Scott sisters
Encyclopedia
Jamie and Gladys Scott, often referred to as the Scott sisters, were convicted of orchestrating a 1993 armed robbery
in Forest, Mississippi
. Both sisters received double life sentences
, an outcome that was criticized as too severe by a number of civil rights activists and prominent commentators on the grounds that the sisters had no previous criminal record and the robbery netted no more than a few hundred dollars. Their conviction was upheld by the Mississippi Court of Appeals
in 1996, and the U.S. Supreme Court
denied both their petition for appeal in 1997 and an appeal to vacate the conviction in 1998. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
denied a petition for clemency
in 2006.
On December 29, 2010, Governor Barbour suspended their sentence on the condition that Gladys donate a kidney to her ailing sister. The two women were released from prison on January 7, 2011, and will remain on parole and pay the state of Florida $52 a month for the rest of their lives.
. According to court testimony, the sisters convinced three male teens to assist them in an armed robbery. At a local mini mart, the sisters persuaded two men to drive them to a nearby nightclub and had their accomplices follow them. During the car trip, Jamie Scott complained of nausea. While the car was pulled over, the three teenagers exited the car behind them and robbed the two victims at gunpoint. During this robbery, one of the sisters held the shotgun. The victims testified that both sisters then left with the three teenagers. Neither sister testified at the trial, and no one testified in support of their case. When the crime was committed, Jamie was twenty-three years old and Gladys was nineteen years old.
The sisters have denied their involvement in the armed robbery and claim they were implicated as part of a plea deal by the teenagers, who pled guilty to the crime. The youngest teenager, aged fourteen when the robbery occurred, testified in court that his portion of the stolen money was "10 or 11 dollars"—a figure that has been cited by the sisters' advocates—while published estimates of the robbery amount range from $11 to $200. He also testified he was threatened by authorities that, if he did not agree to a plea bargain, he would be sent to a notoriously violent prison where he would likely be raped. The sisters each were sentenced to a double life prison sentence.
The attorney who represented the sisters at their trial was disbarred
two years later for matters unrelated to the Scotts' case. The Supreme Court of Mississippi
cited the attorney's "lack of diligence" and "failure to communicate with clients" in that unrelated case; the sisters have made no claim, however, that the attorney failed to provide them adequate representation in their defense. An affidavit stating that the Scott sisters were not involved in the robbery was signed in 1998 by one of the men who pled guilty to the crime, and submitted to the governor as part of a request for clemency.
The sisters' conviction was upheld by the Mississippi Court of Appeals
and the U.S. Supreme Court
denied their petition for certiorari
; the lower courts' decisions will therefore stand. Mississippi Governor Barbour denied their earlier petition for clemency
after the Parole Board recommended against pardon or commutation of sentence. Dan Turner, a spokesman for Barbour, stated the governor has been "very consistent in not substituting his judgment of guilt or innocence over the court" in pardoning criminals in the past.
The governor's action has led to a heated public debate about the bioethics
of a making an organ donation a condition for release.
(NAACP) has called for the sisters' release. Benjamin Jealous
, president of the NAACP, said: “It makes you sick to think that this sort of thing can happen. That these women should be kept in prison until they die — well, that’s just so utterly inhumane.” Jealous has requested Governor Barbour to pardon the women.
A prosecutor who originally tried their case, Ken Turner, stated in September 2010 that although he believes the sisters were involved in the robbery, it would be "appropriate" for their sentences to be commuted.
Given Jamie Scott requires dialysis due to kidney failure, New York Times
opinion columnist Bob Herbert
wrote that the sisters should be released; he opined that evidence used to convict the sisters was inconclusive and that their sentence was unusually severe.
Pulitzer Prize
-winning journalist Leonard Pitts
wrote: "Mississippi stands guilty of a grievous offense against simple decency... 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."
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
in Forest, Mississippi
Forest, Mississippi
Forest is a city in Scott County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,987 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Scott County.-Geography:Forest is located at ....
. Both sisters received double life sentences
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
, an outcome that was criticized as too severe by a number of civil rights activists and prominent commentators on the grounds that the sisters had no previous criminal record and the robbery netted no more than a few hundred dollars. Their conviction was upheld by the Mississippi Court of Appeals
Mississippi Court of Appeals
The Mississippi Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Mississippi. The court was created by the Mississippi Legislature to relieve a backlog of cases in the Supreme Court of Mississippi, and commenced operations in 1995....
in 1996, and the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
denied both their petition for appeal in 1997 and an appeal to vacate the conviction in 1998. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
Haley Barbour
Haley Reeves Barbour is an American Republican politician currently serving as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007...
denied a petition for clemency
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
in 2006.
On December 29, 2010, Governor Barbour suspended their sentence on the condition that Gladys donate a kidney to her ailing sister. The two women were released from prison on January 7, 2011, and will remain on parole and pay the state of Florida $52 a month for the rest of their lives.
Trial, incarceration, and appeals
The sisters were charged with orchestrating a 1993 armed robbery in Forest, MississippiForest, Mississippi
Forest is a city in Scott County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,987 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Scott County.-Geography:Forest is located at ....
. According to court testimony, the sisters convinced three male teens to assist them in an armed robbery. At a local mini mart, the sisters persuaded two men to drive them to a nearby nightclub and had their accomplices follow them. During the car trip, Jamie Scott complained of nausea. While the car was pulled over, the three teenagers exited the car behind them and robbed the two victims at gunpoint. During this robbery, one of the sisters held the shotgun. The victims testified that both sisters then left with the three teenagers. Neither sister testified at the trial, and no one testified in support of their case. When the crime was committed, Jamie was twenty-three years old and Gladys was nineteen years old.
The sisters have denied their involvement in the armed robbery and claim they were implicated as part of a plea deal by the teenagers, who pled guilty to the crime. The youngest teenager, aged fourteen when the robbery occurred, testified in court that his portion of the stolen money was "10 or 11 dollars"—a figure that has been cited by the sisters' advocates—while published estimates of the robbery amount range from $11 to $200. He also testified he was threatened by authorities that, if he did not agree to a plea bargain, he would be sent to a notoriously violent prison where he would likely be raped. The sisters each were sentenced to a double life prison sentence.
The attorney who represented the sisters at their trial was disbarred
Disbarment
Disbarment is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking his or her law license or admission to practice law...
two years later for matters unrelated to the Scotts' case. The Supreme Court of Mississippi
Supreme Court of Mississippi
The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was created in the first constitution of the state following its admission as a State of the Union in 1817. Initially it was known as the "High Court of Errors and Appeals." The Court is an appellate court, as...
cited the attorney's "lack of diligence" and "failure to communicate with clients" in that unrelated case; the sisters have made no claim, however, that the attorney failed to provide them adequate representation in their defense. An affidavit stating that the Scott sisters were not involved in the robbery was signed in 1998 by one of the men who pled guilty to the crime, and submitted to the governor as part of a request for clemency.
The sisters' conviction was upheld by the Mississippi Court of Appeals
Mississippi Court of Appeals
The Mississippi Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Mississippi. The court was created by the Mississippi Legislature to relieve a backlog of cases in the Supreme Court of Mississippi, and commenced operations in 1995....
and the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
denied their petition for certiorari
Certiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
; the lower courts' decisions will therefore stand. Mississippi Governor Barbour denied their earlier petition for clemency
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
after the Parole Board recommended against pardon or commutation of sentence. Dan Turner, a spokesman for Barbour, stated the governor has been "very consistent in not substituting his judgment of guilt or innocence over the court" in pardoning criminals in the past.
Suspension of sentence
Barbour granted clemency on December 29, 2010 statingThe governor's action has led to a heated public debate about the bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
of a making an organ donation a condition for release.
Responses to the Scott sisters' case
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP) has called for the sisters' release. Benjamin Jealous
Benjamin Jealous
Benjamin Todd Jealous is the current president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . He is the youngest ever national leader of the organization.-Early life and education:...
, president of the NAACP, said: “It makes you sick to think that this sort of thing can happen. That these women should be kept in prison until they die — well, that’s just so utterly inhumane.” Jealous has requested Governor Barbour to pardon the women.
A prosecutor who originally tried their case, Ken Turner, stated in September 2010 that although he believes the sisters were involved in the robbery, it would be "appropriate" for their sentences to be commuted.
Given Jamie Scott requires dialysis due to kidney failure, New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
opinion columnist Bob Herbert
Bob Herbert
Robert “Bob” Herbert is an American journalist op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times. His column was syndicated to other newspapers around the country. Herbert frequently writes on poverty, the Iraq war, racism and American political apathy towards race issues...
wrote that the sisters should be released; he opined that evidence used to convict the sisters was inconclusive and that their sentence was unusually severe.
Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning journalist Leonard Pitts
Leonard Pitts
Leonard Pitts Jr. is a politically progressive African American commentator, journalist and novelist. He is a nationally-syndicated columnist and winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary...
wrote: "Mississippi stands guilty of a grievous offense against simple decency... 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."