Haley Barbour's Questionable Pardon of Two African American Women

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• published: 31 Dec 2010
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013809294_sisters31.html New TYT Network channels: http://www.youtube.com/user/tytsports http://www.youtube.com/user/thetopvlog New TYT Facebook Page(!): Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/theyoungturks http://www.theyoungturks.com/membership DISCOUNTS: http://www.theyoungturks.com/godaddy FREE Movies(!): http://www.netflix.com/tyt Note: The above two links are for TYT sponsors. Read Ana's blog and subscribe at: http://www.examiner.com/x-5445-Politics-in-Education-Examiner TYT Network (new WTF?! channel): http://www.youtube.com/user/whattheflickshow Check Out TYT Interviews http://www.youtube.com Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's decision to commute the prison sentences of two sisters drew wide attention in part because their cause has been embraced by civil-rights activists. But an unusual aspect of the arrangement also is drawing scrutiny: Barbour said his action was "conditioned on" one sister donating a kidney to the other. The case involves sisters serving double life sentences for convictions in a 1994 armed robbery that netted $11. Barbour, a Republican in his second term, agreed this week to suspend their sentences in light of the poor health of Jamie Scott, 38, who requires regular dialysis, which officials say costs the state about $200,000 a year. The governor said the release of Gladys Scott, 36, is conditioned on her giving a kidney to her inmate sibling. "The Mississippi Department of Corrections believes the sisters no longer pose a threat to society," Barbour said. "Gladys Scott's release is conditioned on her donating one of her kidneys to her sister, a procedure which should be scheduled with urgency." Some medical ethicists are concerned about the role of the organ donation in the Scotts' release. Barbour's spokesman Dan Turner said the contingency was Gladys Scott's idea. "It was something that she offered," Turner said. "It was not held as a quid pro quo. She offered." Gladys Scott will not be forced to return to prison if she cannot donate the organ for some reason, the governor's office said. Jamie Scott, who has diabetes and high blood pressure, suffered kidney failure in January 2010. She receives dialysis at least three times a week. Turner said the sisters are a blood-type match, but that tests to determine tissue compatibility still need to be done. Medical ethicists say they're concerned, even if the donation is voluntary. "If the sister belongs in prison, then she should be allowed to donate and return to prison, and if she doesn't belong in prison, then she should have her sentence commuted whether or not she is a donor," said physician Michael Shapiro, chief of organ transplantation at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey and chair of the United Network for Organ Sharing's ethics committee. NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, who met with Barbour about the sisters' case and has pushed for their release, said the governor's office has made it clear Gladys Scott will not go back to prison if her kidney is not a match. Both sisters will follow traditional parole release procedures.