received word that last evening a 13 yr. friend of Jamie Scott's took a few steps toward her and fell down dead. The guards ran to her aid and tried CPR and everything that they could, but the woman had passed away. Jamie became hysterical, vomited blood and began losing breath. The guards there calmed Jamie, prayed with her, and stayed with her until her heart rate returned to normal. This woman had issues with her medication and health care in the prison for years, and was just questioning her medication earlier that day. The consensus among the inmates was that this woman's death was just another example of the poor medical care in that hellhole.

The issue remains of Jamie vomiting blood, as well as reporting that there are large, infected knots spread in various parts of her body which are painful and full of pus and blood. Jamie is terrified that she will be the next one to die and reports that her body is again full of infection. She has also been told that she has become anemic and that her blood sugars are only checked on a once weekly basis!

Please support by participating in two action requests!
--
1. ACTION
Jamie needs to be hospitalized and cleared of these infections! There also needs to be a determination about the level of medical care she is receiving as it is apparent that she is not being monitored carefully as these infections continue to thrive and remain untreated until there is a demand from the outside.

Please contact these officials and let them know that Jamie Scott, #19197, needs to be hospitalized ASAP as she has infections throughout her body that need immediate treatment!

Attorney General Eric Holder
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
HOTLINE: 202-353-1555
PHONE: 202-514-2000
202-307-6777 fax
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

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

Christopher Epps
601-359-5600
CEPPS@mdoc.state.ms.us
723 North President Street
Jackson, MS 39202

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)
==================
2. ACTION
Please e-mail, the following persons at The American Bar Association in support of the Scott Sisters. Please blind Copy (bcc) and paste in all e-mail addresses. A 1-800 number is also included below. Our goal here is to have thousands contact the ABA as there is power in numbers.
PilchenI@staff.abanet.org
KEnglehart@staff.abanet.org
CurdB@staff.abanet.org
windsorp@staff.abanet.org

American Bar Association
Attention: President Carolyn Lamm
321 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60654-7598
800.285.2221

Dear President Lamm:

I would like to bring your attention to the Case of The Scott Sisters. In the state of Mississippi, Jamie and Gladys Scott were convicted of armed robbery. A jury found the sisters guilty in 1994, transcripts conflictingly state that $11 dollars was netted. The sisters received double life sentences each for this crime, had no prior criminal records, and no one was injured in any way. A 14 year old testified that he was coerced and threatened to be sent to Parchman Penitentiary if he did not lie on the sisters by signing a statement. Other witnesses stated that the sisters were not involved in this crime. Jamie and Gladys Scott were convicted with no physical evidence.

The sisters are in need of a pro bono criminal law attorney. Currently, an attorney is handling Jamie Scott’s medical issues as she has had kidney failure and is receiving sub standard medical care via the MDOC and Wexford Health Sources, Inc.. Jamie Scott is in stage 5 of kidney failure, which is the final stage.

I am requesting that you assist in securing a criminal attorney to review their prior appeals process and determine additional ways to re enter state or federal court. Above all, the sisters should be immediately exonerated.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Sincerely,

(Your name)

Case Summary: http://freethescottsisters.blogspot.com/search/label/Case%20Summary
Legal Transcripts: http://www.scribd.com/doc/21748820/Scott-transcript
============
Jamie and Gladys want to thank all of the supporters so much for everything that's being done on their behalf, they are so happy to receive mail and to know that we are out here fighting for them and want to make sure that you know how grateful they are!

Gladys Scott, #19142
CMCF/B-Bldg.
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, MS 39288-8550

Jamie Scott, #19197
CMCF/2A-B-Zone
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, MS 39288-8550

4/25 SCOTT SISTERS UPDATE!

2010-04-26T04:13:00.001-04:00

Today at 8:42pm
Greetings all,

Mrs. Rasco recently learned that Jamie's condition is unchanged and that when last they spoke she was being worked up for a possible urinary tract infection. She was mentally strong, however, and very grateful that her mother and supporters are sticking by she and Gladys through all that they have suffered.

MDOC Commissioner Christopher Epps, whom we've been contacting for months regarding the disastrous level of Jamie's care and who's been steadily misinforming people that she's not as sick as we've regularly documented, even after she had to be hospitalized several times for high toxicity and infections that almost took her life, is being HONORED as the KEYNOTE SPEAKER by the Jackson County, MS NAACP at their upcoming banquet on April 30, 2010!

Link: http://www.gulflive.com/sendthispage/sendthispage.ssf?http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-living/2010/04/christopher_epps_to_speak_at_freedom_fund_banquet.html

How could this branch, which is actually portrayed as an activist branch that has courageously taken on the police dept. and most recently the fire dept., completely ignore the sickeningly outrageous case of the Scott Sisters! And to add insult to injury, laud Christopher Epps, who covers up the low-budget, some-timey care that denies Jamie Scott regular medications, regular dialysis, and the specific diet she has been told repeatedly that she needs to maintain any semblance of health. The medical care is said by inmates there to be abysmal on every level, and particularly so for Jamie Scott, with end stage kidney failure!

This is a smack in the face to Mrs. Rasco, to whom Epps made false promises of relief for Jamie, as well as Jamie and Gladys Scott, their supporters, and the community at large! This organization should be fighting on the front lines for justice for the Scott Sisters and not inviting Christopher Epps to some banquet! And what of the national NAACP, why are they NOT responding to the many requests that have been made of them for the past 15 years to become involved in this case!

This is the final indignity and must not go unchallenged. This bureaucrat should not pompously sit up there picking his teeth and pontificating while Jamie Scott lay suffering in one of the very prison cells that he oversees, a prison cell that she (nor her sister) should even be in!

Please contact the president of the Jackson County, Mississippi NAACP, Curly Clark, and ask him:

* Why is the NAACP distinguishing a man who would allow a woman to deteriorate in a prison on his watch until she is now at end stage of kidney failure?

* What does the NAACP want to hear from a man that won't permit this same, very seriously ill woman to be housed in the Medical Bldg. on the grounds of that facility so that she can be cared for by her sister and instead has her housed in a mold-infested, damp, breeding ground for the infections which have repeatedly threatened her life?

Ask Jackson County NAACP President, Curly Clark, and State President, Derrick Johnson, why they are not involved in the fight for justice for the Mississippi Scott Sisters, a shocking and internationally known atrocity occurring right in their own backyard!

This entire event should be protested if Epps remains on the program and attendees given refunds for their $30 tickets!

Curly Clark, President, Jackson County NAACP
228-762-9692

Derrick Johnson, State President
Mississippi State Conference NAACP
1072 West J.R. Lynch Street
Jackson, MS 39203
Phone: 601.353.6906
Fax: 601.353.1565
Website: www.naacpms.org

Scott Sisters Press Release

2010-04-24T00:27:00.002-04:00

Scott Sisters Press Release

4/19 JAMIE SCOTT CALL

2010-04-19T15:28:00.002-04:00

4/19 JAMIE SCOTT CALL/HELP NEEDED WITH PRESS!Share
Today at 1:11pm
UPDATE: 4/19 CALL FROM JAMIE

Jamie Scott called her mother this morning and informed her that Warden Holman woke her from sleep, demanding to know what her mother was posting on the internet regarding mold on the walls and leaking in her unit. She got up and showed him the mold all over the walls
as well as sewage that was coming up out of the toilets and the spiders overrunning the unit.

The warden then told Jamie (who only has the use of one arm) to scrub down the walls, to which she refused! Jamie told him that her mother is posting the truth and would continue to document everything that was going on with her, including the disgusting conditions of the unit and how it was making her sicker and more prone to infection, and that all of those years of mold would need more than scrubbing anyway. She told him if she was allowed to lay there and die that he hasn't seen anything yet and would never hear the last of her mother!

The other women were awakened by the Warden and told to scrub the mold off of the walls and they also refused! They told the Warden that they were glad that everybody is finding out about their horrible living conditions and that the building needs to be torn down! No matter how the prison tries to hide it, the truth will continue to be told!

One prison doctor has diagnosed Jamie with an infection and another has not, but she has the discoloration that is a hallmark of recurrent infection. She clarified that it was determined that she was only on Heparin while in the hospital and that it had been discontinued.

PLEASE PARTICIPATE in e-mailing our press release to at least three press contacts as often as possible! It's at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/30178263/Scott-Sisters-Press-Release
Many newspapers can be reached by e-mail or contact form at http://www.usnpl.com/ - please also contact other forms of media that you can easily find info for. We need a whole
lot of help to attract as much attention to this case as possible to truly make a difference!

Thank you all, don't let up!!
--------------

Visit and LINK to: http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com
Subscribe to our group: Send a blank e-mail to scottsistersupdates-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and share information!
Facebook Group: Free The Scott Sisters
Facebook Fan Page: Free The Scott Sisters
Free the Scott Sisters Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Free-Jamie-Gladys/index.html
Press Release: http://www.scribd.com/doc/30178263/Scott-Sisters-Press-Release
Case Summary: http://freethescottsisters.blogspot.com/search/label/Case%20Summary
Free the Scott Sisters Flyer: http://www.scribd.com/doc/28847395/Scott-Sisters-Flyer-Black-23-Mar-2010-20
Legal Transcripts: http://www.scribd.com/Scott%20Sisters

4/13 URGENT MEDICAL UPDATE ON JAMIE SCOTT!

2010-04-13T20:33:00.002-04:00

Today at 4:55pm

Jamie Scott is again in medical crisis and we are asking everyone
reading these words to push the prison to hospitalize her!

Jamie woke up last night in a puddle of blood from the painful
catheter in her groin area. The catheter had green liquid, showing
signs of infection. The guard called the doctor and was told to
clean her up, change her bandage, give her a Tylenol, and send
her back to her unit without anyone examining her at all! When
she arrived back at the building she began vomiting uncontrollably
and is still unable to keep anything down as far as we know. The
most recent update today is that she is in the prison clinic and not
in the hospital.

We need the prison to know that we are on top of what's going
on and that Jamie Scott needs to be hospitalized now.

More updates will be sent out as soon as they come available.

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

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)

Free The Scott Sisters Now

2010-04-09T06:38:00.002-04:00

Free The Scott Sisters Now in Mississippi is collecting 10,000 signatures on the letter below. Please support and pass this sample to friends and family.Sign and return to Attorney Lumumba's office as instructed, it is very important that everyone participate.
Free The Scott Sisters Now
Information Line: 1-888-600-5311

Governor Haley Barbour
P.O. Box 139
Jackson, Mississippi 39205

RE: The Scott Sisters

Dear Governor Barbour:

I would like to bring your attention to the case of Jamie and Gladys Scott. These sisters have served more than 15 years of a double life term where no one was murdered or injured. State's witnesses have testified to their innocence. Jamie Scott's kidneys have failed and her health is fading fast. We need your help now. Mississippi needs to know that those of us who believe in injustice and human rights are prepared to take a stand for the Scott Sisters.

FREE THE SCOTT SISTERS NOW!!

Signed,

_____________________________________
Truly Concerned

Name: ______________________________

Address: _________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

Please forward this letter of support to:
Free the Scott Sisters
c/o Attorney Chokwe Lumumbe
440 N. Mill Street
Jackson, MS 39202

3/16 JAMIE SCOTT UPDATE

2010-03-16T20:35:00.002-04:00

3/16 JAMIE SCOTT UPDATE

Mrs. Rasco received word last evening that Jamie was rushed
to the hospital in terrible pain with the intention of getting her
pain stabilized and returning her directly back. She
was examined by a doctor who determined that infection had
spread through her entire body and that the veins in her neck
had collapsed. He said he would not treat her pain and then
release her back to the prison as they wanted because she
would die from the blockages and the constant catheter infections.
The doctor angrily stated that the MDOC had dropped the ball
when it came to Jamie's medical care. He said she should have
been admitted long-term to clear up her infection when she
was previously sent there instead of quickly returning
her back to the prison on antibiotics. He scheduled her to have
emergency surgery to insert a shunt into her groin for the
purposes of dialysis.

As of the time of this posting Mrs. Rasco doesn't know if Jamie
is still in the hospital or back at the prison, as usual the prison is
not forthcoming with information and the family is in a constant
state of anxiety and extreme worry. All we can say with certainty
is that the behavior of the prison is what is truly criminal when it
comes to the medical care of Jamie Scott. The prison is well
aware of everything that has been happening and is taking far
too many risks with Jamie's life.

=========

PLEASE CONTACT POLITICIANS AND MEDIA

Congressman Bennie Thompson
3607 Medgar Evers Blvd.
Jackson, MS 39213
601-946-9003(ph)
601-982-5337 (fx)
Benniethompson@mail.house.gov

Congressman John Conyers
2426 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Ph: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072
John.Conyers@mail.house.gov

(More listed at http://freethescottsisters.blogspot.com/2010/01/119-emergency-update.html)
============

THIS JUST IN!:

Dr. Gloria Perry at CMCF where Jamie Scott is an inmate
just denied her mother, Mrs. Rasco, her three children
and her two grandchildren from coming to visit Jamie
this weekend. All six were denied by this doctor even
though she knows they're highly upset at what's happening
to Jamie and are extremely anxious to see her, and
now with this surprise are even more worried than before!

Mrs. Rasco asks that everyone contact her office and
ask why she is denying Jamie visitation with her family
during such a critical time:

GLORIA PERRY, MD, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
(601) 359-5155
gperry@mdoc.state.ms.us

Thank you!
------------------------
Visit and LINK to: http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com
Subscribe to our group: Send a blank e-mail to scottsistersupdates-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and share information!
Facebook Group: Free The Scott Sisters
Compassionate Release Appeal: http://www.scribd.com/doc/26252282/COMPASSIONATE-RELEASE-FOR-JAMIE-SCOTT
Free the Scott Sisters Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Free-Jamie-Gladys/index.html
Free the Scott Sisters Flyer: http://www.scribd.com/doc/22154749/Scott-Sisters-Flyer
Legal Transcripts: http://www.scribd.com/Scott%20Sisters

Update 3-14

2010-03-16T20:33:00.002-04:00

Nancy Lockhart March 14 at 8:50pm Reply

Jamie Scott still is suffering with infection in her catheter and
her weakness has progressed to the point that she once
again can barely walk. She was taken to the hospital where
her neck was cut at least 3 times, which was extremely
painful as the anesthetic did not kick in properly during the
procedure. Proper catheter placement was unable to be
obtained after approximately 2 hours of what was supposed
to be a 30 minute surgery. She was given dialysis but her
catheter remains infected. She was put on antibiotics and
returned to the prison infirmary! Jamie was told that they
would return her to the hospital on Monday to try once again
to move the catheter and unplug it.

Jamie did want it to be known that during a particularly rough
period for her where she was crying in the prison last Thursday,
one of the nurses came in and rubbed her head and prayed over
her and she and Mrs. Rasco wanted this to be noted in order to
thank her for showing some kindness. Jamie is very grateful
for everyone's support and asks that we keep fighting for her
and her sister Gladys to be freed from prison!
===================

The MWM is spearheading a Press Conference on 3/26
outside of the Capitol in Jackson, MS at 12 noon. Details
are available by contacting them at 267-636-3802 or
e-mail: nationalmwm@aol.com or BWDL7@aol.com.
Many people in the area are excited and ready for
this to happen, so please do make plans to attend if you're
able to be in the area on that day!
==============

Thanks again to Bro. Rip Daniels of WJZD radio
(http://www.wjzd.com) for dedicating the first hour of Friday's
show to the Scott Sisters, as well as all of his regular
coverage of this case. Check into the station weekdays
from 9-11am EST for future coverage and to call-in on
the Scott Sisters' behalf!
~~~~~

Mrs. Rasco and Nancy Lockhart are scheduled for
the Warren Ballentine Show at 10:15EST a.m. Monday
3/15, please tune in at http://www.thetruthfighters.com/
and check it out!
===============

Please flood the office of Rep. Bennie
Thompson with e-mails and calls to push for
medical help for Jamie Scott. Phone is
(601) 946-9003.

TO: Benniethompson@mail.house.gov

Dear Representative Thompson:

Mrs. Evelyn Rasco, the mother of Jamie and Gladys Scott has asked me to contact you and formally request your involvement in the case of her daughters. I realize that you are aware of the wrongful conviction of The Scott Sisters, so I will not go in depth regarding that issue. The issue at hand is a medical crisis!

Jamie Scott's temporary catheter (for the purpose of dialysis) has been moved to her chest and is plugged up with green fluid and pus. Her hands and feet are swollen and she is in tremendous pain. She is very, very weak. This is at least her fourth catheter infection and this one is extremely bad. Jamie is doing very poorly. The prison is aware of her current condition yet, she remains in the prison infirmary. Jamie needs to be carried to the hospital and she needs to remain there until this infection is cleared.

Please assist Mrs. Rasco in getting the proper medical attention for her daughters Mr. Thompson. You may reach Mrs. Rasco at rqueenbee2222@yahoo.com

Jamie is in constant pain, her hands and legs/feet are swollen and she needs to go to the hospital. This is a medical crisis!

Respectfully Submitted,
(Your name)
=============

Jane Velez-Mitchell should do an entire segment on
the Scott Sisters now that she is aware of the case, please
contact her and urge her to follow-up her brief mention of
the Scott Sisters on her 3/6 "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell"
with a more significant segment that will focus on Jamie's
serious medical condition and the Scott Sisters case
period. The contact form is at http://www.cnn.com/feedback/tips/newstips.html

PLEASE CONTINUE THE PUSH FOR MAINSTREAM MEDIA
THIS IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO WINNING THEIR FREEDOM!
----------------------------

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!

The compassionate release request is at Mrs. Rasco's site:
http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com for
your reference and information.

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

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

A complete list of the media that we have listed (feel free to send to any that
you wish to!) is at http://freethescottsisters.blogspot.com/2010/01/119-emergency-update.html
======================

Visit and LINK to: http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com
Subscribe to our group: Send a blank e-mail to scottsistersupdates-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and share information!
Facebook Group: Free The Scott Sisters
Compassionate Release Appeal: http://www.scribd.com/doc/26252282/COMPASSIONATE-RELEASE-FOR-JAMIE-SCOTT
Free the Scott Sisters Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Free-Jamie-Gladys/index.html
Free the Scott Sisters Flyer: http://www.scribd.com/doc/22154749/Scott-Sisters-Flyer
Legal Transcripts: http://www.scribd.com/Scott%20Sisters

2010-03-13T03:36:00.000-05:00

Nancy Lockhart March 12 at 8:05am

Mrs. Rasco received word this evening that Jamie Scott's
temporary catheter has been moved to her chest and is
plugged up with green fluid and pus. Her hands, legs and
feet are swollen and she is in tremendous pain. She is
very, very weak. This is at least her fourth catheter
infection and this one is extremely bad. Jamie is doing
very poorly. The prison is aware of Jamie's current
condition yet Jamie remains in the prison infirmary.

Mrs. Rasco is asking that everyone please call into the
governor and Commissioner Epps to release her from
the horrible conditions she is in and the poor medical care
that she is receiving. Mrs. Rasco believes that Jamie is
going to die in the prison if something doesn't happen soon
and is calling out for all of the support that she can get.

CONTACT GOV. BARBOUR'S OFFICE
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)

CONTACT CHRISTOPHER EPPS
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

LET THEM KNOW THAT JAMIE SCOTT IS SUFFERING
WITH PAIN, SWELLING, INFECTION AND WEAKNESS
& NEEDS IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION OUTSIDE
OF THE PRISON!
-------

We also need to continue pushing for national media
attention on the case, some focus has been achieved &
we need to strike while the iron is hot! Jamie's condition
is very serious and we need for as many people as
possible to get involved with raising the demand for
her release as soon as possible. THIS CASE
DEMANDS NATIONAL ATTENTION.

Jane Velez-Mitchell should do an entire segment on
the Scott Sisters now that she is aware of the case, please
contact her and urge her to follow-up her brief mention of
the Scott Sisters on her 3/6 "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell"
with a more significant segment that will focus on Jamie's
serious medical condition and the Scott Sisters case
period.
The contact form is at http://www.cnn.com/feedback/tips/newstips.html

Today's Newsweek blog ran a piece called: "Left Wing: Pardon
Me, Governor Barbour" at
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2010/03/11
/left-wing-pardon-me-governor-barbour.aspx

Many of these blogs where the Scott Sisters are getting attention have
comment sections that supporters can use to put out
updated information on Jamie's downward spiraling
condition, there's only so much her body is going
to be able to take and this needs to be emphasized!

INMATE SAVES JAMIE SCOTT'S LIFE (Scott Sisters) By Sis Marpessa

2010-02-06T01:25:00.002-05:00

Jamie Scott called home last night to the relief of her mother and family!

Following dialysis treatment at the prison last week Jamie was locked
in a cell and was not checked on at all by anyone for a very long while.
When an inmate stopped by Jamie's cell to speak to her, the inmate
was alarmed that she was not moving and was completely unresponsive.
It was because of this inmate yelling out for help that Jamie was found
to be in shock and rushed by ambulance to the Central Mississippi
Medical Facility, where she had been a patient during the entire time
the prison refused to give her mother or legal supporters any
information at all.

If not for this inmate's intervention Jamie may not have survived. Her
heart rate and blood pressure were way off, as well as her magnesium
levels. Her treatment had not been carried out properly and the doctor
had to send back written instructions on how to care for her. The
doctor alerted Jamie that there was a problem with the insertion of the
temporary catheter in her neck and that it's placement could lead to
infection, stating that the doctor who placed it needed to be contacted.
As of last night Jamie was in the prison infirmary.

We are more concerned than ever about Jamie's medical care and are
still pushing for mainstream media coverage to shine a bright light on
her steady, perilous decline due to CUT-RATE medical care with the
prison's rule of thumb being whatever is quickest, cheapest (whether
or not it's actually the right treatment) or nothing at all!

Although Mrs. Rasco has a legal advisor, Atty Jaribu Hill, she is still in
dire need of a criminal attorney. There are many issues that need to be
addressed and we are actively seeking any information that would help
her obtain a lawyer. We are extremely fortunate to have a fantastic and
heavily experienced paralegal recently volunteer to work with us and who
would be of great assistance to any attorney that would help to right the
very egregious wrongs the Scott Sisters have suffered these many years.

Jamie Scott nor her sister should even be locked down in that prison
in the first place, this case is galling beyond belief and calls into question
every platitude this nation applies to itself when falsely lauding itself as a
human rights champion! Please continue to make as many contacts as
possible on the Scott Sisters' behalf, we are interested in all of your ideas
and creativity to get this story out there!

------------

BE DIRECT BUT PLEASE BE COURTEOUS

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)

MAYOR OF PEARL, MISSISSIPPI (Where Jamie is incarcerated):
Brad Rogers
Phone Number (601) 932 3575
Fax Number (601)932-3568

Congressman Gregg Harper
2507-A Old Brandon Road
Pearl, MS 39208
Phone: (601) 932 2410
Fax: (601) 932 4647

U.S. Senator Thad Cochran
United States Senate
Wash., D.C. 20510-2402
JACKSON 601-965-4459
Contact Form: http://cochran.senate.gov/contact.htm

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

(FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ANY AND ALL MAJOR MEDIA YOU HAVE
INFORMATION FOR, DON'T BE LIMITED BY THESE LISTINGS AT ALL!)

MISSISSIPPI MEDIA:

WLBT
(601) 960-4426 newsroom
(601) 355-7830 newsroom fax
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=241208&nav=menu119_8_8
"Stribling, Wilson" , ( Asst News Director )

WAPT TV
calling 601-922-1607. To report news tips, call 601-922-1652.
to submit news to the MGR, news anchor or anyone use this link
http://www.wapt.com/contact/index.html

WJTV
Phone: (601) 372-6311
Fax: (601) 372-8798
http://www2.wjtv.com/jtv/online/site_information/contacts/

FOX40
601-922-1234
http://www.my601.com/content/contactus/default.aspx

GENERAL MEDIA:

NBC TODAY SHOW: Today@NBCUNI.com
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS: Nightly@NBC.com
Listing of NBC/MSNBC Show e-mails at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/

NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10112
Phone: (212) 664-4444
Fax: (212) 664-4426

CBS FEEDBACK FORM: http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php
CBS NEWS
524 W. 57 St., New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-975-4321
Fax: 212-975-1893

ABC NEWS CONTACT FORM: http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3271346&cat=Good%20Morning%20America
ABC NEWS
77 W. 66 St., New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-456-7777

CNN NEWS TIP FORM: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/tips/newstips.html
CNN
One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303-5366
Phone: 404-827-1500
Fax: 404-827-1784

Joe Madison: Joe.Madison@xmradio.com

Geraldo Rivera: atlarge@foxnews.com

Oprah Contact Form: https://www.oprah.com/plugform.jsp?plugId=220

USA Today
7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22108
Phone: 703-854-3400
Fax: 703-854-2078

Associated Press
450 West 33rd St., New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-621-1500
Fax: 212-621-7523
General Questions and Comments: info@ap.org

Dr. Gloria Perry, Medical Department (601) 359-5155
gperry@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

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

Congressman Bennie Thompsom
Washington, D.C. Office
2432 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5876
(202) 225-5898 (Fax)
Jackson, Mississippi Office
3607 Medgar Evers Blvd
Jackson, MS 39213
(601) 946-9003
(601)-982-5337 (Fax)

Congressman Alcee L. Hastings
Washington Office
2353 Rayburn Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Tel: (202) 225-1313
Fax: (202) 225-1171

Congressman Jeff Miller
Washington D.C.
2439 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4136
Fax: (202) 225-3414
Toll Free Phone Number to District Office
Pensacola, Florida
Phone: 866-367-1614

http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com

JAMIE SCOTT RUSHED TO HOSPITAL

2010-02-01T08:25:00.002-05:00

1/30/2010

Mrs. Evelyn Rasco has confirmed through a sergeant and nurse at
the prison that Jamie was rushed to the hospital due to a decline in
her condition earlier today. The prison will not confirm anything further,
whatsoever, not even whether Jamie is still alive or where specifically
she has been taken (the hospitals will not confirm whether Jamie is
a patient at any of them either).

We had received a report a few days ago that Jamie should have been
returned to the Medical Bldg. at the prison due to severe weakness
and difficulty carrying out her activities of daily living, however this
did NOT happen.

Jamie Scott should have remained hospitalized long ago due
to her kidney failure and other health issues that are impacted by
such a serious development!! The prison has played games with
Jamie's life long enough and should have never moved her back from
the hospital to begin with!

We need to know Jamie Scott's condition and what is happening to her.
She must not, once again, be returned to the prison to continue to
deteriorate, her medical care must be taken out of the prison's hands!

Updates will follow as soon as they are available! Please keep
checking in as much as you are able!

----------
BACKGROUND INFO AT: http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com

Free The Scott Sisters

2010-01-25T18:21:00.000-05:00

Greetings all,

Jamie Scott is presently locked down in a cell in the infirmary
on a hospital bed on the men's side of the prison. She has had
some of the toxins removed from her body through a temporary
catheter, but she is still seriously ill and should be hospitalized!
The prison has known that Jamie was sick for some time, yet
her condition was allowed to manifest and deteriorate to this
level and we do not trust them to provide her with sufficient
medical care at all, their track record with Jamie is horrendous!

Jamie Scott was a healthy young woman in 1993 when she was
snatched away from her family for no good reason and locked
down in tortuous conditions for 15 yrs, now her condition is life-
threatening, must this horrific injustice now become a death
sentence?!

Gladys Scott is extremely upset by all of this, as you can well
imagine. As reported earlier, she has offered one of her own
kidneys for Jamie and was told that as a state prisoner she
doesn't qualify. With each passing day she is becoming more
and more alarmed and could really use some cards/letters
from supporters:

Gladys Scott #19142
CMCF/B-Bldg.
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, MS 39288-8550

Please continue to contact the governor's office, we cannot rest
or believe that our efforts are in vain. Call into talk radio, enter
info on as many blogs, Ning groups, etc., as possible, we need
to really make a very loud NOISE in order to be heard! We
need all of your ideas and talents, thank you all!

JAMIE SCOTT, #19197, IS SUFFERING CRUEL AND
INHUMAN PUNISHMENT!

BE DIRECT BUT PLEASE BE COURTEOUS

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)

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

(FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ANY AND ALL MAJOR MEDIA YOU HAVE
INFORMATION FOR, DON'T BE LIMITED BY THESE LISTINGS AT ALL!)

MISSISSIPPI MEDIA:

WLBT
(601) 960-4426 newsroom
(601) 355-7830 newsroom fax
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=241208&nav=menu119_8_8
"Stribling, Wilson" , ( Asst News Director )

WAPT TV
calling 601-922-1607. To report news tips, call 601-922-1652.
to submit news to the MGR, news anchor or anyone use this link
http://www.wapt.com/contact/index.html

WJTV
Phone: (601) 372-6311
Fax: (601) 372-8798
http://www2.wjtv.com/jtv/online/site_information/contacts/

FOX40
601-922-1234
http://www.my601.com/content/contactus/default.aspx

GENERAL MEDIA:

NBC TODAY SHOW: Today@NBCUNI.com
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS: Nightly@NBC.com
Listing of NBC/MSNBC Show e-mails at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/

NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10112
Phone: (212) 664-4444
Fax: (212) 664-4426

CBS FEEDBACK FORM: http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php
CBS NEWS
524 W. 57 St., New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-975-4321
Fax: 212-975-1893

ABC NEWS CONTACT FORM: http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3271346&cat=Good%20Morning%20America
ABC NEWS
77 W. 66 St., New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-456-7777

CNN NEWS TIP FORM: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/tips/newstips.html
CNN
One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303-5366
Phone: 404-827-1500
Fax: 404-827-1784

Joe Madison: Joe.Madison@xmradio.com

Geraldo Rivera: atlarge@foxnews.com

Oprah Contact Form: https://www.oprah.com/plugform.jsp?plugId=220

USA Today
7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22108
Phone: 703-854-3400
Fax: 703-854-2078

Associated Press
450 West 33rd St., New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-621-1500
Fax: 212-621-7523
General Questions and Comments: info@ap.org

Dr. Gloria Perry, Medical Department (601) 359-5155
gperry@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

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

Congressman Bennie Thompsom
Washington, D.C. Office
2432 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5876
(202) 225-5898 (Fax)
Jackson, Mississippi Office
3607 Medgar Evers Blvd
Jackson, MS 39213
(601) 946-9003
(601)-982-5337 (Fax)

Congressman Alcee L. Hastings
Washington Office
2353 Rayburn Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Tel: (202) 225-1313
Fax: (202) 225-1171

Congressman Jeff Miller
Washington D.C.
2439 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4136
Fax: (202) 225-3414
Toll Free Phone Number to District Office
Pensacola, Florida
Phone: 866-367-1614
=============

http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com

Free The Scott Sisters

2010-01-25T18:11:00.001-05:00

SICKENING ROLLER-COASTER RIDE FOR JAMIE SCOTT!!

2010-01-24T03:36:00.002-05:00

SICKENING ROLLER-COASTER RIDE FOR JAMIE SCOTT!!

Mrs. Rasco was informed at 6:00 a.m. that Jamie Scott was returned
to the prison infirmary after having been told that her body was full
of toxins and that the medication she had been receiving at the
prison contributed to the condition she is in today! In typical
sadistic fashion, the prison told Jamie that they are not paying
for her to have a special diet and that they will be moving her
back to the horrible, leaky and moldy building where she was
living. As if all of that wasn't bad enough, she was further informed
that she will be taken to a trailer to receive dialysis instead of the
hospital!

While Atty Jaribu Hill is working on legal support for Jamie, we
MUST continue to advocate for her. Mrs. Rasco wants us
to flood the governor's office as he has released inmates in the
past who have been convicted of far worse crimes than which
Jamie and Gladys are accused. Mississippi is also making
deep budget cuts which have included discussions around
the release of inmates, and there is no reason on this earth why
Jamie Scott should continue to be locked down in her serious
medical condition, it is cruel, inhumane, and DEADLY, she has
many aggravating conditions, is severely depressed, and there
must be COMPASSION!

If you work in the medical field please make that known when
calling/writing so that it can be made plain that there are medical
professionals aware of this prison's culpability in this previously
healthy young woman's deterioration into such a serious condition,
which they continue to downplay to this very moment!

We also continue to feel strongly that if we could put the light of
mainstream media on this case that it would make a huge difference.
PLEASE include calls and e-mails to the media. If you're from
overseas, please make sure that they know that fact.

Thanks again to you all, we have an enormous fight on our hands
and we need all of the help we can get! We know that they
expect us to give up, but we must push even harder!
----------------------

JAMIE SCOTT, #19197, IS SUFFERING CRUEL AND
INHUMAN PUNISHMENT!

BE DIRECT BUT PLEASE BE COURTEOUS

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)

(FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ANY AND ALL MAJOR MEDIA YOU HAVE
INFORMATION FOR, DON'T BE LIMITED BY THESE LISTINGS AT ALL!)

MISSISSIPPI MEDIA:

WLBT
(601) 960-4426 newsroom
(601) 355-7830 newsroom fax
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=241208&nav=menu119_8_8
"Stribling, Wilson" , ( Asst News Director )

WAPT TV
calling 601-922-1607. To report news tips, call 601-922-1652.
to submit news to the MGR, news anchor or anyone use this link
http://www.wapt.com/contact/index.html

WJTV
Phone: (601) 372-6311
Fax: (601) 372-8798
http://www2.wjtv.com/jtv/online/site_information/contacts/

FOX40
601-922-1234
http://www.my601.com/content/contactus/default.aspx

GENERAL MEDIA:

NBC TODAY SHOW: Today@NBCUNI.com
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS: Nightly@NBC.com
Listing of NBC/MSNBC Show e-mails at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/

NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10112
Phone: (212) 664-4444
Fax: (212) 664-4426

CBS FEEDBACK FORM: http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php
CBS NEWS
524 W. 57 St., New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-975-4321
Fax: 212-975-1893

ABC NEWS CONTACT FORM: http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3271346&cat=Good%20Morning%20America
ABC NEWS
77 W. 66 St., New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-456-7777

CNN NEWS TIP FORM: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/tips/newstips.html
CNN
One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303-5366
Phone: 404-827-1500
Fax: 404-827-1784

Joe Madison: Joe.Madison@xmradio.com

Geraldo Rivera: atlarge@foxnews.com

USA Today
7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22108
Phone: 703-854-3400
Fax: 703-854-2078

Associated Press
450 West 33rd St., New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-621-1500
Fax: 212-621-7523
General Questions and Comments: info@ap.org

Dr. Gloria Perry, Medical Department (601) 359-5155
gperry@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

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

Congressman Bennie Thompsom
Washington, D.C. Office
2432 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5876
(202) 225-5898 (Fax)
Jackson, Mississippi Office
3607 Medgar Evers Blvd
Jackson, MS 39213
(601) 946-9003
(601)-982-5337 (Fax)

Congressman Alcee L. Hastings
Washington Office
2353 Rayburn Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Tel: (202) 225-1313
Fax: (202) 225-1171

Congressman Jeff Miller
Washington D.C.
2439 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4136
Fax: (202) 225-3414
Toll Free Phone Number to District Office
Pensacola, Florida
Phone: 866-367-1614
=============

URGENT SCOTT SISTERS ALERT!!

2010-01-18T18:11:00.000-05:00

Monday, January 18, 2010
1/18 URGENT SCOTT SISTERS ALERT!!

EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT!

Mrs. Rasco just received a phone call from Gladys Scott that both of Jamie Scott's kidneys have shut down and that she has been in the prison infirmary since last Saturday hooked up to IV fluids with a heavy build-up of toxins in her body. Jamie has yet to be sent to a hospital due to "paperwork." Jamie pleaded that Gladys not contact their mother because she didn't want to burden her with anymore worry on top of caring for all of the children.

Gladys has offered to donate a kidney to Jamie and was told that she cannot because she is a state prisoner and that it would be too expensive. The greatest heartbreak of all is that Jamie has asked to be allowed to die because she wants to come home so badly and no longer believes that it will ever happen.

JAMIE SCOTT, #19197, MUST BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY! Her physical and mental state require the highest levels of professional care.

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

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

Add'l Contacts for 1/18:
Health Svcs. Admin Paxton Paige (the one we're being told has the power to move her) (601) 932-2880, Ext. 6647
SDO Tina Lander (in charge today) (same phone #)
Captain Fillyaw (next in authority today) (same phone #)

We've been told that all of these people are out for the holiday today, but are able to leave VM's and also talk w/the prison operators so that it's known that we're calling about Jamie Scott.

Please reply back to us and let us know of every response you get so that we can keep track of what people are being told.

1/7 SCOTT SISTERS UPDATE

2010-01-18T18:06:00.000-05:00

Thursday, January 7, 2010
1/7 SCOTT SISTERS UPDATE!

THANK YOU FOR REPOSTING THIS INFORMATION!!

Warm Greetings all,

Happy New Year to you all and may this be the year that the Scott Sisters are AT LONG LAST reunited with their family! Thanks to all of you who have written, called and e-mailed on their behalf, as well as spread the word of this case by forwarding and reposting, we need that to happen! We've received messages from as far away as Germany and as near as the smallest of towns here in the U.S. of people in support of these women, this is about as grassroots of an effort as it gets, we are counting on each person reading these words to ACT.

It's been reported that there was a recent article on the case featured in the Jackson Advocate (Mississippi) for which we are real grateful and will send out as soon as we receive it. Mainstream publicity largely continues to elude us, as you know they would rather focus on Tiger Woods or Mariah Carey instead of the wrongfully convicted who are suffering and dying behind the walls of the prisons in this country! It's gonna take hundreds of letters to these entities to get them to say a mumbling word about this atrocious case, so we're really calling on everyone to contact as many media outlets as possible with the information at our website.

With the help of Attorney Jaribu Hill the prison has agreed to allow the Scott Sisters to visit each other for two hours this month! This will mean the world to them as they have been terribly upset about not seeing one another. Both women suffer from depression, Jamie is in poor health, and they need to be in regular contact with one another and their family who love and miss them so much. There's a new photo at the website of the children and grandchildren of Jamie and Gladys so that you can see how much they are needed at home instead of being tormented in captivity like this, it is truly cruel and inhuman punishment!! This situation is really abysmal, it's just gotta get solved!

Please continue to send in your ideas and spread the word about this case, we need you!! Let us know when you contact media so that we can keep up with who has received the info. Also please bear in mind that we are still looking for a criminal attorney to work on this case, please share this information with any leads at all that will assist this family!

Don't forget to send in your letters and to ask others to do so as well! We can make anything happen, we have the power, we just need the MASS NUMBERS of people TO ACT!

FIGHT TOFREE AN INNOCENT MAN

2009-11-26T01:23:00.002-05:00

URGENT! SANKOFA UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST AND ATTORNEY MAWULI DAVIS FIGHT TOFREE AN INNOCENT MAN BY THANKSGIVING

Dear Community,

   We need your help immediately! Please read this information and forward it to everyone you know. Our prayer is that the spirit of Thanksgiving will lead you to help give this family something to be extremely thankful for. As you read, remember, this could easily be your son.

   An unfortunate event has occurred in the Atlanta Metro area and a young man desperately needs your help. Eric A. Johnson recently graduated from Creekside High School as an honor student and member of the Beta Club. He has been working the past few months in order to help support his mother and had plans of attending Westwood College in January. Ever since his father died three years ago in a tragic house fire accident, Eric has faced adversity and overcome numerous life obstacles to become a successful young man. However, Eric was recently incarcerated for a crime he had no part in or knowledge of. Please allow me to introduce you to the facts that led to the current crisis our community is facing.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

On Monday night, August 17, 2009, Antoine Wimes and Donavon McCoy are alleged to have shot "Nikki" Neely and seriously injured her 10-month-old baby in a vicious and senseless home invasion. On August 18, 2009, after seeing the news reports of this horrific attack, Eric A. Johnson called 911 and reported to police that he had "given a ride" to the suspects earlier in the evening. Eric gave a statement to Officer Byars of the Fulton County Police Department. Eric told Officer Byars that he was asked by Antoine Wimes to give him a ride in exchange for "gas money." Eric told Officer Byars that he picked up Antoine Wimes and another young man that he met for the first time named "Dino." He drove them to a gas station, brought gas and then took them further down South Fulton Parkway and dropped them off. The police have obtained and reviewed the gas station video that confirms Eric was at the gas station at 5:45 p.m. Additionally, in the initial statement to police, Donavan McCoy stated that they he and Antoine Wimes were "dropped off." Additionally, an independent witness, Virginia Bonylan, reported to police that she saw Antoine Wimes and Donavan McCoy in the area at 7:30 p.m. She did not see or identify Eric Johnson as being with Antoine Wimes or Donavan McCoy. Also, during the bond hearing Ms. Bonylan testified that Antoine Wimes and Donvan McCoy were coming out of the driveway of Johnny Jones driveway when she saw them. Ms. Bonylan saw these two men again later in the evening at 10:30 p.m. and gave them a ride. Police were dispatched for the shooting at 8:40 p.m. We have alibi witnesses that Eric Johnson was home well before dark on August 17, 2009.

On August 17, 2009 the sun set at 8:22 P.M. Eric told Officer Byars that he knew Antoine Wimes from previously living in the same subdivision. Officer Byars informed Eric and his mother, Loleta Horton, that Chattahoochee Hills Police would be contacting him. Apparently, when Eric Johnson was contacted by Chattahoochee Hills Police, the aggressive manner in which Detectives spoke with his mother made her uncomfortable with allowing her son to speak to them without an attorney present. On Thursday, August 27, 2009, Eric was arrested at his home in Union City. During the Bond Hearing the lead detective, Jamie Melton, admitted that he had no evidence that Eric A. Johnson was present at the time of the shooting or knew that Antoine Wimes and Donovan McCoy intended on committing any crime. Additionally, the Detective testified under oath that if Eric A. Johnson would have "talked" to him he would not have obtained arrest warrants.

Without any evidence and with a story that makes no sense, on September 1, 2009, Eric Johnson was indicted along with Antoine Wimes and Donavon McCoy. Eric Johnson is charged with multiple felonies including: 2 counts of Aggravated Battery, Armed Robbery, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Cruelty to Children. On September 9th, after hearing evidence on an Emergency Motion for Bond, Judge Goger granted a total bond of $50,000. As of today, Eric remains in jail unable to post a bond. Eric's mother is unemployed and his father is deceased. Community, we need you! While the crime allegedly committed by Antoine Wimes and Donavon McCoy was heinous to say the very least and our prayer is that we see 'justice flow like a river,' Eric Johnson is innocent!

In the spirit of Ujima, Collective Work and Responsibility, our prayer is that we all embrace our crucial responsibility to work together. Our working together is the key to solving the problems of and building and maintaining healthy African communities. In this case, our working together is critical to our fight not only to gain the freedom of an innocent young man but, to also let him know that he is a member of a larger community that cares about him. If we don't show him we care, someone else will!

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Please help us in our fight for Eric Johnson's release. We need 250 people to donate $25.00. Your donation will help towards the $5,000.00 needed to post bond as well as transcripts that will be associated with the case. Attorney Mawuli 'Mel' Davis, one of the top criminal defense attorneys in the state of Georgia offered, "I am providing my services and reputation pro bono because it is clear that this young man is innocent."

Donations are being accepted payable to Sankofa United Church of Christ. Please log on to our website at www.justice4ericjohnson.com or www.sankofaucc-atl.org. Go to our 'On Line Giving' page, fill in your name and email address, type in the 'Message' field; 'FREE ERIC JOHNSON' and finally click donate to make your donation of at least $25.00. An innocent young black man and his mother both need you! "We want to make sure Eric is released from jail by Thanksgiving. He deserves to eat a Thanksgiving meal at home with his family as most of us will on Thursday." said Reverend Derrick Rice, Pastor of Sankofa United Church of Christ.

You can also stress your concerns by writing letters to the District Attorney of Fulton County Paul Howard at 136 Pryor Street Third Floor, Atlanta, GA, 30303-3477. Keep updated on current information regarding the case by logging on to www.justice4ericjohnson.com. Thank you for your time and consideration.

God Bless You!
Reverend Derrick Rice, M.Div.
Pastor, Sankofa United Church of Christ

****************
African Community Centers
3079 Campbellton Rd. S.W. Suite 114
Atlanta, GA 30344 usa (404) 344-5454
www.unity4power.org

2009-11-06T05:16:00.001-05:00

Thank you for being a part of the group Free The Scott Sisters.
   http://www.tagged.com/freethescottsisters
Jamie and Gladys Scott would love to receive your letters of support and
encouragement, please send a card or a letter! Let them know we will be praying for
them and working together to gain their freedom.

Jamie Scott #19197
CMCF2/A-Bldg.
B Zone, Bed 196
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, MS 39288-8550

Gladys Scott #19142
CMCF/B-Bldg.
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, MS 39288-8550

http://www.ronsworldlife.com
   Justice For All

SCOTT SISTERS UPDATE!

2009-11-03T23:47:00.001-05:00

PLEASE REPOST AND BROADLY DISTRIBUTE!

---------------------

11/2/09 SCOTT SISTERS UPDATE!

Jamie Scott has written extensively about the conditions of her unjust

incarceration and recently submitted an update to share on behalf of

herself as well as all of the women in the bldg. where she is being housed.

First, she remains grateful for all of the calls, e-mails and letters

that went out on her behalf before, she is in a slightly improved situation.

She is now under a warden who is treating her more fairly and has a

job in the kitchen and so is finally able to at least get some time

off of the unit.

Her main concern is the building itself, and states that it's the worst

conditions she has ever lived in. She and others are in the part of

the prison called "quickbed" because it was built so fast. It was

only supposed to be built to empty the county jails and is not fit

for humans to live in. When it rains, it rains directly into the unit.

Mold is knee deep in the showers and they are unsafe with rain

everywhere. The building has not had hot water for over a month

and some of the women do not bathe at all. Jamie, herself, is

sick with a bad cold as a result of bathing in cold water. They

are supposed to have two microwave ovens there but don't have

any, so they are unable to even heat up water to bathe with.

When they ask the warden about this terrible situation, they are

told that it is being worked on. Furthermore, she reports that

the beds are not five feet from each other, when the policy states

they are supposed to be farther apart.

The "quickbed" is located at CMCF2/A-Bldg.

Margaret Bingham, Superintendent of Central Mississippi Corrections Facility

(601) 932-2880

mbingham@...

FAX: (601) 664-0782

P.O. Box 88550

Pearl, Mississippi 39208

Christopher Epps, Commissioner of Prisons for the State of Mississippi

601-359-5600

CEPPS@...

723 North President Street

Jackson, MS 39202

++++++++++++++

Thanks to the efforts of some very forward-thinking supporters

we've been able to repost the Scott Sisters case transcripts that

were removed from the internet over the summer! They're available

for all to review at http://www.scribd.com/Scott%20Sisters , please

use them to assist us in finding a lawyer to take on this case and to

liberate this entire family from the bondage of this system.

We continue to stress the need for a pro bono attorney for the women,

legal guidance and representation is desperately needed as none currently

exists. Many organizations have been contacted multiple times in the past

and perhaps it will be YOUR letter or phone call to the Innocence Project, the

ACLU, NAACP, etc., that will garner the positive response that we have not

been able to obtain to date!

~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie and Gladys would love to receive your letters of support and

encouragement, please send a card or a letter!

Jamie Scott #19197

CMCF2/A-Bldg.

B Zone, Bed 196

P.O. Box 88550

Pearl, MS 39288-8550

Gladys Scott #19142

CMCF/B-Bldg.

P.O. Box 88550

Pearl, MS 39288-8550

Jamie Scott’s son, 18, fights to free his mother

2009-10-03T04:20:00.002-04:00

August 7, 2009

Jamie Scott’s son, 18, fights to free the Scott Sisters in Mississippi

“Talk about injustice. How do you wind up in prison serving two life terms for a robbery that netted 11 dollars? That question has haunted first time offenders Gladys and Jamie Scott for the past 15 years,” wrote Anthony Papa in the Huffington Post. And it haunts Jamie’s son too, who was only 2 when his mother and auntie were snatched away from him.

Now 18, Terrance Scott tells Minister of Information JR in this gripping interview: “Seeing what they did to my mother, it put a rage inside me like, if you have anything to do with law enforcement, I don’t want to talk to you. … Sometimes I just look up at the stars at night and I just wonder what this world done become. Any time someone can lock you up for a double life sentence for nothing, what else can they do? What else can the crooked court system and the crooked justice system do?”

Make a loud noise on behalf of the Scott Sisters

Mrs. Evelyn Rasco, mother of the Scott Sisters, is calling for URGENT SUPPORT for Jamie Scott, #19197, and Gladys Scott, #19142, who are both suffering renewed harassment by prison guards because of the continuous exposure that this case has received. Jamie Scott was even thrown in the “hole” for 23 days for the first time in 14 years!

Jamie is now very depressed and on medication which is not a good sign at all. Our personal feelings are that she was set up by guards, lied on and thrown in the “hole” because of her continuous strength and determination to fight for freedom. In addition, Jamie’s privileges to attend school, work and conduct research in the law library have been stripped away.

Please assist us in contacting the following persons; let them know that the public is watching this case and ask for a thorough investigation into the lies which have caused the renewed harassment of both women and particularly why Jamie Scott was stripped of privileges and thrown into the “hole.”

Please call and email the Superintendent of Prisons, the Commissioner of Prisons and the Assistant Commissioner, and please also cc Mrs. Rasco (rqueenbee2222@yahoo.com) so that there are records of your contacts.

Please act NOW on behalf of these young women and support Mrs. Rasco’s pleas for action. Thank you for acting and helping to spread the word!

Contact the following officials:

Margaret Bingham, Superintendent of Central Mississippi Corrections Facility, (601) 932-9077, mbingham@mdoc.state.ms.us, fax (601) 932-9077, P.O. Box 88550, Pearl, Mississippi 39208

Christopher Epps, Commissioner of Prisons for the State of Mississippi, (601) 359-5600, CEPPS@mdoc.state.ms.us, 723 North President St., Jackson, MS 39202

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

Gov. Haley Barbour, (877) 405-0733 or (601) 359-3150

Justice for The Innocent

2009-10-03T04:13:00.001-04:00

INJUSTICE: A DOUBLE-LIFE SENTENCE FOR $11.00!

Scott County, MS ---- In a trial fraught with legal malpractice and witness coercion, Mississippi Judge Marcus Gordon oversaw one of the most blatantly corrupt trials in history, culminating in the staggering over-sentencing of sisters Gladys and Jamie Scott to double-life each in an armed robbery where no one was murdered or harmed and the amount alleged to have been taken was a whopping $11.00.

On December 24, 1993, the Scott County Sheriff’s Department arrested the Scott sisters for armed robbery even though three young males, ranging from ages 14 to 18, confessed to committing the crime. Despite this, the corrupt sheriff used coercion, threats, and harassment to compel them to turn state’s evidence against the Scott sisters due to a long-standing vendetta against a family member. The 14-year-old male would later testify that he did not read the statement and was pressured to sign a written statement prepared by the sheriff without an attorney being present.

As if that weren't bad enough, these young women received incompetent legal representation at the lower court trial. Their attorneys, Firnist J. Alexander, Jr. and Gail Shaw-Pierson failed to interview and subpoena witnesses, only calling one witness when there were several. Incredibly, the jury never even heard any testimony from the alleged victims. The sisters were advised to not testify on their own behalf by their attorneys, Alexander and Shaw-Pierson, denying them the opportunity to speak for themselves.

In October of 1994, Jamie and Gladys Scott were sentenced to extraordinary double life terms each in prison, even though neither sister had prior convictions and there was no violence involved in these charges.

The four State’s witnesses provided conflicting testimony and one alleged accuser was not called to testify – he was not questioned or subpoenaed by defense attorneys Firnist J. Alexander, Jr. or Gail Shaw-Pierson. Witnesses admitted however, that reports prepared by the Sheriff, of their descriptions of the event contained no such claim. In other words, the sisters were not present. Jamie and Gladys Scott were not involved in the armed robbery and they did not conspire to plan such. Witnesses all testified that they were coerced and threatened by Deputy Sheriff Marvin Williams. Testimony also revealed that Marvin Williams prepared statements of the events from the night of December 24, 1994 BEFORE obtaining signatures and BEFORE the witnesses were brought into his office. In other words, the statements were not written by witnesses. (1) Three affidavits exist – they all state that the Scott Sisters were not involved in this robbery. One affidavit is written by a trustee of the local jail, his account of the facts reveal that a wallet was located a few days after this alleged robbery and that wallet contained the photo ID of one of the alleged victims of the trumped up robbery and three twenty dollar bills. The trustee also reveals that there was NOT a robbery, he was also threatened to be sent to Parchman Penitentiary if he told the truth.

According to the Request for Commutation of Sentence and/or Pardon prepared by attorney Chokwe Lumumba, the Scott Sisters challenged their convictions on direct appeal; arguing that there was insufficient evidence to convict them, and the guilty verdict was against the overwhelming weight of evidence, which should have exonerated them. The court of appeals found no error and affirmed the convictions on December 17, 1996. As a result, they filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court, which was denied on May 15, 1997. They consequently filed an Application for Leave to File Motion to Vacate Conviction pursuant to the Mississippi Post Conviction Collateral Relief Act. The Supreme Court also denied that application.

This family is shell-shocked, yet determined to fight on. They have tried to have faith that at some point this unbelievable travesty would be corrected and their upside-down lives righted. Yet 14 long years later nothing has changed, the women's five children are still being raised by their now ailing mother, and their father has died of a massive heart attack because of this. The emotional strain this burden has placed upon their family is immeasurable.

Jamie Scott writes, "What began as an implication and outright miscarriage of justice, has catapulted to destroy an entire family. Gladys was a 19 year old pregnant mother, and myself, Jamie, a 22 year old mother during the time of our arrest, conviction and sentencing for a crime we did not commit." She continued, "We are convinced that once this chain of events is exposed and unraveled, the events that occurred, the lives that have been destroyed, the pain and suffering the citizens of Scott County have endured; everyone will be utterly amazed, astonished and compelled to assist us in our plight for freedom. We pray that the people would insist upon an investigation into their misconduct and miscarriage of justice."

Gladys and Jamie’s older brother has recently returned from and has served in the US Army for 22 years, while his sisters remain victims of wrongful convictions in the very country that he proudly represents. The defendants and their family are wholly depending on support from the press, organizations, and all those dedicated to justice in making this debacle as public as possible.

(1) Full transcript is available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/10571890/Jamie-and-Gladys-Scott-Transcript

2009-09-15T13:59:00.002-04:00

...."We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly...I can never be what I ought to be unless you are what you ought to be." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

******************************************

Learn more here - JUSTICE FOR ALL

http://www.ronsworldlife.com/

or, Create a Petition

PLEASE COPY AND POST TO YOUR FRIENDS

TOGETHER WE CAN

Jamie & Gladys Scott: Nothing New About American Torture

2009-09-11T03:45:00.003-04:00

Jamie & Gladys Scott: Nothing New About American Torture
By Lenore Daniels NewsOne

The color of power in the courtroom can often be white. And the color of dispowers in the courtroom can often be black. But the most consistent variable that determines power in the courtroom is the color of green, the color of money, the power of the wealth.
Mumia Abu-Jamal

The nation’s attention is focused on the torture memos released by the Obama administration. Everyone is debating whether or not to investigate the previous administration for human rights violations. But the practice of torture didn’t begin with the Bush administration. The founding of this nation included the use of torture to coerce compliance from the Native Americans and to enforce slave laws and control huge populations of Africans and their descendents.

Now a nation that can not decide what to do with members of the judicial branch who provided a narrative, drawing from legal history and cultural productions that always decreed the U.S. the right to violence for the protection of its citizens, finds itself haunting by past aggressions (Operation Phoenix, Japanese interment camps, death squads in Latin America).
Citizens are calling for accountability.

But since 1993, in Mississippi, two sisters, Jamie and Gladys Scott, sit awaiting an investigation, awaiting accountability by the same justice apparatus that sentenced them to double life each for a crime they did not commit. The sisters had no prior convictions. They are waiting to hear from the new administration’s Attorney General, Eric Holder. They are still waiting.

Similar to the encompassing judicial narrative in Washington D.C. permitting CIA operatives, military officials, and private contractors to engage in torture in the Middle East, the legal narrative in Forest, Mississippi operates to empower local and state law enforcement with justification for violating the human rights of its Black and Brown communities. Sheriffs and judges function similar to a band of operatives, targeting and collecting “evildoers” and slotting their “crimes” into the narrative that speaks of local or national “security.”

The Scotts did not torture anyone; they did not kill anyone. But Jamie and Gladys are Black women in America!

The two sisters start out in their car on a December day in 1993 to purchase heating fuel. Along the way, they experience car trouble.
There was more trouble to come…

On December 24, 1993, Jamie (22) and Gladys (19), with 5 children between them, were arrested and charged with armed robbery. Three men, known as the “Patrick Men” because they are related, confessed to the crime of robbing a man of 10 dollars. But the men were coerced and threatened with Parchman prison were, as Sheriff Marvin Williams informed them, they would “be made out of women,” if they did not implicate the Scott sisters.

According to an affidavit by a trustee of the local jail, the wallet turned up 2 days later with a photo ID of the “victim” and 23 dollars, writes Nancy Lockhart, M.J., Legal Analyst and Grassroots Organizer. The trustee also claimed that a robbery did not take place, writes Lockhart.

It came to Lockhart’s attention that a “real” robbery did take place at a local restaurant. Two Black boys, according to witnesses, committed the crime. Yet, the sheriff approached the two owners (white women) to coerce them into pinning the crime on the Scott sisters!

In the meantime, there were more affidavits, as Lockhart discovered, testify to the innocence of Jamie and Gladys. The 5 witnesses, who provided conflicting stories in court, have all declared that the Scotts were not involved.

One of the “Patrick Men” wrote a sworn affidavit, Jamie explains, clearing her and Gladys. But the courts never heard the affidavit.

“The most devastating and unfair thing about this is [that] the police and investigators know we are innocent.”

The lawyers for the Scott sisters, Firnist J. Alexander, Jr. and Gail Shaw-Pierson failed to interview or subpoena witnesses, “only calling one when there were several,” writes Lockhart. No one heard from the sisters at trial. Why?

Alexander and Shaw-Pierson advised the sisters not to testify!

Jamie and Gladys have been often in isolation and away from their children for 14 years. How is this not torture? Their father suffered a heart attack and died. How is this not torture?

Evelyn Rasco, who had to leave the state of Mississippi, is providing for 5 grandchildren while she battles to free her two daughters.

Nancy Lockhart served as a community service consultant with Operation Push/Rainbow Coalition while she worked on her Masters degree in Jurisprudence at Loyola University Chicago. One day, a letter came across her desk. It was from Mrs. Rasco. As it turns out, Mrs. Rasco had written several letters to Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. over the years, asking him to submit the letter to his father, Rev. Jackson. She never received an answer from Congressman Jackson or Rev. Jackson.

But Lockhart contacted Mrs. Rasco.

Nancy Lockhart has worked independently of any law firm or Black leadership to draw attention to this case. She does not receive pay for her efforts! Of this case, she writes, I am “convinced that a grave injustice had been wrought from the judicial bench. This injustice has proven to be the misrepresentation of poor Black women seeking justice in Mississippi’s legal system. Justice was denied.” Lockhart writes in Black Commentator.com, according to the Request for Commutation of Sentence and/or Pardon prepared by attorney Chokwe Lumumba, the Scott Sisters challenged their convictions on direct appeal; arguing that there was insufficient evidence to convict them, and the guilty verdict was against the overwhelming weight of evidence, which should exonerate them. The court of appeals found no error and affirmed the convictions on December 17, 1996. As a result, they filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court, which was denied on May 15, 1997.

They consequently filed an Application for Leave to File Motion to Vacate Conviction pursuant to the Mississippi Post Conviction Collateral Relief Act. The Supreme Court also denied that application.
Attorney Chokwe Lumumba submitted a request for commutation of sentence and pardon to the governor. It was denied.

…Justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream… in this “post-racial” era!

Who will be held accountable for the wrongful conviction and incarceration of Jamie and Gladys? Who will be held accountable for all the Scott family members have suffered?

The informal informants, the one’s whose reaction to the exploitation and injustice of the Black masses is to first check with their bank accounts or/and their “political polls.” If the case is favorable to their political or social careers, then there’s a photo opt and maybe profits indirectly drawing from the attention to the corporate sponsored “organization” for the little people. If the case would harm their careers or link the corporate sponsored “organization” for the little people, then they simply ignore the case. In the process, they “inform” the American public, law enforcement and the judicial apparatus that this person or persons, case or incident is “criminal”-a sacrifice-in other words, for the advantages of the few Blacks in leadership positions.

Jamie and Gladys Scott’s case-a sacrifice-is not a high priority for the predominantly Black male leadership intent on playing “politics” and maintain their stakes in the system. Fred Hampton Sr. said once that without “political education,” we’ll have Black capitalists. Before you know it, we’ll have Black imperialism.”

The people must speak out against this injustice but also the continued practice of injustice against Black, Brown, Red, and Yellow people and call for an investigation and the immediate release of the Scott sisters! The people must confront the power of wealth.

Nancy Lockhart has begun a postcard campaign. If you send your name and mailing address, the participants at wrongfulconviction@gmail.com will forward these postcards to Gov. Haley Barbour requesting a review of the case and the immediate release of the sisters.

SAMPLE TEXT:

Gov. Haley Barbour
P.O. Box 139
Jackson, Mississippi 39205

Dear Governor Barbour:

Jamie Scott #19197 and Gladys Scott #19142 have been incarcerated in the state of Mississippi 14 years and 6 months on double life terms each. No one was murdered or injured. Transcripts state that less than $12 dollars was possibly taken. All witnesses, including the alleged victims testified that The Scott Sisters were not involved in this armed robbery. This is a very excessive sentence to say the least. Governor Barbour please review this case and Please Free The Scott Sisters!

(Your Name)

HuffingtonPost.com

2009-09-07T14:39:00.000-04:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-papa/the-scott-sisters-two-lif_b_169468.html

HuffingtonPost.com

The Scott Sisters: Two Life Sentences for 11 Dollars?

Talk about injustice. How do you wind up in prison serving two life terms for a robbery that netted 11 dollars? That question has haunted first time offenders Gladys and Jamie Scott for the past 15 years.

On December 24, 1993, Scott County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi arrested the sisters for an armed robbery they vehemently deny participation in. In 1994 they were convicted after being implicated in the crime by three young Black men who confessed to the robbery in exchange of a plea bargain that gave them 10 months. The sisters were not offered a plea and went to trial.

Time has passed slowly for these sisters as they watched from behind bars their five children grow into adults and mourned the lost of their father. They have felt the pain of exhausting all their legal remedies while being denied relief at every level.

According to Nancy Lockhart, M.J., a legal analyst who has worked tirelessly over the years to help set free the Scott sisters she says she will never forget the frigid Chicago morning when she opened a letter from Mrs. Evelyn Rasco, the mother of the Scott sisters. She told the story of her daughters and her plight to help free them. "How can they give my daughters two life sentences for a crime that netted 11 dollars where no one was injured?" This prompted Lockhart to become the Scott sister's lifeline for hope. She began a campaign to try freeing them.

The Scott Sisters challenged their convictions on direct appeal arguing that there was insufficient evidence to convict them and the guilty verdict was against the overwhelming weight of evidence, which should have exonerate them. The court of appeals found no error and affirmed the convictions on December 17, 1996. As a result, they filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court, which was denied on May 15, 1997. They consequently filed an Application for Leave to File Motion to Vacate Conviction pursuant to the Mississippi Post Conviction Collateral Relief Act. The Supreme Court also denied that application.

In 1998 one of the sentenced men signed an affidavit telling that the Scott sisters were not involved with the crime. The affidavit along with two others that pointed to the sister's innocence were secured by their attorney and submitted for post conviction relief. Then attorney Chokwe Lumumba submitted a request for commutation of sentence and/or pardon to the governor. It was subsequently denied.

Gladys and Jamie Scott have maintained their innocence. They have spent nearly 15 years in prison for a crime they did not commit that netted the sum of 11 dollars. It is time for them to join their families.

For more information about the Scott sister's case please go to: www.freethescottsisters.com.

The Committee to Free the Scott Sisters: 641-715-3900 Ext. 99222

2009-09-07T14:28:00.001-04:00

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2009

GREAT NEWS FROM JAMIE SCOTT!

Jamie Scott of the Scott Sisters was able to call her mother tonight and report that thanks to all of the calls that came into the prison, she was seen by a doctor and is receiving medication. She stated that she was not seriously injured when she fell on the oil that was placed on the shower floor.

Although Jamie was able to receive insulin, she stated that she had been without her blood pressure medicine for several months due to there not being a generic version available that the state would pay for.

She wanted to make certain that each and every person who responded to our urgent calls for assistance knew how much she appreciated the overwhelming response and remarked it was noted by the staff there when she was seen for medical treatment.

Thank you especially from Mrs. Evelyn Rasco, who has felt a tremendous burden relieved by just being able to know that her daughter is not seriously injured, though still in unjust captivity.

Forward ever!

Free Jamie and Gladys Scott ~ TruthSeeker

2009-09-03T22:29:00.000-04:00

Jamie and Gladys Scott have been wrongfully convicted for armed robbery and received double life sentences each. No one was murdered or taken to the hospital during this robbery, no one was even injured. The transcripts state that less than 12 dollars was stolen. Witnesses confessed during the trial, that the sheriff coerced and threatened them to lie on the Scott Sisters. That testimony was obviously not taken into consideration. They have been in prison now for 14 years.

The transcripts state that one witness ( a teenager) testified that the sheriff told him he would be sent to Parchman (the notorious Mississippi Prison), to be made out of a woman (raped by men) if he did not lie on the Scott Sisters. He later wrote an affidavit swearing that Jamie and Gladys had absolutely nothing to do with this robbery. There exists, several affidavits which state that The Scott Sisters had nothing to do with this crime. The witnesses received very short sentences in this crime while Jamie and Gladys have completed 14 years of a double life sentence.

Free Jamie and Gladys Scott ~ TruthSeeker

2009-09-03T21:48:00.000-04:00

http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com/

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2009

URGENT UPDATE - JAMIE SCOTT MOVED TO NEW BLDG

9/1/09 -- UPDATE: JAMIE SCOTT has been moved to a new bldg. and placed under even stricter supervision than before, she is not permitted to go anywhere at all, not even church. The Scott Sisters' greatest fear is being separated and the worry right now is that the Deputy Warden is setting the situation up to send Jamie to another prison. We need an attorney who works in the civil rights area to look into what's happening to Jamie right now and your help is urgently needed in getting the word out!

We also continue to need your urgent support, please make those calls and send in your letters today and repost the action alert internet-wide!!

SAMPLE TEXT

Superintendent Margaret Bingham

Central Mississippi Corrections Facility

P.O. Box 88550

Pearl, Mississippi 39208

Dear Superintendent Bingham:

I am writing to urge you to investigate reports of prison guard harassment and intimidation of Jamie Scott #19197 and Gladys Scott #19142 at your facility. Jamie Scott was recently given a charge for which she is not guilty and was thrown into the "hole" for 23 days for the first time in 14 years of incarceration. In addition, Jamie's privileges to attend school, work, and conduct research in the law library have been stripped away.

I am extremely concerned because Jamie is now very depressed and both women have expressed feelings of helplessness at being targeted and threatened by staff.

Please thoroughly investigate what is happening to these women in that facility before they suffer any further, many people are closely following what happens with them worldwide and are very concerned that they not be abused or threatened in any way and that Jamie's privileges be restored.

Respectfully,

(Your Name)

-----------------------------

PLEASE WIDELY FORWARD THE ACTION ALERT, WE NEED TO MAKE A LOUD NOISE TO BE HEARD!!

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

Justice for Robert Jacob Salas

2009-08-28T18:56:00.004-04:00

The 2009 Felony Conviction of Detective Anthony Razo Questions his Moral Turpitude and Demands an Audit and Investigation of All His Arrests Leading to Convictions Throughout His Career

For Your Consideration:

In light of the recent news regarding now ex-Detective Anthony Razo, this letter requests an investigation of any convictions obtained by Razo’s arrest reports of his trial testimony. Razo recently pled guilty to one count of Insurance Fraud in order to dismiss his remaining four charges of unlawful false police reports and . Razo swore an oath to serve and protect the citizens of Los Angeles. Razo’s behavior is outrageous and severely questions his moral turpitude enough to, at the very least, warrant further investigation into his past conduct. In particular, this letter requests further investigation of the arrest and conviction of Robert Jacob Salas-CDC # K84625 in 2000. Razo investigated the homicide of which Salas was convicted between 1997 and 2000 and even testified at Salas’ trial. Evidence exists that Razo and other officers influenced the testimony of witnesses to implicate Salas in the homicide. Without the testimony of these few witnesses, the Government‘s case would have collapsed and Salas, an innocent man, would not be in prison. Help us return Robert Salas back to his family where he is needed by demanding a full review of any cases involving this morally corrupt officer. The review should be made by an independent body with prosecutorial discretion and with the full capability and resources such as the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, the State Attorney General’s Office and the United States Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. How many other falsely accused and convicted people are in prison today due to the reprehensible actions of this one criminal law enforcement officer? He is not worthy of the trust symbolized by the oath taken to uphold the law and by his badge. That he has voluntarily resigned will not cure the injustice done to Robert Jacob Salas and all similarly situated falsely convicted people currently in prison.

The Senate Select Community Committee on California’s Correctional System

( http://www.ssccccs.org )

Peace & Blessings

2009-08-02T18:47:00.001-04:00

Please Write, Call and Or E-mail in Support of Jamie Scott

Dear Supporters:
We are in need of your urgent assistance. Because of the continuous exposure that this case has received Jamie Scott #19197 is being constantly harassed by guards and was placed in the “hole” for 23 days. Jamie is now very depressed and on medication which is not a good sign at all. Our personal feelings are that she was set up by guards, lied on and thrown in the “hole” because of her continuous strength and determination to fight for freedom.
In addition, her privileges to attend school, work and conduct research in the law library have been stripped away. Please assist us in contacting the following persons, let them know that the public is watching this case and ask for a thorough investigation into the lies which have caused Jamie Scott #19197 to be harassed, stripped of privileges and thrown into the “hole”

Please call and e-mail the Superintendent of Prisons, The Commissioner of Prisons and the assistant Commissioner, please also cc this e-mail address on the e-mail. (freethescottsisters@gmail.com) so that there are records of your contacts.

Please inform them that the public is watching this case and the great injustice hurled at these innocent ladies.

Please call and write:
Margaret Bingham
Superintendent of CMCF – Central Mississippi Correctional Facitily
P. O. Box 88550 – 3794 Hwy 468 - Pearl, MS 39208
Phone: (601) 932-2880
E-Mail - MBingham@mdoc.state.ms.us

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

Emmit Sparkman – Deputy Commissioner
esparkman@mdoc.state.ms.us

Call:
Governor Haley Barbour
1-877-405-0733 or 601-359-3150,

Visit WrongfulConvictions at: http://wrongfulconvictions.ning.com

Petition For The Scott Sisters

2009-08-02T16:10:00.001-04:00

WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2009

Action Committee For Women In Prison - Sponsors Petition For The Scott Sisters

Dear Supporters:

Please assist us in the campaign to freedom for the Scott Sisters by writing US Attorney General Eric Holder. Mr. Holder's office has not responded to our formal complaint(s) and the Civil Rights Division has responded to Mrs. Rasco saying that they cannot assist because the case has passed the statutory limits/deadline of 5 years. Now, this is the untruth. Mrs. Rasco started writing the Civil Rights Division 14 years ago.

Office of the Attorney General - 202-353-1555

Please log into ACWIP and sign this petition.

http://www.change.org/acwip/actions/view/free_the_scott_sisters

POSTED BY NANCY

SF Bayview National Black News Paper

2009-07-25T18:22:00.005-04:00

July 8, 2009

Jamie and Gladys Scott: Wrongfully convicted
by Lenore J. Daniels, Ph.D.
Sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott have served 14 years of double life sentences for a robbery of no more than $11 that they did not commit. Their prosecution was in retaliation for their father’s refusal to pay off the sheriff.
“As the social order continues, it devises other ideals of social danger, among them women. In the United States today, there are more than 90,000 women in prisons. Of that number, over 80 percent are mothers, who have left more than 167,000 children behind, living in a tenuous freedom.” – Mumia Abu Jamal, “Jailhouse Lawyers”
In Chicago, James “Hawk” Rasco decides its time to return home, to his native soil – Mississippi. Now, he was returning to Scott County with his family. Rasco’s nephew ran a nightclub – in dry Scott County. The nephew, along with other Black nightclub owners, paid the sheriff in order to sell alcohol. The sheriff was Glenn Warren, otherwise known as the “High White Sheriff.”

Some things do change but only slightly. Years later, an FBI investigation landed Sheriff Warren in a courtroom and ultimately in prison. Rasco’s nephew ends up turning state’s evidence against “High White Sheriff.” James Rasco buys the nightclub after the nephew enters the witness protection program.
And sometimes things tragically remain the same. Enter Deputy Sheriff Marvin Williams – “Black!” Sheriff Williams is angry. He believes Rasco, the new owner of the nightclub, should continue business as usual. Show me the money! James Rasco refuses.
And Williams tells Rasco that he will get him! “I will get you one way or the other, even through your daughters!” is his message.
We have to remember that Frantz Fanon tells us there’s the violence of the perpetrators and there’s the violence of resisters. The violence of the former disrupts human potential while the latter disrupts tyranny motivated by hate. Who was Marvin Williams really? In this narrative, what does he represent?

Time passes.

The Scott sisters stop by a local store. It is Dec. 23, 1993. Jamie, 22, and Gladys, 19, two young mothers, have run out of heating fuel. They drive to the local store in town. But when they exit the store, the car will not start up!
The women decide to leave the car and begin walking home when they hear voices. There are two Black men, cousins, in their 20s, known as the Duckworth men. Gladys recognizes one of them from the chicken plant where she and Jamie work. The Duckworth cousins offer to take the women home. Jamie, however, pays the men $10.
But the ride home is far from pleasant. According to Jamie, one of the men begins touching her. The women exit the car and started walking home. Again, Jamie and Gladys hear a commotion behind them, but they don’t stop.
Jamie and Gladys finally arrive home. Soon, three young men, two brothers and a cousin, known as the Patrick Men, knock at their door. The Patrick Men, 14, 16 and 18 years old, tell the sisters that the two Duckworth men started a fight with them. That’s it.
It’s Christmas Eve. Morning.

There’s a knock at the Scott sisters’ door. It’s Sheriff Marvin Williams. He’s come to arrest Jamie and Gladys!
Sheriff Marvin Williams has a story to tell the court, the residents of Scott County and the media … But he has to work on it!
First, the sisters are charged with conspiracy to rob the Duckworth men of $9-$11, but Sheriff Williams has a little talk with the Duckworth cousins and the Patrick Men. The “victims” – one with three convictions for DWI – point to the Scott sisters. The Patrick Men – one if not two of them with previous run-ins with the law – threatened by Sheriff Williams with time at Parchman prison, where they would “be made out of women” if they didn’t cooperate and single out the Scott sisters, agreed.

It was the Scott sisters! Now, according to Sheriff Williams, the Scott sisters robbed the older men of $200 – at gunpoint! Armed robbery!
The Patrick Men confessed to the robbery, but why let truth get in the way of a good story!
A gun was never located, and the “stolen” wallet was recovered in the streets, according to an affidavit by a trustee of the jail. The wallet “re-appeared” two days later with a photo ID of the “victim” and $60 dollars! This same trustee also claims that the “armed robbery” never happened. Only later, in affidavits, did the “victims” and the Patrick Men confess to being coerced and threatened by Sheriff Marvin Williams.

Jamie and Gladys Scott's mother, Evelyn Rasco, has been fighting alone for their release and exoneration, their father having died of a heart attack, his heart broken that he could not help his daughters. Now volunteer legal analyst Nancy Lockhart is working with her to spread the word so that the power of the people can free the sisters.
But this is a narrative of violence, of vengeance and not of justice.
Family-hired lawyers advised Jamie and Gladys not to testify, and there were several potential witnesses to the character and innocence of the Scott sisters. But only one will do or not! Five witnesses in court told conflicting stories, but all declared that Jamie and Gladys are innocent.

And the judge? Judge Marcus Gordon has a bit of a history, American history. In 1964, three civil rights workers, Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman, were found dead. Edgar Ray Killens was found guilty of the murder of these three men – in 2005! Guess who was the judge? Killens, an old KKK organizer, was charged with three counts of manslaughter – not murder – and sentenced to 20 years in prison for each count.
But why bother about this history!

Sheriff Williams has his revenge. The jury deliberates for 36 minutes and the verdict: guilty! Jamie and Gladys both received double life sentences! And the sisters do not possess any criminal record!
Narratives of violence ensnarl people of color and effectively disrupt the lives as well as the well being of women and children.
Five children have grown up without the care and attention of their mothers for the last 14 years. One sister gave birth in prison!
In those 14 years, James Rasco dies of a heart attack. Both Sheriffs Warren and Williams are also dead.
And these Black women? Their safety depends on their silence! They linger in fear.
How many Black women, Black mothers, innocent, linger behind bars in the United States? How many have stories that are invisible, absent from the discourse on incarceration and injustice?

Angela Davis writes, Mumia Abu Jamal recalls, that once communism was no longer “the quintessential enemy” in the U.S., it was replaced “by ideological constructions of crime, drugs, immigration and welfare.” Of course, she writes, “The enemy within is far more dangerous than the enemy without, and a Black enemy within is the most dangerous of all.”
Can you imagine Jamie and Gladys as white women framed by a Black or a white sheriff?

Evelyn Rasco has been fighting for her daughters’ release the last 14 years. Rasco lost her husband and an older daughter who died of congenital heart failure in 2001. This daughter left behind a 5-year-old child. In these last 14 years, Rasco has tried to be the grandmother and the mother of 10 children – including grandchildren of Jamie and Gladys – while sustaining the battle to free her two remaining daughters from prison.
Eleven of those 14 years, Rasco wrote letters to Operation Push / Rainbow Coalition. No response. She writes to Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. asking him to submit a letter to Push / Rainbow. The congressman submits this letter to Nancy Lockhart at Push / Rainbow. Lockhart, working on a masters degree in jurisprudence at Loyola University Chicago at the time, contacted Evelyn Rasco.

Lockhart discovers that Rasco not only wrote letters to Operation Push / Rainbow Coalition without ever receiving a response, but in 1998 and 1999, Jamie and Gladys Scott appealed to the Innocence Project in Mississippi and in New Orleans.
No response.

Jamie and Gladys Scott's children and grandchildren have been in the care of their mother, Evelyn Rasco, all these years. It is way past time to reunite these mothers with their children.
Lockhart contacted the Innocence Project to ask why the organization refuses to respond to the Scotts.
No response.
The ACLU refuses to respond to the case.

No longer with Operation Push / Rainbow Coalition, Nancy Lockhart has dedicated her full attention to the Scott sisters’ case. As a volunteer legal analyst for the Committee to Free the Scott Sisters, Lockhart has worked on the Scott sisters’ case without financial resources for the last four years. For Lockhart, the case represents a wrongful conviction.
Rasco and Lockhart have both written to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. And only recently did Rasco receive a response!
Here’s the response from Steven Harrell, Paralegal Specialist, Criminal section – PHB, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20530:

“Dear Ms. Rasco:

“This is in response to your letter post marked Feb. 13, 2009, in which you allege that Jamie and Gladys Scott were wrongfully convicted of armed robbery in 1994. You further allege that, in order to obtain this conviction, local law enforcement officers intimidated a witness. We apologize for our delay in responding.
“The Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division is responsible for enforcing federal criminal civil rights statutes. Much of our enforcement activity relates to the investigation and prosecution of deprivations of civil rights under color of law. These matters generally involve allegations of excessive physical force or sexual abuse by law enforcement officers.
“Please note that federal criminal civil rights laws have a five year statute of limitations from the date of the incident. Since the incident in question occurred in 1994, we regret that we are unable to assist you. This is not a judgment on the truth or merit of your complaint; it is simply to inform you that, because the relevant statute of limitations has expired, this office cannot prosecute this case.
“Inasmuch as you feel that Jamie and Gladys Scott were wrongly convicted, you may wish to contact The Innocence Project, a national organization dedicated to the exoneration of the wrongly convicted. You may contact the Innocence Project by sending correspondence to info@innocenceproject.org

“Sincerely,

“Mark J. Kappelhoff, Section Chief, Criminal Section, Civil Rights Division, by Steven Harrell, Paralegal Specialist, Criminal Section”

“Now this is untrue, as Mrs. Rasco started writing the Civil Rights Division 14 years ago,” Lockhart says.
Mrs. Rasco initially started writing the Justice Department in 1994. She has not passed any statutory limits. The response that she has received is an untruth. She has written many times and the previous responses have been, “Your information will be forwarded to the correct department.” She has written the Criminal Division of the Civil Rights Division as well.
Lockhart also contacted Attorney General Eric Holder, and as of the writing of this article, she has not received a response.
She also sent a letter to President Barack Obama. No response.

In October 2008, Nancy Lockhart hears Rev. Al Sharpton’s voice on the radio. She calls in and tells him the Scott sisters’ story. Sharpton says, “That sounds like Troy Davis.” Lockhart reminded him that situation with the Scott Sisters is different. Davis was on Death Row. “Let me give you to my assistant so we can get in touch with you,” Sharpton says. The “assistant” is someone from a consultant firm. Someone will contact her soon.

So Lockhart waits for a call from the National Action Network (NAN). Time passes. Again, Lockhart calls NAN. She is told to contact a Mrs. Davis, and she is told to call at 10 a.m. the next day. “I called every day for two weeks at 10 a.m.” Lockhart sends information to Mrs. Davis, but she never hears from Mrs. Davis again. Months pass. Finally, in April 2009, Lockhart receives a call from NAN or rather the consultant firm, informing her that there is a chapter in Louisiana. Lockhart is given a couple of numbers call.
But Lockhart has to call NAN again. The numbers are useless. “One was a fax number and the other was a disconnected number,” recalls Lockhart. The consultant tells Lockhart that there are other chapters. Which is closest to Mississippi – Savannah, Georgia, or Atlanta, Georgia, Mrs. Davis asks?

Do I need to say that, in the end, Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network are missing in action!
But are we? You do not have to remain silent!

Lockhart: The case of the Scott Sisters was featured along with other important information regarding the Mississippi wrongfully convicted on the May 22, 2009, One Black Man’s View radio program! Just scroll down to “Event Description,” highlight the first item for May 22, 2009, and click the second button on the left to play and listen. So please visit http://blacktalkradio.ning.com/events/one-black-mans-view-5222009?rsvpConfirm=1 and please visit http://www.blogtalkradio.com/justiceforall/2009/04/16/Scott-Sisters-Sentenced-to-Double-Life-No-One-Died-or-Was-Hospitalized and share so that others can understand fully what this case is about!
Next, Nancy Lockhart has provided a sample letter to be sent to Attorney General Eric Holder:

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

The Honorable Attorney General Holder:

I am writing to request that you investigate the case of Jamie and Gladys Scott. The Scott Sisters were given double life sentences each in October of 1994 for armed robbery in the state of Mississippi. No one was injured or murdered. One witness states that about 11 dollars was netted in the armed robbery. All witnesses and victims of this crime have testified that the Scott Sisters were not involved in the robbery. Witnesses testified that they were coerced and threatened to lie on the Scott Sisters.

A 14-year-old witness testified that he signed a statement which was prepared for him before he entered Deputy Sheriff Marvin Williams’ office. This statement was signed by the 14-year-old without an attorney present. He was told that he would be released from the local jail the next morning if he signed it. He was not released.

This is an egregious wrongful conviction and the Scott Sisters have suffered now 14 years and eight months of double life sentences.

Jamie and Gladys Scott are housed in Pearl, Mississippi. Their ID numbers are Jamie Scott #19197 and Gladys Scott # 19142.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

Finally, to discuss strategies to organize for the release of Jamie and Gladys Scott, to sign the petition, and to donate to the Committee to Free the Scott Sisters, contact Nancy R. Lockhart, Volunteer Legal Analyst, Committee to Free the Scott Sisters, P.O. Box 389, Green Pond, SC 29446, (641) 715-3900, ext. 99222, FreeTheScottSisters@gmail.com. Read updates at http://www.freethescottsisters.com and http://www.freejamieandgladyscott.blogspot.com/ and sign the petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Free-Jamie-Gladys/index.html.

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member Lenore Jean Daniels, Ph.D., has been a writer for over 30 years of commentary, resistance criticism and cultural theory, and short stories with a Marxist sensibility to the impact of cultural narrative violence and its antithesis, resistance narratives. With entrenched dedication to justice and equality, she has served as a coordinator of student and community resistance projects that encourage the Black Feminist idea of an equalitarian community and facilitator of student-teacher communities behind the walls of academia for the last 20 years. Dr. Daniels holds a PhD in Modern American Literatures, with a specialty in Cultural Theory (race, gender, class narratives) from Loyola University, Chicago. Contact Dr. Daniels through Black Commentator.

Free Jamie and Gladys Scott

2009-07-25T06:26:00.002-04:00

Click poster to enlarge and read

The Poor Are Enslaved In American Prisons

2009-07-25T06:06:00.001-04:00

The Poor Are Enslaved In American Prisons

by Nancy Lockhart, M.J. / January 1st, 2009

America turns its head to those who are incarcerated, especially those considered as brutal and thoughtless. The average American believes that the justice system is perfect and would never incarcerate those who are innocent. This line of logic is grossly inconsistent with reality, as thousands of formerly incarcerated inmates have been freed by DNA-evidence only. Our justice system is failing day by day, minute by minute. One wrongful conviction is one-too-many, and numbers are escalating well into the tens of thousands. Adequate legal representation is available to those who are able to pay; those who cannot, however, suffer. Consequently, inadequate legal representation mostly leads to an inevitable unjust verdict.

As a legal analyst, I’ve observed the legal processes in depth over the years, and watched those with money, resources and networks receive justice within a system allegedly designed to serve all. I’ve observed the poor and unknowledgeable suffer, as finances, resources, and networks are very limited or void!

It is our right under the Constitution to petition our courts for justice. What does this say for a Nation of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — Inalienable Rights?

Slavery Is Alive and Flourishing In America

Poor people are enslaved in America’s Prison Industrial Complex. Indigent legal representation unfolds as inexperienced, underpaid and overworked lawyers provide inadequate representation to the poor – resulting in wrongful convictions; thus, enslavement to the prison industrial complex increases. The use of felonious, unethical, and often, illiterate witnesses is an increasing vehicle for wrongful convictions. The financially disempowered are the burden barriers for society’s ills, but those with money and corporate networks never experience this enslavement.

As the poor suffer, prosecutors and law enforcement officers are becoming even more corrupt in their policies. America incarcerates more individuals, especially minorities, than any other nation in the world. Wrongful convictions are on the rise and corruption is escalating. Slavery is alive and flourishing in America. In my years of service to the community, I’ve come across two distinct cases that yield inconsistencies from the onset.

The case of Ali Khalid Abdullah is one of them. Ali Khalid Abdullah was released from prison on August 1, 2008 and has had multitudes of problems dealing with a new society, ever since. Ali describes his experience as “being freed from Prison but not free.” Ali served 19 years in prison for taking action against a drug dealer who had molested an 11-year old. How does a government release prisoners with no assistance, financial or social, and expect positive results? My opinion is, they do not. They expect and hope for recidivism as it is the key to maintaining The Prison Industrial Complex.

The other case is that of two sisters, Jamie and Gladys Scott. In 1994, Jamie and Gladys Scott were wrongfully convicted in the state of Mississippi. A corrupt sheriff used coercion, threats, and harassment to convict the Scott Sisters of armed robbery. The case of the Scott sisters is an intriguing one, with transcripts stating that perhaps 9, 10, or 11 dollars was stolen, at most. It’s important to note that no one was murdered or injured. One of the state’s witnesses, a 14 year old, testified that he did not have an attorney present when signing a statement prepared by the sheriff. Jamie and Gladys Scott have served 14 years of double-life sentences, thus far. That’s Double Life Each! The absurdity of their sentencing reaches new heights with the reality that neither of the Scott sisters had prior convictions. Sadly, the cases of Mr. Abdullah and the Scott sisters are becoming an accepted phenomenon in our society.

The Prison Industrial Complex is the 21st century slave master in the minority community, and unless we are made aware and trained to take action, the enslavement will continue to fester more and more rapidly in years to come.

Don’t Wait Until It Happens To You!

For more review the case of Jamie & Gladys Scott

Nancy Lockhart, is a legal representative and community organizer, living in South Carolina. She has worked tirelessly - for no pay - on the case of two Black females illegally charged and sentenced to double life. She can be reached at: nancylockhart@gmail.com. Read other articles by Nancy, or visit Nancy's website.

This article was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at 12:15pm and is filed under Anti-slavery, Prisons, Racism.

Black Kids Kicked Out Of Philly Pool For “Changing Its Complexion”

2009-07-09T13:45:00.001-04:00

From NBC Philadelphia
More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.
“I heard this lady, she was like, ‘Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?’ She’s like, ‘I’m scared they might do something to my child,’” said camper Dymire Baylor.
The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. But the campers’ first visit to the pool suggested otherwise.
“When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool,” Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. “The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately.”
The next day the club told the camp director that the camp’s membership was being suspended and their money would be refunded.
“I said, ‘The parents don’t want the refund. They want a place for their children to swim,’” camp director Aetha Wright said.

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video.

2009-06-23T23:43:00.001-04:00

Judge Orders Release of Guantanamo Prisoner After Seven Years, Saying Government Position “Defies Common Sense”

A federal judge has ordered the release of another prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay, thirty-year-old Syrian national Abdul Rahim Abdul Razak al-Janko. In the year 2000, al-Janko was tortured by al-Qaeda, who accused him of being a Western spy, and he was imprisoned by the Taliban for eighteen months. He was then captured by the United States in 2002 and spent the next seven years in Guantanamo. On Monday, District Court Judge Richard Leon rejected the government’s position that al-Janko had once been a part of al-Qaeda, saying it “defies common sense.” We speak with British journalist Andy Worthington,

Brisenia Flores

2009-06-20T04:48:00.003-04:00

Brisenia, who was nine at the time, was murdered in her home by armed members of a right-wing paramilitary group. Right-wing militias, deaths squads and other such paramilitary organizations were relatively common in Latin America during the tumultuous 1980s, and their horrendous crimes and history of cruel human rights abuses are well known and have been extensively documented by human rights groups. What makes Brisenia's murder different isn't just that it ocurred more recently, but rather that it ocurred on American soil, and that the violent paramilitary organization that murdered her while she recoiled and wept, pleading for her life, was an American terrorist organization known as the Minutemen American Defense organization, a group whose founder, Shawna Forde, has well established ties to larger and better known anti-immigrant groups such as the Minutemen and FAIR, the Federation For American Immigration Reform (Forde once served as a spokesperson for FAIR).

It was no random act of violence. Shawna Forde, the suspected mastermind of the home invasion robbery in which Brisenia and her father Raul were killed, is the leader of the vigilante group Minutemen American Defense and has been tied to the national Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Both groups have been labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center as “hate groups” and have a long record of routinely dehumanizing immigrants and vilifying Latinos.

The problem is bigger than FAIR or any other group. Some members of Congress have been legitimizing these organizations for years—inviting them to testify as “experts”—while the rhetoric coming from these groups has given rise to violence against Latinos, like the killing of Brisenia and Raul Flores. That needs to end now.

I’ve joined Presente.org in demanding that Congress renounce FAIR, the Minutemen, and other anti-immigrant hate groups. Please click below to join me, and ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://presente.org/ref/20856/campaigns/flores

FAIR and the Minutemen groups are regularly quoted in the mainstream media—FAIR more than 500 times in 2008—giving them a megaphone to broadcast their hateful rhetoric: like FAIR executive director Dan Stein’s claim that “illegal aliens are more prone to criminal activity than the rest of the population,” or Minutemen co-founder Jim Gilchrist’s assertion that it is “okay to say ‘rapist,’ ‘robber’ and ‘murderer’” when describing “illegal aliens.”

As vile as their rhetoric is, even more disturbing is when our elected representatives applaud their efforts and parrot their messages. Take Ranking Republican Congressman on the House Immigration Sub-Committee, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a long-time friend of extremist groups, who wrote that a day without immigrants in America would mean “the lives of 12 U.S. citizens would be saved who otherwise die a violent death at the hands of murderous illegal aliens each day.” Those debunked claims were then repeated hundreds of times by FAIR and others, creating an echo chamber of racism and hate.

Or take Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has likened immigrants to terrorists and child molesters, as well as taking money from a group with white-supremacist ties.

Elected leaders like these, together with their allies in extremist anti-immigrant groups, create a climate of hatred that leads to violence – as evidenced by a recent string of hate-motivated killings across the country .

Enough is enough. Please join me in holding members of Congress accountable by demanding they stop legitimizing FAIR and the Minutemen. It takes only a moment:

http://presente.org/ref/20856/campaigns/flores

The American political scene has recently been dominated by a dark and dangerous undercurrent of nativist, anti-immigrant demagoguery served up by irresposible propagandists such as CNN's Lou Dobbs and Fox New's Bill O'Reilly and race-baiting politicians such as U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo among many, many others.

Do You know Judge Sotomayor?

2009-05-30T12:33:00.004-04:00

President Obama hit a home run with his nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court -- and not just because she's the "woman who saved baseball" by ending the strike in 1995, nor simply because she would be the first Latina ever to serve on the high court.

It was a home run because in her three-decade career as a prosecutor, judge, private litigator and law professor, she has time and again earned bipartisan praise as one of America's finest legal minds. And it was the right choice because Judge Sotomayor -- herself born and raised in a South Bronx housing project -- has summed up the American dream in her own incredible story and never once forgotten how the law affects our daily lives.

Now her historic nomination goes to the Senate. I know that process well, and I can tell you that the debate of the coming weeks and months will be shaped by the public response in the next few hours and days. It's critical that the Senate and the public clearly see where the American people stand.

I've followed Judge Sotomayor's remarkable journey for years. I voted for her when President George H.W. Bush nominated her for the District Court in 1992, and I was proud to vote for her again when President Bill Clinton nominated her for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 1998.

Born to a Puerto Rican family, Sotomayor grew up in a public housing project in the South Bronx. She was an avid reader from an early age, and was first inspired to pursue a legal career by the Nancy Drew mystery novels. Driven by her mother's belief in the power of education and her own relentless work ethic, she excelled in school. She won a scholarship to Princeton University, graduated summa cum laude, and then went on to attend Yale Law School where she served as an editor of the prestigious Yale Law Journal.

Like President Obama, Sotomayor passed up many more lucrative opportunities after law school to put her degree to work for the public good. She served as an Assistant District Attorney in New York, tackling some of the hardest cases facing the city, including robberies, assaults, murders, police brutality, and child pornography. Her growing reputation for fearlessness and legal brilliance prompted her first nomination to the federal bench, and she's only continued to soar.

If confirmed, she would start with more federal judicial experience than any Justice in a century, more overall judicial experience than any Justice in 70 years, and replace David Souter as the only Justice with firsthand experience as a trial judge. She has participated in over 3,000 panel decisions and authored roughly 400 opinions, expertly handling difficult issues of constitutional law, complicated procedural matters, and lawsuits involving complex business organizations.

In her years on the bench, Judge Sotomayor has earned acclaim from legal scholars and experts from both sides of the aisle for her intellectual toughness, her probing oral questioning, and her ability to issue decisions that hold both factual details and legal doctrines in equal measure. And she's never failed to apply a steady, common-sense analysis of how the law touches our daily lives.

Her story is incredible. Her qualifications are undeniable. And her judgment will serve us all well on the highest court in the land.

None Of Us Are Free

2009-05-19T02:10:00.000-04:00

Solomon Burke _ "None Of Us Are FrSolomon Burke

Ron's American World

Supreme Court Justice David Souter Will Retire!

2009-05-02T12:39:00.014-04:00

By JESS BRAVIN and EVAN PEREZ
WASHINGTON --
Supreme Court Justice David Souter has disclosed plans to retire, two congressional aides briefed on the decision said, a move that would create the first vacancy on the high court for President Barack Obama to fill.
Justice Souter, 69 years old, has been a reliable member of the court's liberal wing. President Obama likely to select a candidate young enough to serve for decades, bolstering the court's aging liberal faction.

Justice Souter was a little-known New Hampshire jurist when Republican President George H.W. Bush elevated him to the Supreme Court in 1990. Influential New Hampshire Republicans vouched for his credentials, but he soon proved a disappointment to conservatives hungry for a reversal of precedents they opposed.

Joining with Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy -- moderates appointed by President Ronald Reagan -- Justice Souter voted to limit, rather than overturn, Roe v. Wade, the 1973 opinion that recognized abortion rights. Justice Souter was no liberal trailblazer, like the jurist he succeeded, William Brennan. But as the court's center shifted to the right after Justice Thurgood Marshall's 1991 retirement, Justice Souter increasingly found himself on the court's left wing.

In 1992, just two years into his term, Justice Souter provided the fifth vote in a key abortion case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, that served notice the court wasn't ready to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision upholding a woman's right to have an abortion.

Justice Souter was again in the majority in a 5-4 decision in 2003 when the high court endorsed the use of race in choosing students for America's top universities and the concept of racial diversity as a compelling national interest.

In recent years, he has almost invariably aligned with Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer on the defining issues, including the executive powers asserted by former President George W. Bush, the constitutionality of executing criminals for crimes short of murder, and the extent government can consider race when seeking to promote diversity.

A Souter retirement comes as little surprise. While justices Stevens, 89, and Ginsburg, 76, are older, both have said they enjoy the work and have more to contribute to the bench. Justice Ginsburg had an operation earlier this year to remove a cancerous tumor from her pancreas, but the court has said the disease was caught early and the surgery was successful.

Justice Souter has complained about life in Washington and even about aspects of the court's work, such as the numbingly technical cases involving applications of pension or benefits law. Earlier this year, he told friends he planned to retire at the end of the present term if Justices Stevens and Ginsburg decided to remain on the court for at least another term. Unlike his fellow justices, he didn't hire law clerks for the term that begins in October, and some members of his staff were inquiring about finding other jobs.

"I don't think it is a big surprise," said Bill Glahn, who once worked for Justice Souter in the New Hampshire attorney general's office and has remained friends with him since. "He's almost 70 years old. At some point, you make a choice as whether you're going to be there forever or whether you want to retire and do some of the other things you want to do, whether it's taking a walk in the morning or reading some books."
To have a new justice in place by the beginning of the court's term in October would mean conducting a Senate confirmation process. Democrats -- along with two independents -- have 59 votes in the Senate and a 60th possibly on the way. They are in a good position to push through any nomination.

The Obama administration hasn't publicly named any choices to fill a high-court vacancy. But possible candidates could include Kathleen Sullivan, 53, a professor and former dean of Stanford Law School; Georgia Chief Justice Leah

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE ONES MOST LIKELY TO BE CHOSEN..., ACCORDING TO RUMORS! WHO DO THINK BE THE NEXT CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SUPREME COURT? I ONLY HAVE THE TOP THREE FEATURED IN VIDEO:

Who will it be? U.S.Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor?(2nd on bottom row)

Will it be Judge Leah Ward Sears? (4th on bottom row)

Will it be Kathleen Sullivan?(3rd on bottom row)

Hey, You Gotta Check your Reciepts!

2009-04-24T15:46:00.000-04:00

Check out this video!

Police Abuse?

2009-04-13T17:19:00.003-04:00

Posted by Denver Louis
Filed under: BlackSpin, News

Note: The video stated a teen girl..., but the lady was 42 years old in the write up..., never the less.., it was still abuse!

There's a tender balance between being a law enforcement officer and a thug with a badge. The problem is that too often that balance tends to tip toward the latter. Every day it seems there's a new video out there of police abusing their power. This video from Millville, Pa., was just released and is at the center of a civil lawsuit.

Sheila Stevenson, 42, was pulled over on Feb. 3 for illegally riding her bike on the sidewalk. The arresting officer attempts to mace her and inadvertently hits himself. So what does he do while she's already restrained on the ground? Take a look at this unbelievable video.

Seriously, when are police going to learn? Where in the job description does it say you're at liberty to assault or even murder people? The disturbing trend of an out-of-control national police force seems more endemic of countries where people have less-pronounced civil rights.
This is why we must be vigilant in keeping police honest, because the day we stop being outraged about things like this is the day we stop caring about our civil rights.

Who shot Billey Joe Johnson?

2009-04-09T20:19:00.003-04:00

Who shot Billey Joe Johnson?

The George County Sheriff’s Department claims that on that fateful morning, Billey Joe attempted to break into the home of an on-again, off-again girlfriend in the nearby city of Lucedale. According to the sheriff’s department, he left the scene and ran a red light at 5:34 a.m. After a 1½-mile pursuit, Billey Joe got out of his truck, met sheriff’s deputy Joe Sullivan and handed over his license. Then Billey Joe returned to his truck, put a 12-gauge shotgun he used to target deer to his head and committed suicide. It was 5:40 a.m.

Sullivan’s patrol car was not equipped with a camera, and his is the only account of the event. Billey Joe’s friends and family don’t believe the story.

Billey Joe was black. Sullivan is white. The case, as such, is shrouded by race in this small community in the Deep South. Everyone wants answers. No one is getting them. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the local district attorney – the two bodies in charge of the case – have issued neither a ruling nor many pertinent details.

Annette and Billey Joe Johnson Sr. want to know how their son, Billey Joe Johnson Jr., 17, died.

Johnson, a talented running back at George County (Lucedale, Miss.) High School, was remembered during a funeral service at his high school. He died of a gunshot wound Dec. 8 during a traffic stop by a George County deputy in Lucedale after the officer witnessed Johnson run a red light and a four-way stop.

The state and the Johnsons' lawyer are conducting investigations into his death. "The investigation is going to be an exhaustive search for the truth," District Attorney Tony Lawrence said.

Here is what the police say about Billey Joe’s death: During a routine traffic stop, Billey Joe Johnson Jr. shot himself in the head.

He woke at 4:30 a.m. that day, a school day, at his parents’ trailer and took a shower. His dad thought he was going hunting. Instead, he drove 15 miles to Lucedale, the 2,700-person county seat and location of both his high school and a girlfriend.

Billey Joe’s truck had notes from multiple female admirers, and his friends said he enjoyed the attention offered to a star athlete. He’d already run for 4,000 yards in his high school career and helped make George County a state powerhouse. Everyone knew him. Many wanted to be with him.

One girl, whom Yahoo! Sports will not name since she is a minor, had been around the longest. It was a typical high school relationship – “they’d break up every day and then get back together,” said one of his friends, Drew Bradley. The fact that she was white bothered some people.

“It’s George County, it’s a little Southern town,” said Bradley, who is white. “You’ve got a bunch of racist people down here. You have people who hated on them because it was black and white.”

After two months of questions and very few answers, a George County grand jury rendered a unanimous decision ,12-gauge shotgun accidentally discharged as Billey Joe Johnson Jr. was attempting to move the shotgun in the cab portion of this truck,"

The family isn’t buying it.

"I ain't buying that," said his mother, Annette Johnson, after the 16-member grand jury ruled Thursday. "We are going further and we are going higher."

Her pursuit is joined by her attorney, who plans to continue his own investigation, and the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which said it would submit evidence to the U.S. Justice Department and ask for a federal probe.

Who Is Protecting Our Freedoms

2009-04-09T04:08:00.000-04:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Drop The Rock

2009-04-03T20:36:00.001-04:00

Drop the Rock': Repeal Unfair Drug Laws
By Brett Story
March 30, 2009

Hundreds of New Yorkers rallied in front of Gov. David Paterson's office March 25 to urge the repeal of Rockefeller Drug Laws. Instituted in the 1970s, the laws dole out mandatory sentences for minor infractions and disproportionately affect communities of color, 90 percent of those jailed under its auspices are black or Latino.
As a state senator Governor Paterson vocally criticized the laws and The Nation reported early in his term his administration's focus on overturning them.
The New York Times reports that along with the Democratic state assembly and senate, Governor Paterson has reached an agreement to dismantle the drug laws.

TOM JOYNER MORNING SHOW-CALL TO ACTION!

2009-03-30T00:41:00.005-04:00

Subject: TheFlyJock's Blog: Act Now or Lose Our Voice That Comes Through Black Radio
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:15:24 +0000

TheFlyJock's Blog: Act Now or Lose Our Voice That Comes Through Black Radio

Tom Joyner, March 25 http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=blog_inner/7993/1573138/The%20Fly%20Jock

TheFlyJock's Blog: It's Just Business

Yesterday there was an outpouring of love and support for the TJMS through e-mails, texts and phone calls letting us know how much we will be missed on Chicago radio. Many of you were looking for a call to action, and to you, I say this:

One, thank you for caring enough to take time out of your busy life to let us know how you feel. Two, the most immediate call to action for people in Chicago and anywhere else where we aren’t heard is to listen on BlackAmericaWeb.com - which, by the way, had a record number of people tuning in to hear our show yesterday. And three, support the advertisers you hear on our stations, and let them know you’re supporting them because you heard them advertising on our show.

Without boring you, I’d like to give you a quick lesson in black radio and what we are up against in this ever-changing world. We face a system that has never worked in the favor of black media and other factors, such as a new ratings system, and the country’s horrible economic state stacks even more odds against us. The bottom line is black radio will never be what it once was, and there’s absolutely nothing we can do about that.

There are and will continue to be radio stations playing urban music, and of those few, the only way they will survive is if they are making money. They make money from the commercials they sell, and that’s based on them being able to prove that the people listening are good candidates for buying their products. It isn’t personal; it’s business. And as much as I appreciate the emotions expressed in the letters, texts and e-mail I’ve gotten, we can only move forward if we recognize the business we’re dealing with.

Like all businesses, the success of black radio is based on supply and demand - not just for the station owners and the advertisers but for the audience too. You know what you want, and you know whether the radio stations you tune in to are providing it. As much as you love to hear R&B music, if that is all you wanted, you could load your iPod with your favorite songs and never tune in to black radio again. But you obviously want more than that, and you have fewer places to get it than ever before. So, the issue is much bigger than which urban D.J. you like better in the morning. The issue is whether the urban format is worth saving.

The old saying “Give a man fish; you feed him for a day but teach a man to fish; you feed him for a lifetime” has never rung truer. If it had not been for the urban format, many of us would not have ever known the importance of radio advocacy and how a wrong can be righted with the power of our phone calls, pens, voices and votes. It has helped us to do everything from saving a sitcom from cancellation to electing the first African-American president. It has made us more accountable, more self reliant and more empowered.

In the end, whether there are 50 black radio stations or two, you will have been victorious because you stood tall and lifted your voice. We have black radio to thank for that, and that’s something no man, no format, and no conglomerate can take away. So we move forward stronger, wiser and looking for a better way to do - and that’s a lot more than play music.

Police Kill 73 Year Old Man

2009-03-21T01:16:00.000-04:00

Police Kill 73 Year Old Man, Family Claims Cover-Up

This 73 year old cancer survivor, Bernard Monroe was enjoying a barbecue and some family time when the police arrived to question his son Shawn Monroe. At the time of this incident Monroe had no standing arrest warrants pending. The media of course make a point of letting the public know that Shawn has a lengthy record. Monroe was shot by Louisiana Police and his family is alleging racism and a police cover-up.

Here is a quote from the town’s police chief
“If I see three or four young black men walking down the street, I have to stop them and check their names,” said [Homer, Louisiana Police Chief Russell] Mills, who is white. “I want them to be afraid every time they see the police that they might get arrested. We’re not out there trying to abuse and harass people—we’re trying to protect the law-abiding citizens locked behind their doors in fear.”

STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote

2008-09-13T22:09:00.011-04:00

Whatever you think you know about our election systems or Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, this film will make you question further why the news media fails to accurately inform the public. Directed by GNN's Ian Inaba, creator of Eminem's "Mosh" music video, American Blackout critically examines the contemporary tactics used to control our democratic process and silence voices of political dissent.

Many have heard of the alleged voting irregularities that occurred during the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004. Until now, these incidents have gone under- reported and are commonly written-off as insignificant rumors or unintentional mishaps resulting from an overburdened election system.

American Blackout chronicles the recurring patterns of voter disenfranchisement from Florida 2000 to Ohio 2004 while following the story of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. Mckinney not only took an active role investigating these election debacles, but has found herself in the middle of her own after publicly questioning the Bush Administration about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Featuring: Congressional members John Conyers, John Lewis, Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, Bernie Sanders and jounalists Greg Palast and Bob Fitrakis.

'True Lies' by Taalam Acey

American Blackout - True Lies Poem
Uploaded by camron46

American Blackout - Black Voter Disenfranchisement

American Blackout - Black Voter Disenfranchisement
Uploaded by camron46

Florida's Disappeared Voters' Disfranchised by the GOP " The Nation"
In Latin America they might have called them votantes
desaparecidos, "disappeared voters." On November 7 tens of
thousands of eligible Florida voters were wrongly prevented from
casting their ballots--some purged from the voter registries and
others blocked from registering in the first instance. Nearly all were
Democrats, nearly half of them African-American. The systematic
program that disfranchised these legal voters, directed by the
offices of Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Secretary of State
Katherine Harris, was so quiet, subtle and intricate that if not for
George W. Bush's 500-vote eyelash margin of victory, certified by
Harris, the chance of the purge's discovery would have been
vanishingly small.

Read the rest of the story here

American Blackout - Cynthia Mckinney confronts Choicepoint

American Blackout - Ohio trailer

Disenfranchised Felons Unfairly Punished Twice
Sonata Lee

The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. More than 2.3 million people are incarcerated in the U.S. -- or roughly one in 100 adults -- according to a report released earlier this year by the Pew Center on the States. Even China, the most populous nation in the world, incarcerates fewer people than we do.

While we laud the historic nature of this election and speculate over how the various voting blocks -- women, Latinos, evangelicals -- will cast their ballots in November, we've forgotten about a group that may have the most at stake in local and national elections: our felons. Overly punitive legislation and a devastating war on drugs have resulted in the disenfranchisement of 5.3 million people who are unable to vote in this country because of a felony conviction.

The most egregious and notorious case may be in Florida during the 2000 election. In an interview with the Christian Science Monitor, Marc Mauer, executive director of the non-profit Sentencing Project, stated that, "On the day of the 2000 [presidential] election, there were an estimated 600,000 former felons who had completed their sentence yet because of Florida's restrictive laws were unable to vote." It's widely believed that the 2000 election would have gone to Al Gore had Florida allowed former felons to cast ballots.

Read the rest of the story here

Rhode Island’s Shrinking Black Electorate

 Rhode Island has the nation’s 13th highest percentage of
African-American disfranchisement, higher than Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, North and South Carolina and 31 other states

 12 percent of African- Americans are barred from voting in Rhode Island

 20 percent of African-American men cannot vote statewide

 1 in 4 African-American men in Providence cannot vote

 40 percent of 18-34 year old African-American men on the Southside of Providence cannot vote
Read the rest of the story here

STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote

Selected Scenes from STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote

Princeton University Exposes Diebold Flaws

The Official Count vs. Exit Polls - 2004 Election

Stolen Election 2004

The Right to Vote Continues to Elude Millions
By Ryan Paul Haygood
The tragic, history-making events of "Bloody Sunday," on March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama, ultimately freed the vote for millions of African Americans. Forty years later, as we reflect on the march that led to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, we are also reminded that more than two million African Americans continue to be denied the right to vote by felon disfranchisement laws.
Black voter registration in Selma in 1965 was made virtually impossible by Alabama's relentless efforts to block the Black vote, which included requiring Blacks to interpret entire sections of Alabama's constitution, an impossible feat for even the most learned. On one occasion, even a Black man who had earned a Ph.D. was unable to pass Alabama's literacy test.
On Bloody Sunday, John Lewis and Reverend Hosea Williams led almost 600 unarmed men, women and children in a peaceful march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma to Montgomery to dramatize to the nation their desire as Black people to participate in the political process.
As they crossed the highest part of the bridge, Alabama state troopers, who ridiculed, tear-gassed, clubbed, spat on, whipped and trampled them with their horses, viciously attacked the marchers. In the end, Lewis's skull was fractured by a state trooper's nightstick, and 17 other marchers were hospitalized.
In direct response to Bloody Sunday, President Lyndon Johnson, five months later, signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. Considered by many to be the greatest victory of the civil-rights movement, the Voting Rights Act removed barriers, such as literacy tests, that had long kept Blacks from voting.
Despite the promise of increased political participation by Blacks and other racial minorities created by the Voting Rights Act, its full potential has not been realized by one of the last excluded segments of our society: Americans with felony convictions.
Today, nearly 5 million Americans are literally locked out of the political process by state felon disfranchisement laws that disqualify people with felony convictions from voting.

Read the rest of the story here

The GOP's Black Voter Suppression Strategy

For the past five years, the Bush Administration has used the Justice
Department, Civil Rights Division - the institutional guarantor of the
Voting Rights Act - to legitimize a series of Republican power grabs
in the South. Central to these power grabs has been violations of
the Voting Rights Act - i.e. the suppression or dilution of African
American votes. For instance, in a series of recent preclearance
(Section 5) cases, Bush appointees in the Civil Rights Division have
overruled career lawyers when their decisions stood in the way of
white Republican political objectives. Although a majority of career
lawyers rejected Republican backed redistricting plans in
Mississippi and Texas, political appointees overruled them and
precleared the plans. The Texas and Mississippi redistricting plans
have since been implemented, to the tremendous benefit of the
GOP. (The Supreme Court has recently agreed to hear a series of
cases in which Democrats, blacks, and Latinos argue that the Texas
redistricting plan and the manner in which it was implemented
violate the Voting Rights Act.) Political appointees also overruled
career attorneys when they rejected the 2005 Georgia Voter ID law
- passed by the Republican majority in the state legislature - as
retrogressive. A federal appeals court later struck down the law,
arguing that it would reduce blacks' access to the franchise. African
Americans in Texas, Mississippi, and Georgia vote overwhelmingly
for the Democratic Party.

Read the rest of the story here

An Innocent Man on Death Row

2008-07-05T16:29:00.003-04:00

The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal: An Innocent Man on Death Row

Who is Mumia Abu-Jamal?
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a renowned journalist from Philadelphia who has been in prison since 1981 and on death row since 1983 for allegedly shooting Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. He is known as the “Voice of the Voiceless” for his award- winning reporting on police brutality and other social and racial epidemics that plague communities of color in Philadelphia and throughout the world. Mumia has received international support over the years in his efforts to overturn his unjust conviction.

Mumia Abu-Jamal was serving as the President of the Association of Black Journalists at the time of his arrest. He was a founding member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Black Panther Party as a teenager. Years later he began reporting professionally on radio stations such as NPR, and was the news director of Philadelphia station WHAT. Much of his journalism called attention to the blatant injustice and brutality he watched happen on a daily basis to MOVE, a revolutionary organization that works to protect all forms of life--human, animal, plant--and the Earth as a whole.

The Scene
In 1981, Mumia worked as a cab driver at night to supplement his income. On December 9th he was driving his cab through the red light district of downtown Philadelphia at around 4 a.m. Mumia testifies that he let off a fare and parked near the corner of 13th and Locust Streets. Upon hearing gunshots, he turned and saw his brother, William Cook, staggering in the street. Mumia exited the cab and ran to the scene, where he was shot by a uniformed police officer and fell to the ground, fading in and out of consciousness. Within minutes, police arrived on the scene to find Officer Faulkner and Mumia shot; Faulkner died. Mumia was arrested, savagely beaten, thrown into a paddy wagon and driven to a hospital a few blocks away (suspiciously, it took over 30 minutes to arrive at the hospital). Mumia somehow survived.

Read more of the story CLICK HERE

A CASE FOR REASONABLE DOUBT

2008-07-05T16:27:00.003-04:00

Reasonable Doubt - 1

Reasonable Doubt - 2

Reasonable Doubt - 3

Reasonable Doubt - 4

Reasonable Doubt - 5

Reasonable Doubt - Final

2008-07-05T16:25:00.000-04:00

Mumia Abu-Jamal from death row: Fighting for his life

May 17, 2007 Massive Rally in Philadelphia: 'Free Mumia!'

Journalists for Mumia Abu-Jamal: NEW CRIME SCENE PHOTOS!