It seems to be still an issue in certain parts of the US today. Consider the case of two sisters sentenced to life in prison for armed robbery of $ 11. They were teenagers at the time of the crime but it was still "armed robbery"-a serious crime. But life in prison seems a bit excessive. The sisters are black and the place is Mississippi (Phil Ochs sang in the 1960' about Mississippi "finding another country to be part of"). The sisters were released from prison this past week after serving 16 years. That is not the end of the story. The older sister has kidney failure and her "medical condition is costing the state a lot of money". You have to wonder why the release now after already serving an excessive prison term; is it the right thing to do or is the state just too cheap to provide medical care to a inmate. The release story takes another turn when it is known that part of the deal is that the younger sister will have to donate a kidney to her sibling. The governor-Haley Barbour-says the sister volunteered. To top it off the NAACP "thanked Barbour" calling his suspension of the sentence a "shining example" of the governor's use of the clemency power. The head of the state NAACP said this was a "great victory for the state of Mississippi (and) two individuals who received an excessive sentence". If this is what passes for a racial victory in Mississippi, I would say Phil Ochs is still relevent.
(Source: "Kidney key to sister's release" by Holbrook Mohr of the AP. In The Record on 12/31/10)
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