Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gladys & Jamie Scott: Convicted Sisters Continue Fight for Freedom [EUR EXCLUSIVE]

Scott Sisters*Sisters and paroled felons Gladys and Jamie Scott made headlines in 2010 after the governor of Mississippi suspended their life sentences on the condition that Gladys donate a kidney to Jamie who suffers from kidney disease. The sisters were released from prison on January 7, 2011, after serving 16 years for an armed robbery which, according to court testimony, yielded $11. They have consistently denied involvement in the crime, and although neither sister had a prior criminal record, they were each sentenced to serve double life.

EUR/Electronic Urban Report chatted with the sisters last year about the petition they launched asking President Obama to write a letter of recommendation to the state of Mississippi requesting a pardon or full clemency.

Nearly a year later, we caught up with the sisters once more for an update on Jamie’s health, and to get their reaction to the backlash they received over their continued fight for freedom.

READ RELATED STORY: EXCLUSIVE: 4 Years After Suspended Life Sentences, Scott Sisters Seek Pardon

The petition received a lot support, but it was also met by a bit of hostility by naysayers. Did this negative backlash surprise you?

Gladys: I think since we launched the petition, we’ve had some on board but some people really don’t believe that me and Jamie is still on parole. A lot of people think that we are free, which we’re not. That’s why we launched it. A lot of people, we’ve asked them to sign the petition and the fight ain’t in them no more. A lot of people say we should just leave it alone, but how can you when you’re on parole for the rest of your life and any little thing that you do wrong, you go back.

What does freedom mean to the Scott Sisters today?

Gladys: Freedom means we don’t have to go and report to a probation officer, and we want to have the right to vote. We can’t do that with a convicted felony. We can’t do that and we’re on parole.

If you could vote in this upcoming presidential election, who would you support?

Gladys: I would vote for Hilary Clinton! I loved her husband when he was president. He was fair. Despite what people say about him, he ran our country good. So I know she’ll make a damn good president.

Scott Sister Book

Your struggle and fight for freedom resonates with the black lives matter, and the movement is no fan of Hillary because her questionable politics have had a negative impact on African Americans.

Gladys: I feel like if she can help us get off parole, it would help her politics and relationship with the black community.

Jamie: Hillary Clinton to me is a strong woman because she could’ve walked away and left her husband when the Monica Lewinsky thing happened, but she stayed and she held her head up, and I think that says a lot about being a woman. It had nothing to do with her being Bill Clinton’s wife. I think it had more to do with the struggle that was within her. Hillary has come a long way and you can tell now that she has a lot of fight in her. Her being president has no bearing on our freedom, but I think people can look at the state of Mississippi and look at how murderers and child molesters can walk around free, but we can’t go anywhere unless we ask for permission.

Then they wonder why it’s so hard for me to lose weight, cause I’m depressed. I wake up out of my sleep thinking they’re coming to get me, and I’m not doing anything. I go to school. I go to work and I go to dialysis. But just to have that big burden over your head when you’ve already done sixteen years for a crime you didn’t commit, that’s stressful, especially for Gladys now. She has custody of all five her grandkids, and she wants to be there for them.

Have you received therapy to treat your depression and anxiety?

Jamie: Yes, me and Gladys both, but all they want to do is put me on medication. I take enough medication.

They want you to take medication and be quiet.

Jamie: Right! Even the probation officer here tells me and Gladys each month that this is the worse way to spend tax payers money. She said every time the state of Mississippi asks for a review, the reviews are so high.

Scott Sisters
Scott Sisters. Image via Facebook

You repackaged your book, “The Scott Sisters: Revealing The Truth, Exposing Injustice, and Trusting God.” What do you want readers to take away from it?

Jamie: There’s a lot of people in the world walking around who are not on probation or parole, but you’re not free on the inside. We want children to understand that prison is real and in reading our story, hopefully they can turn their life around or get so scared that they never want to enter a place like that. It’s not for monetary gain because I punch into a clock every day. We’re not rich and we ain’t never gonna be rich. Our story needs to be told because there are so many Jamies and Gladys’s out there.

Gladys: And this is what I don’t understand, why does Mississippi want to keep me and Jamie on paper? What is the grudge? We have suffered. We are sorry. We’ve done everything we’re supposed to do, and still do everything we’re supposed to do. So why do they want us?

Why do you think?

Gladys: I don’t know why.

Jamie: It’s an honest answer. We don’t know what they gain from keeping us on paper? I wish somebody could give us that answer.

Gladys: We’re calling on the Attorney General to end this madness. Why are they wasting tax payer money on us? The money they’re spending on me and Jamie’s parole, give it to someone that’s in need. They keep wasting tax payers money to keep us on paper.

"For sixteen years, this was the place we called home - Central Mississippi Correctional Facility."- Scott Sisters
“For sixteen years, this was the place we called home – Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.” – Scott Sisters

Who ultimately holds the key to your freedom and what do you want to say to him?

Gladys: The State of Mississippi, which is Governor Phil Bryant, but we want to send out a plea to the attorney general. He has the right to open our case, and we’re sending out a plea to him to please open our case. This case needs to be closed.

Jamie: I want the world to understand that Gladys and I don’t want a dime from the state of Mississippi. We’re not trying to fight them for money. All we want is to get off these papers and stop living with his black cloud over our head. I don’t know how long I got left on this Earth, with dialysis you never know. But I want to be able to go somewhere and not have this black cloud over my head. I don’t care about money, cause the money can’t bring back all the years and pain that we’ve suffered. I want our case to be done with.

You’re planning a book tour this year, why it is important for you to hit the road to share your story?

Gladys: I want to meet people and tell our story before God take me home, or take my sister home, I want to see our story told on T.V. I met a woman who said, “I read your book and can’t put it down.” That’s the type of feedback I love because I know I’ve touched somebody’s life. But a lot of people don’t like to read, so if we can get it on that screen, we can save more lives.

Jamie has been approved for weight loss surgery, which puts her that much closer to receiving a much-needed kidney transplant. The Scott Sisters’ release from prison was contingent upon Gladys donating a kidney to her sister.

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