‘My sister was a fighter’ | Jamie Scott dies of complications stemming from COVID-19
PENSACOLA, Fla. (WLBT) - A Mississippi woman who was sentenced to life in prison, had her sentence commuted, and later became an advocate for justice rights, has died.
Last week, Jamie Scott passed away due to health complications related to COVID-19.
Scott was 21 years old when she and her sister Gladys, 19, were sentenced to double-life sentences in connection with an armed robbery that occurred in 1993.
Neither of the women were involved in the incident, but officials claimed the two helped plan the ambush where a victim was robbed of $11.
Meanwhile, the teenagers who carried out the robbery served little jail time.
The sisters spent nearly 20 years behind bars before their sentences were commuted and they were released.
Numerous protests were held over the years to draw attention to the Scott sisters and to seek their release. The sister’s stories also attracted the attention of the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, Sen. John Horhn, and then-State Rep. George Flaggs.
Gov. Haley Barbour eventually agreed to suspend the two’s sentences but included provisions that their suspensions could be reversed if they did not meet certain conditions, including meeting with parole officers.
Upon their release, Jamie and Gladys founded “Sisters of Hope,” a re-entry program for women. The two also continued to work to have the lifetime parole stipulation lifted, which was a condition of their release.
The two moved to Florida, with their mother, and Gladys eventually donated a kidney to her sister.
“My sister was a fighter every day of her life, and I will continue her fight not only for her - not just for what she stood for and what she went through - but for what she and I represent, for what others have gone through and are still going through,” Gladys said in a news release. “The fight’s not over until everyone is treated with dignity, respect, and justice.”
Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Lumumba’s son and current mayor of Jackson, said he saw the challenges that Jamie and Gladys faced when they were trying to re-enter society.
“Not only did we have the great pleasure of representing them as their attorneys, we also became family,” he said. “Long after the cameras left, we were there with the Scott sisters, seeing the beauty in their circumstance, but also... the things that people don’t consider when people are (released after) being incarcerated for two decades - using a cell phone, (renting) an apartment,” Lumumba said. “(Those were) challenge(s) for them. And I watched Gladys and Jamie conquer these challenges at every step.”
“She was not only a beautiful spirit but a warrior,” he said.
Wright’s funeral is set for Saturday, November 20, at 1 p.m., at Greater Little Rock Baptist Church, at 901 N. A. St., Pensacola, FL.
Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.
