Garrett Felber joins Kim for a conversation about the campaign to Free the Mississippi Five. The #MS5 are five women in Mississippi sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in the 1980s and 1990s. They have been incarcerated over 175 years and denied parole 47 times.
Lisa Crevitt, Anita Krecic, Loretta Pierre, Linda Ross, and Evelyn Smith, collectively known as the Mississippi Five, are now between 59 and 82 years old. Despite their achievements, personal growth, the loss of loved ones outside, and even recantations of key witnesses, they continue to be denied parole irrespective of their actions. It is time to #FreetheFive!
Garrett Felber (he/they) is an educator, organizer, and writer. They organize with Study and Struggle and the committee to Free the Mississippi Five, are the author of the forthcoming biography, A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre (AK Press, 2025), and recently founded the Free Society People's Library, a radical mobile library in Portland, Oregon.
Episode Resources & Notes
Study and Struggle MS5
Why the “Mississippi Five” Deserve Parole After 40 Years in Prison
Prisons Grow in Mississippi as State Officials Cut Parole
Resources for Criminalized Survivors
Survived and Punished
Love and Protect
Relevant Episodes
Taylar Nuevelle on Knitting in Prison
Pen Pals
Mothering Under Surveillance feat. Maya Schenwar
You can learn more about Lisa, Anita, Loretta, Linda, and Evelyn on the Study and Struggle website: https://www.studyandstruggle.com/ms5
There are easy ways to support the Mississippi Five!
1) Sign the petition. Add your name to the call to demand the immediate release of the Mississippi Five through clemency. The Committee to Free the Mississippi Five is pursuing all avenues to bring them home, including gubernatorial clemency. Your signature can bring them one step closer to home.
2) Contribute to the solidarity fund to help fight for the Mississippi Five's release and support broader efforts to build grassroots power in Mississippi. The Committee is raising funds to cover commissary, potential legal fees, and transition support when the Five come home. Your donation makes their work possible.
3) Writing letters to incarcerated people is one of the best ways to let them know you care. Write the Five using the addresses linked to in the show notes.
4) Spread the word: Share their story and this toolkit on social media. The more people know, the stronger the movement to free them becomes.
Credits
Hosted by Kim Wilson
Edited by Brian Nam-Sonenstein
Website & volunteers managed by Victoria Nam-Sonenstein
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