The Mississippi Five are the last remaining women sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after ten years, before Mississippi virtually abolished parole in 1995. Although they have been parole-eligible for three decades, the state has routinely denied their release without reasonable justification. They have been imprisoned for over 175 years and denied parole 47 times collectively. Today we will hear from one of the group, Loretta Pierre, who has been denied parole 14 times, more than any other woman in the state’s history.
Although it started long before it had a name, the campaign to Free the Mississippi Five was initiated by Study and Struggle with the RECH Foundation in 2023, following the most recent round denials. Study and Struggle is an abolitionist collective concentrated in Mississippi that organizes through political education, mutual aid, and community building across prison walls. Many of the Five are members and have hosted radical study groups inside since 2020.
You can find out ways to get involved at: https://www.studyandstruggle.com/ms5