Gov Refuses to Pardon Gravely Ill Woman inScott Sisters Case
Mississippi governor Haley Barbour has made a number of television appearances over the last several months, and I find it absolutely appalling that the jackass journalists that interviewed him failed to press him on the Scott Sisters case.
Instead of doing their jobs, the idiots fawned over him and completely ignored the controversial and shocking case. They chose to place emphasis on Barbour’s star power within the GOP and a possible 2012 presidential bid. The American-media bullshit machine has continued to operate full throttle, in terms of placing Barbour on a Republican pedestal, but The G-Man is about to throw a big-ass monkey wrench into the works.
The Scott Sisters case began back in 1993. It was two days before Christmas when Jamie and Gladys, who were 22 and 19-years of age, were said to have lured two men to an area just outside of Forest, Mississippi. When the four arrived, three young men appeared, produced a shotgun and robbed the two unsuspecting men. The assailants released their victims unharmed. Their take was a measly $11. Keep that in mind as you read on, folks.
The sisters were charged with setting up the armed robbery after two of the men who committed the robbery testified against them as part of a plea bargin. The three men who actually committed the crime served two-year prison terms and returned to society, but, inexplicably, Jamie and Gladys were slapped with double-life sentences! They’ve already served 16 years. By the way, no forensic evidence or weapon was ever presented during the trial, and the sisters proclaim their innocence to this day.
Okay, now that you have the back-story, let’s fast forward to the present. The sisters have written countless letters to Barbour over the years requesting clemency, but the governor has failed to act. It gets worse. Jamie Scott has been waging a valiant battle with kidney failure, and many family members, friends and supporters suspect that time is no longer on her side, given the fact that the prison hasn’t been providing the level of quality care she desperately needs.
“The dialysis trailer is infested with black mold. Several of the dialysis inmates are now experiencing headaches and watery eyes while in this trailer (mobile building), for treatment. One of the facility nurses had to be rushed out by ambulance recently, and this nurse only becomes sick while at work in the dialysis trailer,” said Nancy Lockhart. Lockhart, who holds a Master of Jurisprudence from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, posts frequent updates on the case at http://freethescottsisters.blogspot.com/.
Sadly, most of the major news networks, organizations and publications in this country don’t think this story is newsworthy or that Barbour should be questioned extensively about it. That’s a goddamn shame! If they want newsworthy, I’ll give them newsworthy.
The Jackson Free Press and Slate have reported that Governor Barbour has pardoned or suspended the sentences of five convicted murderers! Slate reporter Radley Balko revealed that those granted clemency had worked in a special prison program that allowed them the opportunity to work in and around the governor’s mansion. Is that newsworthy enough for you, mainstream media?
Even with this information hiding in plain sight, in print archives and on the web, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, HNN, MSNBC, NBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post and others have failed, and failed miserably, to cover this story or grill Barbour about it. This defies all logic and reason, and I’m calling each one of them out!
With over seventy percent of the country expressing a deep-seated hatred and distrust for the media, and WikiLeaks kicking their teleprompter reading, copy-editing asses, this is the mainstream media’s chance to report the story and make a difference.
Barbour and the media organizations may not actually realize this, but by ignoring this alarming, heartbreaking and powerful story, they are indirectly saying, particularly to Blacks in and outside of Mississippi, “We don’t care about those nigger-bitches! We couldn’t care less about their double-life sentence or if Jamie Scott lives or dies.” I’m sure it isn’t their intent to convey this message, but that’s what comes across loud and clear.
If Jamie Scott is not able to be in the comfort of family and friends during the final days of her struggle or, heaven forbid, she is left to die in a prison cell, two things will happen: every news organization in America, including the Black ones, will have blood on their hands, and Barbour and the good, old boys of the GOP can kiss the all-important Black vote goodbye, forever, when America selects its 45th president…. and each thereafter.
This commentary is from the heart and ......From The G-Man.
Photo source:
http://www.photolibrary.fema.gov/photolibrary/photo_details.do?id=23663
Author: George Armstrong/FEMA
Permission: Public Domain