Jamie and Gladys Scott - Coercion of Witnesses to Ensure a Conviction

WOMEN IN PRISON (WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE?)

By: Nancy R. Lockhart, M.J. and Jamie Scott

Minorities are being incarcerated at increasingly alarming rates in the United States, however, female minority incarcerations have spiked in recent times. Within this heart-wrenching escalation lies wrongful convictions yet another addition to the Prison Industrial Complex. While researching avenues of freedom for two wrongfully convicted Black women in Mississippi, Jamie and Gladys Scott, I've come across many alarming statistics of female-minority incarcerations within the Prison Industrial Complex. Through my years of research, I've realized that Jamie and Gladys Scott are not the only women suffering at the hands of America's Prison Industrial Complex.


n a recent column titled, Perversion of Justice: Gulag America, Rady Ananda, an investigative journalist, states that "female incarceration rates jumped 64% from 1995 to 2006." Stunning! This only makes one imagine the percentages of wrongful convictions within this population. My years of research, with the wrongful conviction of Jamie and Gladys Scott, led me to reviewing transcripts of their trial. It has been a life-changing event for me, as well as others who have perused them.


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, in the alleged robbery. 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. These facts seem to mean little, as Jamie and Gladys Scott have served 14 years of double-life sentences, thus far, for a robbery they did not commit. That's Double Life Each!

The Scott sisters, with no prior convictions before their sentencing, now wallow in the belly of the Prison Industrial Complex. The emotional strain this burden has placed upon their family is immeasurable. Their children, grandchildren, and mother have been forced to wade in the waters of financial-hardship. Their father, though a strong man, passed away a few years back, following the illegal incarceration of his two beautiful daughters. Readers should be aware that Jamie and Gladys Scott's brother is currently fighting the war in Iraq, for a country which imprisons innocent people (like his sisters). Welcome to reality.

Learn more about the Scott sisters and sign their petition at http://freejamieandgladyscott.blogspot.com.

http://raye-of-hope.org

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Jamie
• Gladys
• Scott
• Mississippi
• prison
• coercion
• false
• testimony
• America
• Black
• African American
• wrongful
• conviction
• women
• woman
• minority
• minorities
• letter from prison
• robbery
• Obama
• political
• politics
• race