jamie & gladys scott were released from a mississippi prison friday, after serving 16 years for an armed robbery which netted $11. during an emotional news conference attended by activists, family members, friends & supporters, the sisters thanked everybody who helped secure their release, including mississippi governor haley barbour, who suspended their life sentences last month.
38 year-old jamie said tearfully, "we're so grateful...i never thought this day would come...but i kept the faith & i do know god will show up." her 36 year-old sister, gladys simply said, "praise god." the sisters' life sentences were suspended with the unprecedented condition of one sister donating a kidney to the other, who is sick & needs a transplant.
their attorney, chokwe lumumba, said the sisters were exuberant as they were reunited with their mother & children at 8:00 am from a prison in pearl, mississippi. said lumumba, "they're feeling great. this is beautiful. i feel like a young fella myself."
in 1994 the women were convicted of armed robbery for hitting two men on the head with the butt of a shotgun in forest, mississippi, as well as stealing $11. activists have contended their harsh sentences were racially biased. jamie said she'd continue to speak out on behalf of other women in the prison, stating, "i won't leave them behind. i will be their voice."
jamie is currently on dialysis & hopes to receive better medical treatment now. gladys agreed to donate one of her kidneys when barbour included the stipulation as part of their release, which some feel is politically motivated - barbour is touted as a republican presidential candidate for 2012 (against obama) & this decision could influence black voters.
last december lumumba admitted the arrangement "does sound a little barbaric," but noted gladys would have donated the kidney anyway. he said the sisters must undergo more medical tests before the transplant can take place. lumumba said it's not clear how the operation will be paid for. said the attorney, "we still need medicaid to handle the bill, or we'll be looking for donors to help us."
i am
- mark j. tuggle
- harlem, usa
- same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.
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