Gladys and Jamie Scott are freed from prison after serving 16 years of double life sentences

Mississippi's governor has agreed to free two sisters who served 16 years of a double life sentence for an armed robbery in which nobody was hurt and $11 was stolen.

Governor Haley Barbour said in a statement on Wednesday he was suspending indefinitely the sentences of Gladys and Jamie Scott in a case that has drawn national attention.

A condition of Gladys Scott's release is that she donate a kidney to her sister in an operation that should be performed urgently, the statement said, adding that Gladys had agreed to be a kidney donor for her sister, who requires dialysis.

The sisters were convicted of robbing at gunpoint two men driving them to a nightclub in Forest, north Mississippi, in 1993. They had no prior criminal record. Each was sentenced to two life terms.

"I have issued two orders indefinitely suspending the sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott," Barbour said in a statement.

"The 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," Barbour said.

Supporters of the Scotts including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People questioned the role the women played in the crime and said the fact they are black played a role in the judge's decision to impose such harsh sentences.

"The presiding judge in the trial, Judge Marcus Gordon, has a history of racially biased rulings and even the prosecutor of the case" became an advocate for the sisters, said NAACP president Benjamin Jealous in a statement.

The sisters were eligible for parole in 2014. A release date will be determined by the state's Department of Corrections.

(Reporting by Leigh Coleman, editing by Matthew Bigg and Jerry Norton)

2010 Mississippi Project Report- Louisiana

Over winter break 2009-2010, thirteen CUNY law students went to Greenville, MS and New Orleans, LA to work with the Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights, the Orleans Public Defenders (OPD) and the Innocence Project in New Orleans (IPNO).

Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights

Four students went to the Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights in Greenville, Mississippi to work for Executive Director and Founder Jaribu Hill. The students worked on a broad range of issues, including criminal justice, housing rights, and environmental racism. The students tracked down, read and summarized original case transcripts from state archives, performed various legal research projects, and interviewed family members of a woman in prison to learn more about new evidence in her case and the conditions of her confinement. The students researched mistreatment under confinement, Mississippi clemency laws, the standard of review for domestic violence in the state of Mississippi as it relates to self-defense, and post-conviction relief with regards to ineffective assistance of counsel.

The students also researched, investigated and documented nearly 50 different properties owned or managed by a particular agency. This documentation may be used in a future class action lawsuit against the agency for maintaining residential properties that create unsafe and degrading living conditions. It may also be used to garner community support for a proposed city ordinance which raises the standards for housing conditions and requires landlords to meet certain obligations to ensure decent affordable housing in the city of Greenville.

Finally, students met with community organizer and founder of the Forrest County Environmental Support Team (FCEST), Sherri Jones in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They participated in a tour of Hattiesburg, and learned of the 10+ year long struggle led by the African American community for monetary damages, medical care, and housing relocation. For years the community has been exposed to the chemical creosote, which was released through the pollution of a nearby creosote plant, originally run by the corporation Kerr-McGee. Exposure to the chemical has resulted in a high rate of cancer and stillbirths amongst the residents. FCEST is working with grassroots community activists throughout Mississippi who experienced the similar harm to their environmental and health and who are also fighting back against this form of systemic and institutional racism.

Orleans Public Defenders

One student worked with OPD on their Pre-Trial Detention Project. The Project is aimed at structurally enhancing representation between times of arrest and trial. The student conducted court visits three times a day for first appearances, as many jail visits possible between those court visits, supervised and trained law students to work in jails and at courts, and most importantly, trained law students about race, gender, and class power dynamics when working within the local court systems and its racialized populations.

Due to recent decisions in Louisiana courts, there has been a denial of substantive and procedural rights to anyone arrested. One of the responsibilities of a judge is to set bail for crimes charged. There are several considerations to be made when setting bail, such as the weight of the evidence against the arrestee and the ability of the person to pay the bail. However, the practice of many but not all of the directors of magistrate court is to deny the public defenders a chance to contest any portion of the police report, or gist. Essentially, the district attorney reads a police report to the judge or magistrate and then bail is set— without any of the statutorily defined information mentioned above about the arrestee. If the public defender tries to contest anything in the police report to ensure that the judge considers the weight of the evidence, they can be held in contempt. This has happened a few times already. This is one of the many structural problems that exist in the Orleans Parish and Louisiana Courts, and just one component of the Pre Trial Detention Project.

Innocence Project New Orleans

Several other students worked at the Innocence Project assisted attorneys and investigators with various projects. Three other students worked on a media assignment where they went to northern Mississippi to research people involved in a mid-1990's murder for which an IPNO client was convicted. They searched in newspaper archives for information regarding the crime, trial and conviction of the client.

Other students read and analyzed applications from prisoners seeking representation by IPNO. These students read the client’s application, located records pertinent to assessing the strength of the client’s case and prepared memoranda regarding potential next steps to take in the process of deciding whether to represent a particular applicant. They presented the applicant’s claims to IPNO attorneys, along with facts about the case, steps that could be taken to secure evidence or transcripts that would verify or contradict applicants' claims, and working conclusions regarding the potential value of pursuing a given case.

Students also gathered information for a Prosecutorial Misconduct survey. They researched potential cases of misconduct, gathering information such as counsel, judge, and docket numbers, by retrieving docketmasters from trial courts. All students wrote memoranda relaying their findings and analysis of the issues presented.

Founder and Director of RAE in the news

"'I had a remarkable supporting case of people when I came home. When I first came home I started working for the death penalty law firm that represent guys on death row...I was blessed, but not my other exonerated brothers. They wasn't as blessed as I was when I came home.' It was this experience that drove him to set up his charity helping wrongfully convicted death row inmates to fit back into the outside world. The group provides housing, education and work opportunities to people who are otherwise shunned by society."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8346871.stm

We've got a new team of volunteers!

The Mississippi Project gives a warm shout out to its newest members from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year classes at CUNY Law:

Renee Murdock, Lisa Zayas, Kimberly Sandberg, Julia Hernández, Robin Gordon-Leavitt, Emily Poppish, Angela Torregoza, Laura Girdwood, Richard Semegram, Phillip Azachi, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, Alejandro Lurati, Maggie Zambolla, and Kate Watson!

These folks will be heading down south in January of 2010. Stay tuned to this blog for their thoughts, experiences and ways you can help support them.

2010 Delegation Committment Forms Due Thursday 9/17/09 at 5pm!

Committment Forms for this year's delegation are due to the Mississippi Project Mailbox by 5pm on Thursday Spet 17th.

Blank forms can also be picked up in the mailbox, please place your completed form in the manilla envelope. Or send an email to missproj@mail.law.cuny.edu and we'll send you an electronic form.

Stay tuned to news on the upcoming delegation and the projects the student volunteers will be working at!
-------------------------------
In the meantime, here is some now-old news on a New Orleans public defender.

Recruiting for 2010 delegation!

Email missproj@mail.law.cuny.edu to become part of the 2010 Delegation. Or come to the report back. Dates to keep in mind:
This Thurs, March 26 SIT time report-back and involvement meeting
Tues., April 14 1-2:30pm drop in Miss Proj recruiting session - Second Floor Lounge
Tues., April 21 5pm April Commitment Forms due
Tues., April 28 3-4:15pm first meeting of the 2010 Delegation with the advisory board

TIMELINE FOR JANUARY 2010 DELEGATION

MARCH 27 - LSA budget due

APRIL/MAY
Recruiting of 2Ls and 3Ls

JUNE/JULY
Board of Visitors Event in the Hamptons

SEPTEMBER
Recruiting 1Ls

OCTOBER
A student - usually the volunteer from the previous year - will contact each Mississippi-host organization in early October to confirm that
(1) the organization is interested in having a CUNY intern for 2 weeks in January 2010,
(2) how many interns the organization would like to have/can use,
(3) what projects/initiatives/assignments the intern(s) will either have to work on or be able to choose to work on and who the supervisors are for these potential projects. This does not need to be an overly detailed description but knowing who is in the supervisory role for each project will be crucial! The student will take this information back to our student committee at CUNY.

NOVEMBER 1
The student committee will examine the needs of ALL the host organizations and decide who and how many students will be assigned to each host by November 1.

NOVEMBER 2-16
In November, the CUNY student(s) who plan to come to each organization will contact the organization and the supervisor(s) they want to work with directly to confirm and should hear back from supervisors at the organization by November 16, leaving students ample time to make travel arrangements.

NOVEMBER 16-END OF DECEMBER
Between November 16 and the end of December, the student(s) and their placement supervisors should be in touch in preparation for a really productive 2 weeks. This is a great time for supervisors to share any preliminary or background materials about projects that they would like the student(s) to have so that they can hit the ground running.

JANUARY 4-15
The internship - Each volunteer is agreeing to work 8 hours a day, Mondays thru Fridays, with 1/2 for lunch. The volunteer may request additional hours/work, but we respectfully request that the supervisor refrain from requesting that any volunteer work more than 40 hours each week, or on the weekends.

Sex Ed Bill Died In Senate Committee on 3/3/09

But getting the Bill through the house at all is a great step forward for sex ed in Mississippi.

MIssissippi Project 2009 Report-Back

Come find out about what we all did during winter break, the state of human rights and civil liberties in the Delta, and how you can be a Mississippi Project rock star in January 2010.

Thursday, March 26, 12:15pm - 1:45pm (SIT time)
Room 250 (***NOTE THE ROOM CHANGE***)

Mississippi House passes comprehensive sex ed bill!

The bill text, as passed the house is here: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2009/html/HB/0200-0299/HB0234PS.htm . Note that it requires boys & girls to be taught about sexuality seperately.

I wonder what the Senate will say...

http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=11535

Mississippi State House Passes Comprehensive Sex Education Legislation

Legislation passed late last week in the Mississippi state House that would allow the state's Departments of Education and Health to test a comprehensive sexual education pilot program in two school districts. The bill is, in part, a reaction to a recently released Center for Disease Control report that shows that Mississippi has one of the sharpest increases in teen pregnancy rates in the nation, a higher teen birth rate, and rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases.

The proposed program would require parental consent for students to participate. According to KSLA, the program would require that female and male students be separated to discuss certain topics, including sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Abortion would not be addressed under the program outlined in the bill.

Sex education of any kind is not currently required in Mississippi schools, but there is a focus on abstinence-only programs. Democratic state Representative John Hines told the Clarion Ledger that the state's focus on abstinence is not working because "babies are having babies and they can't take care of them."

Media Resources: The Commercial Dispatch, 02/13/09; The Clarion Ledger, 02/13/09, 02/12/09; KSLA 12, 02/12/09; Feminist Daily Newswire 1/26/09

Back in NYC, Remembering NOLA

Ebette, AJ & I were living in the upper 9th Ward and as such, were immersed in the absolute gentrification of that area. As we walked through our neighborhood, we saw endless homes with the infamous spray-painted X, detailing the date the home was checked, and the number of dead people found inside after Katrina. There were a lot of zeros, thankfully. But at the same time, there were so many small cafes and bars and restaurants popping up. It was such a rich neighborhood, but it had a sense of Williamsburg to it. It was becoming overrun with young, white hipsters. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to talk to several long-time residents of NOLA, who all said the same thing: as rich and diverse as the city is, it lost half its population after Katrina. The people returning are not the original residents.

I was conflicted because I fell in love in NOLA. I fell in love with the people, the city, its rich history and culture, as well as with the Innocence Project. The city is dripping with culture and full of people who want to share their stories and have a slow morning conversation with you as you try to break the habit of rushing to work. I could see myself living there, demanding justice. Yet I don't want to add to the gentrification and social injustice. I don't want to start building my life where someone else was forced to abandon theirs.

The most memorable moment of my time in NOLA was during our second weekend. I had wanted to bike down to the lower 9th Ward for a long time, but found myself hesitating. I had reservations about going b/c I didn't want to be a disaster tourist, and because I was scared of what I knew I was going to see. I did not know how to prepare for it and I did not know if I would be able to deal with it. All I knew is that I wanted and needed to see what the neighborhood was really like today, over 3 years post-Katrina.

Ebette, AJ & I biked down to the lower 9th together. It was empty. It was silent. It was so silent. It felt like another country. On the Industrial Canal side, where the levee broke, there were very few homes. Maybe 4 or 5 homes left standing -- barely standing -- over a span of several blocks. It went on like this for as far as I could see. These X's did not have zeros. They had numbers. The first number I saw was 8. Eight people had been left to die. It was a small two-family home. It looked like the family downstairs had sought refuge with the family upstairs. But nobody came for them.

The homes that were there were no longer homes, either. They were just empty structures, destroyed shells of what used to be people's homes. Mostly windowless, some with broken windows. Remnants of what used to be somebody's living room furniture, piled up as garbage, awaiting a pick up that has yet to happen -- over 3 years later.

In that pile of "debris," I saw a small piece of brick. I picked it up, held it, and imagined that it must have been a piece of somebody's home. A solid structure once, containing warmth, love, fights, laughter, tears, family dinners, a place for people to feel safe. A home. I held a chunk of what was left of this home in my hand. It got very hard to breathe. That piece of somebody's life that had been swept up into a pile of "garbage," I took with me. I will never forget.

It was utter destruction. I had a really hard time being there, seeing it all, yet I didn't want to leave. I felt like I shouldn't leave, like there was so much that needed to be done, and since no one was doing anything (with the exception of Brad Pitt's Make it Right New Orleans foundation -- I'm disgusted that our government has abandoned this neighborhood -- these people -- and it takes an actor's money to help them), that I should stay and do it.

I wondered how the government would have responded to the same situation had it happened on the Upper West Side. I know it wouldn't have abandoned those people.

A few days later, back at the Innocence Project office, I heard breaking news about the airliner landing in the Hudson River. Maybe I should have been full of joy that all of those folks had been promptly rescued. But through my relief, my mind kept returning to the same thought: this is what emergency response should be for everyone.

They were rescued within moments. Residents of the lower 9th Ward are still waiting.

My favorite Miss. Bill Introduced Today

There is a bill before the House protecting,

"(ii) The right of the teacher to reasonably defend
himself or herself in the classroom if a student strikes or uses other physical force, or attempts to strike or use other physical force, against the teacher. In defending himself or herself, a teacher may use only so much force for a period of time as may be reasonably required to protect the teacher from apparently impending bodily harm or further bodily harm. Under no circumstances may a teacher use an amount of force that disproportionately exceeds the force threatened or actually used by the student against the teacher, and under no circumstances may
a teacher use any force against a student for a period of time longer than reasonably required to remove the threat of bodily harm caused by the student."

For Goetz fans, note that this is all based on the teacher's understanding that there is "impending bodliy harm."

Resurrection After Exoneration

The Innocence Project is housed in a beautiful old building in the upper 9th ward here in New Orleans. Downstairs, Resurrection After Exoneration (RAE) is run by John Thompson, a death row exoneree who has begun to share his incredible story with us. RAE is a nonprofit that helps exonerees from Louisiana and Mississippi readjust to normal society after incarceration. John keeps getting phone calls and has been running off and now we understand why. His story is all over the news as the New Orleans DA is threatening to file for bankruptcy instead of paying John the compensation he was awarded in civil court - $15 million.

John spent 18 years in prison, 14 on death row, and evidence proving wrongful conviction of an armed robbery, which lead to his murder conviction, was uncovered only weeks before he was to be executed. This got him a new trial for the murder and he was found not-guilty. I'm unsure if there can ever be just compensation for 18 years of a person's life spent imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit - but I'm absolutely sure that the DA's office that blatently heaped false charges on John in order to get a murder conviction should not be able to worm out of paying up.

Read the AP story that has been picked up all over the country here.

And click here to see John on the news last night.

Legislative Session Notes

This has been an eye-opening experience of America for me so far. The legislative session opened yesterday for Mississippi. This means that Senators and Representatives are presenting bills. They have until Monday, January 19 to present all bills and constitutional amendments for consideration. Some of the bills are the kind of thing I didn't realize was still open for discussion in this country. Apparently, everything is up for grabs.

What makes this more surreal is that as the bills are presented, they silently appear on the Mississippi legislature website. I have been checking compulsively. To get a flavor of what politicians in Mississippi have on their minds, you can join me here: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/ . Follow the link for Bill Status for the by House or Senate Committees.

Here is the text of my favorite bill of the day - it's short enough to include the whole thing here:

House Bill 25:
The State Board of Education shall require every textbook that includes the teaching of evolution in its contents to include the following language on the inside front cover of the textbook:

"The word 'theory' has many meanings, including: systematically organized knowledge; abstract reasoning; a speculative idea or plan; or a systematic statement of principles. Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations.

This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered a theory.
Evolution refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced living things. There are many topics with unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the sudden appearance of the major groups of animals in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion); the lack of new major groups of other living things appearing in the fossil record; the lack of transitional forms of major groups of plants and animals in the fossil record; and the complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body possessed by all living things. Study hard and keep an open mind."


To see how this bill is doing later in the session, click here: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2009/pdf/history/HB/HB0025.xml

MIssissippi is Number 1 in the Nation in Teen Births

The Centers for Disease Control released a study today of vital statistics for 2006 (the most recent available.). Mississippi is now number one in births to teenagers ages 15-19. In 2005, it was third in the nation.

I spent some of my time today responding to this news by creating a fact sheet about sex ed and take-action letter with Shawna Davies, the Reproductive Freedom Project coordinator.

Here's the content we put together. It's a pretty shocking picture of the state of sex education in Mississippi:

_____
January 7, 2009

To Members of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Coalition:

Mississippi is failing its youth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a report published today, ranked Mississippi FIRST in the nation in teen birth. Nationally, 41.9 teenagers 15-19 per 1,000 gave birth in 2006. In Mississippi, 68.4 teenagers 15-19 per 1,000 gave birth in 2006. There was a one-year increase of approximately 1,000 teen births between 2005 and 2006 in Mississippi. Additionally, the Mississippi State Department of Health Public Statistics office reports that 173 girls aged 12-14 in Mississippi gave birth in 2006. In 2006, there were 212,411 girls aged 10 to 19 in Mississippi; 8,701 of them became pregnant.

Mississippi law currently encourages harmful practices in the public schools. Sexuality education in the public schools is not required. Where schools opt to have sexuality education, the law requires that all programming emphasize an abstinence-only-until-marriage philosophy. The law does not allow in-school sexuality education classes to include demonstrations of how to use condoms or information about other forms of contraception. Despite abstinence-only-until-marriage programming, Mississippi’s rate of birth outside of marriage is striking: today’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study reports that nationally, 38.5% of all births happened outside of marriage in 2006; in Mississippi, 52.8% of all births happened outside of marriage.

Without legislative guidance, school districts are wasting resources. $5,971,147 in taxpayer dollars were spent on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Mississippi in 2006. As of 2006, approximately 8 Mississippi school districts—the only districts in the state to have implemented a sexuality education program at all—were receiving federal abstinence-only-until-marriage funding. Districts that receive this funding do not teach our young people what they need to know about reproductive health and contraception to make educated choices if they are sexually active.

Congress has allocated a billion dollars since 1996 for programs that focus exclusively on abstinence-only. This funding censors vital health care information about contraceptives. As a recipient of these federal funds, the Mississippi Department of Human Services is not allowed to discuss contraception with teens except to emphasize failure rates. We’re missing the chance to have our government use our resources to maximize learning, safety, health and happiness.

Abstinence-only-until-marriage programming does not work. A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study published on January 1, 2009, in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Pediatrics found that, when researchers controlled for variables such as attitudes about sex teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage do not differ from their non-pledging peers regarding levels of sexual activity. They are just as likely to have sex outside of marriage, had sex for the first time at the same age, and have the same number of sexual partners. The study also revealed that teenagers who took the pledge were less likely to use any form of birth control or protect themselves from disease and infection.

Mississippi needs comprehensive sexuality education. Comprehensive sexuality education teaches that not having sex is the best and only fail-safe way to prevent pregnancy and the transmission of STDs; it also teaches students how to make well-informed decisions about their health if they decide to become sexually active. Mississippi youth make tough decisions on a daily basis. Adult leaders should provide medically accurate information to help them make decisions that protect their health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, research has clearly shown that the most effective programs to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS are comprehensive ones that include a focus on delaying sexual behavior and provide information on how sexually active young people can protect themselves. Curricula that stress waiting to have sex and provide complete information about using contraception can significantly delay the initiation of sex, reduce the frequency of sex, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase condom or contraceptive use among teens. In a 2008 peer-reviewed scientific study, 15-19 year olds who participated in comprehensive programs that stressed the importance of delaying sex and provided information about contraceptive use were significantly less likely to report teen pregnancy than those who received either no sexuality education or attended abstinence-only-until-marriage programs

Major medical groups, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Society for Adolescent Medicine, support comprehensive sexuality education. King County, Washington, has made its comprehensive sexuality education curriculum and lessons available for free on the internet at http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/famplan/educators/FLASH.aspx . Follow the link or type this address into your web browser to see a curriculum that works.

“Nationwide polls show an overwhelming majority of parents want sex education programs to cover where to get contraception and how to use it,” said Valencia Robinson, who works with teens as the AIDS Action Mississippi Director. “It’s time for Mississippi to do the right thing by its youth.”

No districts in Mississippi currently teach comprehensive sexuality education. You have the power to change Mississippi’s status from a state in crisis to a national leader in sexuality education. Support funding for sexuality education in Mississippi schools. Demand that our students receive effective, comprehensive and medically accurate information. Help make Mississippi safe for our youth. The legislative session has started. Contact your House Representatives and Senators today to let them know that you are alarmed by the recent Centers for Disease Control study and urge them to support sexuality education reform. You can contact your Representative at (601) 359-3770 and your Senator at (601) 359-3770 during the legislative session. If you can’t get through to them directly, contact the ACLU of Mississippi at (601) 354-3408.

You can also get involved in your local public school board. Current Mississippi law allows a school board to elect to implement comprehensive sexuality education by voting for it. Contact your school board members, share what you know about the state of sexuality education in Mississippi and the startling results, and urge them to give youth in their districts the education they so desperately need.

Please contact the ACLU for materials and sample letters to use when contacting public officials.
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IPNO Arrival

I am thrilled that we finally arrived in New Orleans to work with the Innocence Project of New Orleans (IPNO)! I am looking forward to learning more about the cases we will be working on over next few weeks.  Monday, we are headed to Jackson, Mississippi to begin research on 4 cases. Hopefully we will find information that is valuable to IPNO. 

It is quite disheartening, however, to see that this great and unique city still has not recovered from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. It's three years later and to me, it looks like Katrina happened less than a year ago. This is just unacceptable! I have already learned so much about about the city and am sure I will come away from this trip with more experience and reinvigorated for the second semester. Work like this reminds me of why I am in law school!

Hello From Jackson MS

I have arrived in Jackson MS with my partner Dylan. There is a great community here bubbling with activism. We are staying with a couple who moved here a few years ago from California: Sage and Brad (and their dog Ziggy). Sage works at the Jackson Free Press (http://www.jacksonfreepress.com) - an awesome independent free weekly newspaper. Brad is the manager of the High Noon Cafe in Jackson's Rainbow Food Coop (http://www.rainbowcoop.org/cafe.htm). They live in a little house in Fondren with chickens and bees in the yard. It is nice to be so welcome.

Here's how I know we're in the South: catfish, no sidewalks, Sage was telling me about a friend of hers who grew up in the northern Delta and had segregated prom.

Looking at the Winter MS ACLU newsletter I was struck by an article about student speech after the Presidential election: the ACLU is respoding to multiple reports of students being disciplined for saying Barak Obama's name in school or discussing the election. Read the newsletter here: http://www.msaclu.org/ .

Where we will be in relation to each other

View Larger Map

2009 Delegation Is Headed to the Delta

The 2009 Delegation is getting ready to head down to the Delta. We will be reporting from our project sites in January.

Who we are and where we are headed:

Eric Kushman, J.D. Candidate 2011, is headed to The Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights, founded by Jaribu Hill, CUNY Law 1995, is a worker advocacy organization that sees as its mission, providing organizing support, legal representation and training for low-wage, non-union workers in the state of Mississippi. Through direct action campaigns, organizing sessions and trainings, we seek to raise awareness among workers as to the many ways their human rights are violated in the workplace and in their communities. Through strong partnerships with our worker members, we seek to develop strategies to combat racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of oppression. Through local, national and international networking and coalition building, we seek to build bridges between workers in the southern region, other parts of the country and the world. http://www.msworkerscenter.org

Shirley Lin, 2008 Mississippi Worker’s Center for Human Rights Delegate, said, “Interning with CUNY Law alumna Jaribu Hill '95 at MWCHR was an awe-inspiring experience. For two weeks, we assisted the Workers' Center's staff by conducting legal research on systemic labor and employment issues that clients and community members continue to face on the job. For the Housing is a Human Right Campaign, the four of us drove from town to town to investigate and document residents' experience with housing discrimination and egregious living conditions that most often go unaddressed due to absentee landlordism and ineffective housing laws. The Mississippi Project strengthened my commitment to challenge the law to conform to its own standards, and rise to a human rights mandate to provide justice for all.”

_________________

Amanda Jack (AJ), 2011, Ebette Fortune, 2010, Joshi Valentine, 2009, and Paul Catafago, 2011, are headed to Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO) represents innocent prisoners serving life sentences in Louisiana and Mississippi, and assists them with their transition into the free world upon their release. IPNO works in the states with the country's highest incarceration rates, and the highest rate of wrongful conviction in the country. By identifying and remedying cases and causes of wrongful conviction, IPNO engages in high impact, frontline advocacy in the courts of law and public opinion, and leads a community-based response to the mistakes made by our criminal justice system. Since its inception in 2000, IPNO has achieved the release of twelve wrongfully convicted prisoners. www.ip-no.org

Beena Ahmad, 2008 IPNO Delegate said, "We came back with a sense of confidence that we had the capacity to uncover a wrong and the importance of joining forces to accomplish our individual and collective goals."

____________________

Paula Z. Segal, 2011, is headed to the ACLU of Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Project. The Project is working to make accurate sex-education programs that include information that teenagers need to make healthy life decisions available in Mississippi and will be introducing a comprehensive sex education bill in the 2009 state legislative session, to limit restrictions on abortion and to keep Mississippi's only abortion clinic open, and on cases involving pregnant woman in Mississippi who are charged with murder of their unborn children through substance abuse. www.msaclu.org/Issues/ReproFreedom.html

Davida Silverman, 2008 ACLU Delegate said, “The Mississippi Project was not just about the work. It was about being part of something bigger and knowing that I could build and sustain social justice movements as a legal advocate. I am extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the Mississippi Project and hope that the Project continues for years to come."

2 Million Evacuate New Orleans, Brace for Hurricane Gustav and Aftermath

Tens of thousands of homes in New Orleans remain without power today, as Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the two million residents who evacuated the City to escape Hurricane Gustav's pounding of the Gulf Coast would be allowed to return to their homes. At least 10 deaths in connection to the hurricane have been reported. More than 1.2 million homes and businesses across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arksansas remain without electricity. Another storm, Hurricane Hanna, is predicted to hit Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas within the next few days.

The Mississippi Project's thoughts are with the staff at Innocence Project New Orleans, the Mississippi Workers' Center, and the ACLU-Mississippi.

For more information:

• Hurricane Gustav Emergency Resources: links to relief efforts and emergency info
• Interviews with New Orleans residents and workers from WBAI Democracy Now! (9/3/08)
• Hurricane Gustav News and Storm Tracking on Nola.com/Times-Picayune