Parole Stipulation: Donate a Kidney to Your Sister
- Posted on December 30, 2010 at 7:23am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — For 16 years, sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott have shared a life behind bars for their part in an $11 armed robbery. To share freedom, they must also share a kidney.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour suspended the sisters’ life sentences on Wednesday, but 36-year-old Gladys Scott’s release is contingent on her giving a kidney to Jamie, her 38-year-old sister, who requires daily dialysis.
The sisters were convicted in 1994 of leading two men into an ambush in central Mississippi the year before. Three teenagers hit each man in the head with a shotgun and took their wallets – making off with only $11, court records said.
Jamie and Gladys Scott were each convicted of two counts of armed robbery and sentenced to two life sentences.
“I think it’s a victory,” said the sisters’ attorney, Chokwe Lumumba. “I talked to Gladys and she’s elated about the news. I’m sure Jamie is, too.”
Civil rights advocates have for years called for their release, saying the sentences were excessive. Those demands gained traction when Barbour asked the Mississippi Parole Board to take another look at the case.
The Scott sisters are eligible for parole in 2014, but Barbour said prison officials no longer think they are a threat to society and Jamie’s medical condition is costing the state a lot of money.
Lumumba said he has no problem with the governor requiring Gladys to offer up her organ because “Gladys actually volunteered that as part of her petition.”
Lumumba said it’s not clear what caused the kidney failure, but it’s likely a combination of different illnesses over the years.
Barbour spokesman Dan Turner told The Associated Press that Jamie Scott was released because she needs the transplant. He said Gladys Scott will be released if she agrees to donate her kidney because of the significant risk and recovery time.
“She wanted to do it,” Turner said. “That wasn’t something we introduced.”
Barbour is a Republican in his second term who has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender in 2012. He said the parole board agreed with the indefinite suspension of their sentences, which is different from a pardon or commutation because it comes with conditions.
An “indefinite suspension of sentence” can be reversed if the conditions are not followed, but those requirements are usually things like meeting with a parole officer.
The Scott sisters have received significant public support from advocacy groups, including the NAACP, which called for their release. Hundreds of people marched through downtown Jackson from the state capital to the governor’s mansion in September, chanting in unison that the women should be freed.
Still, their release won’t be immediate.
Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said late Wednesday that he had not received the order. He also said the women want to live with relatives in Florida, which requires approval from officials in that state.
In general, that process takes 45 days.
Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the Scott sisters’ release will be “a great victory for the state of Mississippi for two individuals who received an excessive sentence” and he has no problem with the kidney donation requirement because Gladys Scott volunteered.
“I think it‘s encouraging that she’s willing to share a kidney so her sister can have a better quality life,” Johnson said.
National NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said the suspension of the sentences represents the good that can come with the power of governors.
“It’s again proof that when people get engaged, keep the faith, we can win,” Jealous said.
Barbour has used his power sparingly to free prisoners over the years, but some of his decisions have created a backlash.
Barbour outraged the family and friends of Jean Elizabeth Gillies, a University of Mississippi student who was raped, sodomized and strangled in 1986, when he granted a suspended sentence for her killer, Douglas Hodgkin.
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Comments (56)
Eblaze44
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 4:48pmWell, if it’s Charlie Crist that gets the say, Florida might just end up with them – he is a socialist anyway. But the condition that they be allowed to come to Florida could just as easy be that Mississippi will have to foot any and all costs – medicaid (just send the bill to Mississippi), or welfare. ON the other hand – I‘ve know people deported from Florida a ’persona no grata’ and not allowed to even visit again. Florida, like Texas, sometimes has some real rules to live by.
Report Post »Eblaze44
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 4:39pmLiberia – Monroe – Not Abe – that is why the capitol was called Monrovia. and I’m sure it was those who wanted to as much as those that they put on the ships to go.
Armed robbery IS armed robbery, but this still seems excessive punishment for anyone – unless it is more than a one time offense.
the governor is WRONG – and I would sit in jail and rot until the “forced” sharing of my kidney was removed. doesn‘t mean I wouldn’t share – its just that this has got to be illegal.
Report Post »bookofwisdom
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 2:24pmThey are letting them go because the State of Mississippi doesn’t want to pay for her dialysis, so they are going to send her to Florida. So the state of Florida will end up paying for her dialysis through Medicaid. Well, that sounds about right. We The People have been feeding and clothing them all these years, why shouldn’t we continue. Now they will be able to come to Florida, find boyfriends, get pregnant and we can continue to feed and cloth them and their off spring. Sorry, but they need to serve out their time in jail. A crime is a crime and a life sentence is a life sentence. We don’t need more dead beats coming to Florida. May God Bless.
Report Post »ARIZONA VETERAN
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 1:22pmleave these twp pieces of felon shyt in prison, why the phuuck should the tax payers have to pay for surgery THEN WELFARE!!!
Report Post »dawgPound
Posted on December 31, 2010 at 12:14amIf she stays in prison the state has to pay for her kidney dialysis for the rest of her life, you dumbass
Report Post »heferwiz57
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 12:19pmYhey didnt get life for the $11.00. They got life because of armed robbery.
Report Post »Islesfordian
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 1:43pmSo what do you get for rape? Double life? What about murder? Are they all capital offenses?
That actually wouldn’t bother me. but I rather suspect there is more here than a simple instance or armed robbery.
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 11:59amTake the deal. Good luck to both of them!
Report Post »sean_m.
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 11:50amSo, if I need good medical care, i.e. a kidney transplant, I should go commit a felony and the state will pay for it? Seems unfair considering I work an honest job that didn‘t involve beating the hell out of someone and can’t get insurance. Pretty sure I couldn’t get a transplant on my own. I’m sure the state would help me, too.
Report Post »Proud Navy Dad
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 11:33amI wonder if they were white instead of black if the same thing would have been done ? meaning the full pardon, I do agree the sentence was a lot over the top.
Report Post »The surgery will probably be paid for by the social services along with there new life style but who cares we all owe it to all of them any way. The crackers have held all of them down forever.
sean_m.
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 11:52amIf they were white then all of the civil rights groups would come out and say it was racist and a travesty that this was happening and that they did the crime, they should do the time. Especially if the victim were black. Reverse racism, my foot. No such creature. Racism is racism, plain and simple. It‘s just unfortunate that whites can’t use it because there’s not one racist black person in the world.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 11:25amLiberia. Abe Lincoln set it up so any ***** who wanted to leave America could go live there.
Report Post »OldChick
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 11:17amTheir crime and sentence aside, I find it stunning that the government can even suggest that as a condition of release, that one person donate a body organ to another person.
Report Post »I thought the buying and selling of body organs in the USA was banned?
Isn’t offering a suspended sentence, contingent on giving a kidney, a form of payment?
Comeandtakeit
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 10:57amI don’t know the full circumstances of the crime they committed, but a lot has been said their sentence was too excessive for armed robbery. They got life sentences for $11. A) did the two sisters know that the man had $11 in his pocket when they (while armed) robbed (or helped rob) the man with excessive force? or B) thought he had $1100 in his pocket when they performed armed robbery?
Does it really matter how much he had or they got??? Maybe in the eyes of the law, but not in my book. In my understanding, I don’t care how much money a man has on him, when you are brutally beaten and robbed at gun point, the person on the other side of the shotgun is not collecting for the red cross, and I don’t care what color his/her skin is. This speaks much to the whole character of a person.
Report Post »Jezreel
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 10:52amI think it would be a great idea to ship criminals and those who hate the United States and other evil undesireables out of the country including muslims and sexual perverts etc. Of course, it will never happen but at least it can be a happy thought knowing that when Christ comes, he will separate the tares from the wheat.
Report Post »Movinfr8
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 10:48amBefore you all think Haley Bahbah is going all soft, he must have JUST reversed himself, as he has turned down any commutation till now. I’m from Mississippi, and there is a cse which calls for help, and he refuses to do anything. The case is that of a black man who shot and killed a white cop (police chief’s son) and was sentenced to death. What’s unusual, you ask? The cops kicked in his door in the evening, WITHOUT ANNOUNCING THEMSELVES he shot wildly at the intruders, to protect his infant daughter till the lights came on, when he dropped the gun.
read about it here, if you like:
http://shotgunnews.com/knox/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Maye
http://reason.com/archives/2006/10/01/the-case-of-cory-maye
Report Post »walkwithme1966
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 9:42amWow, racism this early in the morning? http://maboulette.wordpress.com
Report Post »TexasGranny
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 8:57amRead the article again folks, this was a criminal assault with a deadly weapon.
Report Post »“The sisters were convicted in 1994 of leading two men into an ambush in central Mississippi the year before. Three teenagers hit each man in the head with a shotgun and took their wallets – making off with only $11, court records said”
If it had only been a robbery, the time would not have been as long. They used a “gun”. I don’t care what color their skin is, they committed a violent crime and deserved their punishment.
GEW
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 9:35amAgree with you. Just goes to show how far even GB’s audience has been nudge.
Report Post »Islesfordian
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 9:51amThe life sentence is still excessive. They didn’t kill anyone. I’m presuming that they had prior fellony convictions that brought a three strike rule into play.
Report Post »Midwest Blonde
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 8:41amRelease aside, isn’t 16+ years for an $11 robbery a little excessive??
Report Post »bigdeg
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 9:05amIt isn’t the amount of money…Its the fact that the sisters premeditatedly committed robery, felony assalt, attemted murder…etc.
Report Post »wampanoag
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 8:31am“Lumumba” sounds like a pseudonym to me. If the African American community was more concerned about keeping their criminals in jail then releasing them, their crime epidemic may be easier to manage. Afro American crime is now out of control!
Report Post »In-God-I-trust
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 8:28amI knew before I read the story that the order couldn’t have come from a liberal since it had to do with saving a life.
Report Post »walkwithme1966
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 9:44amHello – sweeping generalization – not all liberals are alike!!!! http://maboulette.wordpress.com
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 7:51amNow go steal $11 dollars.
Report Post »Ronko
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 7:47amI agree the sentences are really excessive they shouldn‘t have gotten life they should’ve gotten 5 yrs in jail at max and then life if they commit a serious crime after they get released from jail. Also I hope Haley Barbour does not run for President because he won‘t be the right guy for the job he’ll be George W Bush all over again. We need a real Republican like Sarah Palin or Mike Huckabee not a RINO like Barbour or Rommey.
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 9:46amSarah Palin is a progressive, and Huckabee is just weird.
Report Post »Dustyluv
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 7:44amYou sir are a Fking MORON! A Racist MORON! What an idiotic statement!
You MUST be a troll…
Report Post »psykeskaos
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 7:44amMore than likely she already had a rap sheet. I don’t know about this kidney thing. The idea of this being a judicial requisite is a bit disturbing.
Report Post »badswing
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 7:43amthe most amazing thing to me about this story is that the sisters have the same last name.
Report Post »Oldphoto678
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 8:04amYup, sound just about right. As in right wing.
Report Post »badswing
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 9:53amno i have black and white blood in my veins bud. i am just stating odds. trying to make it better for all.
Report Post »((GB)) FAN
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 7:42amgood deal for all @dusty
Report Post »who do you think is going to pay for all this. operations,food,houseing,long term care and everyting else that comes along with deal. $11 or 1 million it was a crime you dumb ass.
Dustyluv
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 7:48amYou don’t want to help your fellow human being because you are a RACIST BIGOT!
I am all for fiscal responsibility. I am also for giving someone a second chance in life after they screw up. The surgery is NOT a million dollars either you isiot.
Report Post »DimmuBorgir
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 8:04ami’m with GB
i’m tired of paying for pieces of trash like this to take advantage of the system. I wish the judge would have said, you girls are free, but we’re taking both of your kidneys, enjoy the next couple of days.
Report Post »TERMLIMITSNOW
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 10:12amGB is right, a crime is a crime, it’s not the amount the stole, its the CRIMINAL ACT! Anyone care to start a pool on how long it takes before they are both back behind bars?? I say under 1 year. Great idea Haley, ship them off to FL and let them fit the bill.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 11:28amthe CRIME was they attacked and robbed and used a SHOTGUN when they harmed 2 men. no clue why they used the gun as a club, tho, maybe too stupid to know which end went BANG. lucky victims they only got hit and not SHOT.
Report Post »pamela kay
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 4:29pm((GB)) FAN, Exactly. having had a kidey transplant myself and using my own insurance to pay for it I can tell you about the cost and the after care invoved. Right now my employer covers my insurance. I am very fortunate. It is costing him $1800. a month just for me. Last year my co-worker for the past 17yrs passed away from cancer. When she turned sixty five and went on medicare he then covered her secondary insurance until she died. Most employers would not do this. I count my blessings every day. I know about the after care and the committment it takes to sucessfully benefit from the transplant. My anti-rejection medication is $2500 a month (which costs me $90.00) and I have various other medications as well. I have been concerned that I will be forced into this government HC as the cost of my current HC continues to rise. My fear is that of my age, and various other problems will force me to go before a panel that decides whether my life is worth the cost of my meds. These women will most likely be approved for coverage. I hate to say this because I will be labled a racist which I am not, but I think that I am the wrong color. The fact that I continue to work will not benefit me in the least. This will be an extreme cost to the tax-payers not only for the recipient but the donar as well.
Report Post »Chet Hempstead
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 9:04pmThe same people who are paying for dialysis now. In the long run a transplant will save money.
Report Post »Dustyluv
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 7:33amLife for an 11.00 robbery? Im all for justice, but wow that was kinda stiff don’t ya think?
Good thing she is doing for her sister though. Barbour did well he in my opinion. Good deal for all…
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 9:45amI was thinking the same thing, life for an $11 dollar robbery?
Damn that’s stiff.
I know people doing federal life for “conspiracy”, and they didn’t even find any cocaine….
Yet the CIA can crash planes full of cocaine and nothing happens…nothing to see here folks, move along…
Report Post »heferwiz57
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 12:21pmThey didnt get life for the $11.00. They got life for armed robbery…just the way it should be.
Report Post »ARIZONA VETERAN
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 1:23pm11 buck 11 million, they ARE FELONS
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 2:59pm“the sisters’ attorney, Chokwe Lumumba”
Chockwe? Lumumba? Witch doctor/lawyer?
Report Post »AmericanSoldier
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 5:04pmI agree, it’s the armed robbery, assault and use of a weapon to commit the crime but I still think life is excessive.
In hind sight, they probably should have just done a huge bank heist, would have gotten more than $11 especially if it’s a life sentence behind it.
Report Post »OATMEAL
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 6:35pmGet tougher on crime America, anymore it is like Catch & Release. How pathetic, what is there to really deter crime anymore? Armed Robbery should get you at least 25 years minimum & then you should have to learn some kind of trade before release. This country is going down the drain & everybody knows it, but won’t do a thing about it!
Report Post »WVdad
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 10:53pmI think it is awesome that the sister wants to donate her kidney to her sister, but the whole requirement thing aggrevates me, I know they say it doesnt bother them because she volunteered, but, why is it required, if she cant go through with it for some reason, will she go back to prison? Just too often I see this scenerio of well if you cant pay this or do this, then we ll take your freedom, but if you can then you are not a threat to society. Why cant they, if they are no longer a threat and feel they should set them loose, just set them loose, let the sister do it of her own free will
Report Post »WVdad
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 11:01pmI mean, either your fit for society now or your not, what is next, other prisoners with life sentences will be freed if they give up an organ. I can see lawyers all over that. Just let them go if theyre safe, lock um up if there not. No BS, and I do feel that is large price to pay for that crime if no one was hurt, petty theft with a weapon, if weapon was used then, its not just that they stole 11 dollars. Has to be more to it, you dont do life in prison for stealing 11 dollars, even people who assault with a weapon dont do that kind of time
Report Post »WVdad
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 11:05pmAh read the story, but didnt watch the video, kinda wild they got life sentence. Rapist who assault there victoms have gotten off alot easier.
Report Post »Bevaboo
Posted on December 31, 2010 at 12:59amWho cares how much they got away with? They beat two men over the head with guns and stole their wallets. Violent armed robbery. Don’t feel sorry for them because one needs a transplant.
Report Post »WVdad
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 3:21pmYep, might have been more they got away with if the guy they robbed was richer, but, still not a capitol offense
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