[11] Confessed accomplice Howard Patrick, who was 14 at the time of the robbery, has testified that he was threatened by authorities that, if he did not agree to a plea bargain, he would be sent to a notoriously violent prison where he would likely be raped.
The Supreme Court of Mississippi cited the attorney's "lack of diligence" and "failure to communicate with clients" in that unrelated case.
[1] An affidavit stating that the Scott sisters were not involved in the robbery was signed in 1998 by one of the men who pleaded guilty to the crime, and submitted to the governor as part of a request for clemency.
Mississippi Governor Barbour denied their earlier petition for clemency after the Parole Board recommended against pardon or commutation of sentence.
[7] Dan Turner, a spokesman for Barbour, stated the governor has been "very consistent in not substituting his judgment of guilt or innocence over the court" in pardoning criminals in the past.
[1] Barbour granted clemency on December 29, 2010, stating To date, the sisters have served 16 years of their sentences and are eligible for parole in 2014.
Their incarceration is no longer necessary for public safety or rehabilitation, and Jamie Scott's medical condition creates a substantial cost to the State of Mississippi.
[1] Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP, made a forceful statement: "It makes you sick to think that this sort of thing can happen.
Ken Turner, a prosecutor who originally tried their case, stated in September 2010 that although he believes the sisters were guilty of the crime and involved in the robbery, it would be "appropriate" for their sentences to be commuted.
[4] Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Leonard Pitts wrote: "Mississippi stands guilty of a grievous offense against simple decency..." He went on to say "...Whatever the proximate cause of this ridiculous sentence, the larger cause is neon clear: the Scott sisters are black women in the poorest state in the union.
After seven unsuccessful surgeries, she lost her right foot the next month, and parole restrictions have reportedly hampered her from receiving necessary medical treatment.