Jackson Advocate Jackson, Mississippi
PERSPECTIVE
FREEDOM OF THE SCOTT SISTERS…TAKES UNITY!
Artaymis Ma’at
Jackson Advocate Contributing Writer
There are still many people who don’t
know about the Scott Sisters. Jamie and
Gladys Scott have been in prison for 16
years for a crime that witnesses and the
preponderance evidence say they never
committed.
They continue to proclaim their inno-
cence in the face of this wrongful con-
viction, but time is running out. Jamie’s
kidneys are not functioning and she is
dire need of proper medical care.
Gladys’ medical condition has deterio-
rated also.
Evelyn J. Rasco, mother of Jamie and
Gladys Scott, speaks on behalf of the en-
tire family in thanking everyone who
has supported the cause of the Scott sis-
ters. She asks that everyone who be-
lieves in fair play and justice o continue
to support her daughters in a variety of
ways.
“People can go to our website
www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com
and read every update, day by day.,”
Mrs. Rasco says. “Any little thing you
can do—please do it. Thank you. We ap-
preciate it.
“It means so much to us that there
are people that love Jamie and Gladys
just like I do,” Mrs. Rasco adds. “And
there are people out there that are willing
to go down for the cause. Gloria’s
Kitchen is such a special group of peo-
ple. I thank them so much for all they
have done for us when we were there in
Jackson. They fed us for free and they
had posters all over everywhere. She
(Gloria) calls and touches base with
me—just to talk with me and comfort
me.
“Contrary to the supporters, there are
so many out there that want this to con-
tinue to be swept under the cover and
won’t quit until Jamie and Gladys finally
die in that prison. They know that they
were given a wrongful conviction. It was
out of the ordinary. The time didn’t fit the
crime. The instructions were from
(Judge) Marcus Gordon, that they be
given a life sentence. So, the jury gave
them a double life sentence each.
“There are many things that should
have not taken place. A 14-year-old black
male convicted of the robbery, along
with two other youths, stated in court that
he was coerced into signing a statement
saying that Jamie and Gladys took part
in the robbery. The boy was told that if he
didn’t sign the statement --which he
June 17-23, 2010
never even read-- that he would go to
Parchman prison and be raped.”
A large support rally at the State Capi-
tol in Jackson on Friday, March 26 is-
sued a call to free Jamie and Gladys
Scott. “The chant was Free the Scott Sis-
ters now!” This was the first time I per-
sonally had a chance to meet and speak
with the Scott sister’s family. Mrs. Rasco
seemed to be a fiery, candid and very
personable lady, working tirelessly day
and night, night and day. “As long as I’m
living I will not stop fighting the state of
Mississippi as long as I have breath in
my body!” Mrs. Rasco said.
“I chose to do this interview because
there were some statements put in the
paper that were not correct. I’d like to
correct them. In one article, it states that
my husband stopped paying the boss and
that’s why all this happened. Not true.
My husband never paid anyone. My hus-
band made it plain that he wasn't paying
anybody. My daughter that passed away
in 2008, was Evelyn Jeanette Scott, not
Mary. I have not moved to a new home
in Florida. Not true. I have been in this
home for some time now. Many things
that were printed wasn’t in true detail and
accurate.”
Just recently, Mrs. Rasco said, Jamie
5A
was very distraught about a lady that had
fallen dead in the prison.
“Jamie was really upset about it. She
was hysterical about what happened to
this lady. Jamie said the lady told her that
she had been taking the wrong medica-
tion. She told Jamie that she received a
shot with a lot of medicine in it and also
stated that it was more medicine that she
usually gets. Jamie told me the lady
started to walk and minutes later she fell
dead. Her name was Ms. Carter. Jamie
also told me that she was shocked about
how long it took the medical people to
get there and administer CPR. They just
couldn’t save her. I don’t know anymore
about it. She was so shaken up.”
I asked Mrs. Rasco what many people
were asking: “How could this have hap-
pened?” She replied, “Hmph! I don’t un-
derstand it either. It’s more to it than what
we see or hear. Let’s start at the begin-
ning.”
You gotta love Mrs. Rasco’s detailed,
blow-by-blow description of who Jamie
and Gladys are, their lifestyle, their chil-
dren, their suffering. “Jamie and Gladys
were accused of committing an armed
robbery. They were given a double-life
sentence each with no chance for parole
for 20 years. The time doesn’t fit the
crime. I think it was revenge against
Jamie and Gladys father, my husband
(James Rasco) and his nephew
“We were living in Chicago when we
heard about what have transpired with
my nephew. We read about through a
newspaper clipping that my husband’s
nephew turned in a law official who was
taking pay-offs from black club owners
in order to operate. My nephew got tired
of paying as the price was steady going
up. The sheriff did go to prison. He
stayed in prison for four years or so. It
wasn’t long afterward that he died. So I
really think it was a personal vendetta
against my husband and his nephew and
the Rasco family in general. I think much
of the city did not like the family after
that incident.
“We decided to move back to Missis-
sippi.
“My husband ran the same club that
my nephew did. Shortly after, he began
getting harassed by the police. They
started raiding the club and giving him a
lot of trouble. Things started going
downhill from there. I think they
thought my husband was running the
club for his nephew. This wasn’t the
case. Much of this stems from how
Jamie and Gladys got in jail.”