By Christopher Blackwell and Loretta Pierre for The Appeal.
Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Mississippi News Connection reporting for The Appeal-Public News Service Collaboration

About a year ago, a close friend, Garrett Felber, told me about a project close to his heart—the campaign to Free the Mississippi Five (MS5). 

The MS5 are the last remaining women in Mississippi sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after ten years before the state virtually abolished parole in 1995. Although they are, ostensibly, parole-eligible, the state has routinely denied their release without reasonable justification. They each have been imprisoned for more than 30 years.

The five have each taken responsibility for the harm they caused and spent decades pursuing growth and repair. Felber sent me interviews he conducted with each person about their lives and the repeated, arbitrary denials by the Mississippi Parole Board. One of the group, Loretta Pierre, has been denied parole 14 times, more than any other woman in the state’s history. 

The more I learned, the more I wanted to help. So I am sharing the words of Loretta Pierre, who tells us her story and introduces us to the other four women with whom she has spent nearly four decades in prison. —Chris Blackwell 

My name is Loretta Pierre. In 1985, when I was 20 years old and five months pregnant, I shot a woman during an argument. I immediately called 911 for help. But tragically, she did not survive. 

When the police arrived, I was arrested for aggravated assault and eventually charged with murder. Once my court proceedings began, I had five mistrials before I was convicted at my sixth trial. In 1989, I was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after ten years. 

I have now been in prison for 36 years and denied parole 14 times. I hold the record in the state of Mississippi for the number of times a woman has been denied. 

Before my conviction, I had never spent a single day in jail. The son I was pregnant with then is now 38 years old, and he has three daughters of his own. I have never met them. My Mama, my strongest supporter, died in September 2017, brokenhearted that I was never released in her lifetime. My sister, who was 10 years old when I was arrested, is now 49. And my brother, who was 24, is now 63. My siblings still support me, but with each parole denial, our hope of reuniting becomes more elusive. Nevertheless, we communicate daily and refuse to let this unreasonable punishment break us. 

I have completed more than 50 classes, courses, and programs in prison. Yet, when I last met with the parole board in January 2022, my file was completely empty and looked as if I had wasted decades doing nothing. There was no record of the job I held for more than 23 years; none of the letters of support that professors, friends, and family had sent in; or the document promising me a job when I came home. What was available for the board was my disciplinary record—the rule violations levied against me for filing grievances against the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) during my captivity. 

It has been a never-ending cycle that I’ve had to endure, day after day, year after year. I was not sentenced to life without parole or death by incarceration. Nor were the four other women from MS5 I want to introduce you to.

Evelyn Smith, 82, aka Mama E, has been incarcerated for 32 years for murder. She is an amazing cook, always makes extra for her friends, and has a remedy for anyone who is sick. Mama E’s last parole hearing in January 2022 lasted three minutes. They told her to come back in five years. I delivered the board’s decision to her in the privacy of her room. We shared our pain together, aware that she may not have another five years left to live but her faith in God is strong and she still holds hope she will one day be released.

Lisa Crevitt, 59, was just 20 years old when she succumbed to drug-induced psychotic delusions and dropped her child from a bridge. She has held the same job during her nearly 40 years in prison and has never received a single rule violation report. Lisa’s ex-husband and the deceased child’s father is now a judge in Warren County, Mississippi. Many believe that his political influence has kept Lisa imprisoned. Her first parole date was in 1995. The board has denied her nine times. 

Anita Krecic, 65, has been incarcerated since 1987, after her then-boyfriend shot and killed a Mississippi Highway Patrolman. Anita’s co-defendant, who shot the trooper, was executed in 2002. While incarcerated, she has consistently worked a job, earned over 100 college credits, and maintained an exemplary behavior record. She displays strong values, morals, and ethics in her daily life and is currently enrolled in seminary school. But in the lead-up to each of her parole hearings, signs opposing her release are typically posted throughout the county where she was convicted. In 2022, she was denied by the board and told to return in 2030. 

Linda Ross, 62, has been incarcerated since 1989 for killing a man who attacked her. She has maintained a job throughout her incarceration and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree. She is very generous and loves to cook for friends. Linda loves to share stories with those incarcerated with her. 

Each time we are denied parole, the board cites the “serious nature” of our crimes. None of us can change what we did—only who we have become since. I have completed every program MDOC has made available to me. That this doesn’t seem to matter makes me think that those with authority see no value in the department’s rehabilitation courses. These programs feel like a sham, nothing more than a way for crooked authorities to generate funding while putting on a show for the public. 

Change will not happen unless the public pressures those who oppress us without oversight. Without transparency and accountability, we five—and many like us across the country—will be forced to die behind these towering walls—not to provide safety for our communities, but for retribution and punishment. 

For this to change, we need your help! Our website includes our clemency petitions, ways to support us, and addresses to contact us—please share on social media so others can learn about our plight. Relationships and correspondence can be life-saving forms of support. For too long the parole board in Mississippi has been able to act as judge, jury, and executioner. We must build our collective strength to combat this repressive system. It is far past time for us to get a chance to return to our communities. 


Christopher Blackwell and Loretta Pierre wrote this article for The Appeal.


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April is National Second Chance Month but across the Commonwealth, resources to help people leaving prison find gainful employment are dwindling.

According to data from the Prison Policy Initiative, of more than 50,000 people in 2010, 33% found no employment in the four years following release.

The Louisville Office of the Center for Employment Opportunities is the region's largest reentry services program.

Ray Mansfield, site director at the center, said those who have paid their debts to society often do a lot of internal work to rehabilitate but opportunities to change their lives and project growth outward are limited.

"What we're seeing in our area is a stigma placed on those individuals that said that they can't change," Mansfield observed. "They're being subjugated to either the most labor-intensive or the lowest-paying jobs."

Kentucky releases around 225,000 men and 86,000 women from behind bars each year. Nationwide, more than 500,000 people are released from state and federal prison each year.

Mansfield argued Kentucky should allocate dedicated funding toward entry-level, on-the-job learning programs, noting the benefits to communities, families and the local economy. He pointed to the commercial driver's license as an example of a certification to job pipeline.

"Putting money towards a reentry work or job program that would allow reentering individuals who obtain their CDL licenses to work with an organization or a company, that gives them a start," Mansfield explained.

He noted nationwide, there is an immense disparity between the amount of funds dedicated to incarceration, including building new prisons, and the investments made toward reentry services.

"However, even they are struggling to identify and secure the funding that is truly needed to provide the services to the populations that we're hoping to impact," Mansfield emphasized.

Without housing, it is difficult for individuals to obtain employment. According to federal data, at least one-quarter of returning individuals leave jails and prisons without a stable living situation. Most rely on family or friends. Even when returning individuals can find affordable housing, landlords are often unwilling to rent to them.


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For thousands of Mississippians leaving prison each year, a single question looms large: Who will hire me?

State lawmakers could remove some of the biggest barriers to answering that question by expanding the Fresh Start Act. Backers say it could change lives and save taxpayers millions. The bill would dramatically widen a 2019 law that helps people with criminal records obtain professional licenses. If passed, barbers, electricians and dozens of other professionals would no longer be automatically disqualified from licensing because of unrelated past convictions.

Will Ervin, senior vice president of Empower Mississippi, is advocating for its passage.

"By reforming the licensing process to ensure that past convictions unrelated to a profession don't serve as an automatic disqualification," he said, "we believe the bill promotes economic opportunity while also maintaining necessary safeguards."

The 2019 law covered only eight licenses. Senate Bill 2248 would expand it to more than 40. And it excludes fields such as law enforcement. It cleared the state Senate unanimously. Some House members have voiced concerns about impacts on medical licensing compacts.

Mississippi faces a persistent recidivism problem, with 40% of people who are released returning to prison within three years. Ervin pointed to stable employment and housing as the most important factors needed to lower that rate.

"If we can address those things, I think we can have a really big impact on recidivism in the state," he said. "We've seen great reception from lawmakers to combating recidivism. I think they recognize that this is a public safety issue."

The debate comes as Mississippi spends nearly $500 million annually on corrections, with one of the nation's highest incarceration rates. Proponents say helping more people find work upon their release could ease this burden and strengthen the state's workforce.


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The federal HALT Fentanyl Act advancing through Congress would increase prison time for fentanyl traffickers.

Kentuckians convicted on distribution charges involving more than 10 grams of fentanyl would receive at least five years in prison, or no fewer than 10 if they had a prior conviction. For cases involving larger amounts of the substance and a second conviction, the minimum sentence would be 20 years.

Shreeta Waldon, executive director of the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition, said the legislation will have little effect on helping individuals and families who lives are affected by substance use.

"It's been a failed concept but we continue to try to use that same concept with different language," Waldon contended. "We're just dealing with the War on Drugs 2.0."

According to the 2023 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report, nearly 2,000 Kentuckians lost their lives last year to a drug overdose. Fentanyl accounted for almost 80% of those deaths, and methamphetamine accounted for around 55%.

Waldon pointed out a lack of education about fentanyl and other drugs has contributed to a spike in use among the Commonwealth's youngest residents, despite an overall decline in fentanyl-related death rates statewide.

"Now we're seeing more and more reports of youth who are having building an inappropriate relationship with substance," Waldon reported. "That is a big issue in our larger cities like Louisville and Lexington."

She added a major concern is the dwindling local resources for harm reduction strategies, noting recently passed state laws to criminalize camping and homelessness have created additional barriers.

"We're penalizing poverty," Waldon argued. "We're penalizing substance use disorder or chaotic use. We're penalizing people who do not realize the access to resources around them because of messaging, because of stigma, because of shame."

The HALT Fentanyl Act would reclassify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs. Currently, fentanyl is a Schedule II controlled substance. In 2021, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration made more than 3,000 arrests nationwide for fentanyl.


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