Sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott were convicted of armed robbery in 1994 in which they made away with all of $11.00. After 16 years of incarceration, Jamie Scott is costing the state of Mississippi $200,000 a year as she requires daily dialysis due to a kidney condition. Governor Haley Barbour has decided to suspend the life sentences of these two sisters, and was applauded by civil rights organizations that said the sentences were too harsh for the crime they committed. Barbour has agreed to release Jamie because of her medical condition. Gladys Scott’s release however, is contingent upon her voluntary offer to donate one of her healthy kidneys to her sister within a year of her release.
"When you volunteer to give a kidney, you're usually free and clear to change your mind right up to the last minute," he said. "When you put a condition on it that you could go back to prison, that's a pretty powerful incentive." (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101230/ap_on_re_us/us_sisters_pardon_kidney)
Most people today would do just about anything for money if they really needed it. Gladys Scott would probably do just about anything for an early release from prison especially if her kidney donation helps her sister’s medical condition. It is illegal to buy or sell organs or to compel a person to donate them. It is common for Governors to place demands of early releases from prison. In this particular case, she conjured the idea and made it part her petition for an early release. Incentive is a motivator, but there is always the case that she could possibly change her mind and return to prison. Many doubt that this will happen. Unfortunately, there are “what if” questions to think about…
What if Gladys changes her mind?
What if the sisters are not a compatible medical match for each other?
“National NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous thanked Barbour on Thursday after meeting him at the state capital in Jackson, calling his decision a shining example of the way a governor should use the power of clemency.”
This story illustrates the power of Gladys love to save her sister’s life while saving her own life from prison at the same time. Governor Barbour also demonstrates regard for their civil liberties in his attempt to offer clemency for a crime whose punishment may have been too harsh in the first place.
No comments:
Post a Comment