JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has suspended the life sentences of two sisters convicted in a 1993 armed robbery, and made one woman's release contingent on her giving a kidney to her inmate sibling.
Gladys and Jamie Scott were convicted in 1994 of leading two men into an ambush in central Mississippi. The men were robbed of $11 by three teenagers who hit both men in the head with a shotgun and took their wallets, court records said.
The Scott sisters are eligible for parole in 2014, but 38-year-old Jamie Scott "requires regular dialysis, and her sister has offered to donate one of her kidneys to her," Barbour said.
Barbour said in a news release that 36-year-old Gladys Scott's release is conditioned on her donating one of her kidneys to her sister.
"I think it's a victory," said the sisters' attorney, Chokwe Lumumba. "I talked to Gladys and she's elated about the news. I'm sure Jamie is, too."
Lumumba said he has no problem with the governor requiring Gladys to offer up her organ because "Gladys actually volunteered that as part of her petition."
Lumumba said it's not clear what caused the kidney failure, but it's likely a combination of different illnesses over the years.
Dan Turner, Barbour's spokesman, told The Associated Press that Jamie Scott was released because she needs the transplant. He said Gladys Scott will be released if she agrees to donate her kidney because of the significant risk and recovery time.
"She wanted to do it," Turner said. "That wasn't something we introduced."
Barbour is a Republican in his second term who has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender in 2012. He said the Mississippi Parole Board reviewed the case at his request and agreed with the indefinite suspension of their sentences, which is different from a pardon or commutation because it comes with conditions.
An "indefinite suspension of sentence" can be reversed if the conditions are not followed, but those requirements are usually things like meeting with a parole officer.
The Mississippi Department of Corrections believes the sisters are no longer a threat to society and "Jamie Scott's medical condition creates a substantial cost" to the state, Barbour said.
The Scott sisters have received significant public support from advocacy groups, including the NAACP, which called for their release. Hundreds of people marched through downtown Jackson from the state capital to the governor's mansion in September, chanting in unison that the women should be freed.
Still, their release won't be immediate.
Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said late Wednesday that he had not received the order. He also said the women want to live with relatives in Florida, which requires approval from officials in that state.
In general, that process takes 45 days.
Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the Scott sisters' release will be "a great victory for the state of Mississippi for two individuals who received an excessive sentence" and he has no problem with the kidney donation requirement because Gladys Scott volunteered.
"I think it's encouraging that she's willing to share a kidney so her sister can have a better quality life," Johnson said.
