My name is Marie Scott. My friends call me Mechie. I nicknamed myself after my best friend, Peachie, whose real name is Sharon Wiggins. She is deceased now, but as a teenager I always wanted to grow up to be like her. Because of Peachie, today I am proud to be who I am. I have two children, a son and a daughter. In 2008, I lost my son to a motorcycle accident. I thought I could lose my mind because we always thought that I would be released one day to share time with both of my children. My daughter’s name is Gretta.
I was born in Harlem, New York. Growing up I was constantly molested and raped until I was fifteen. Behind it I became severely codependent. The kind who could not say “no.” I felt if a man took me to a movie, that he was in love with me, so if he took me to dinner afterwards, he wanted to marry me. Love had been distorted in my childhood.
Codependence is a disease that brought most women to prison. Because codependency is a disease, I had to treat it as such. It is what cause me not to be able to say “no” to a guy who saved my life during a robbery that took place at the store I was employed b. I felt I owed my life to this guy after saving mine. How could I say no to a request to be a lookout in a robbery? Albeit, I had never robbed or stolen from anyone, my codependency just would not let me turn down the chance to help him back. Although I did not pull the trigger, I am just as guilty as my co-defendant. However, what is not fair is that because of the Miller decision, if the U.S. Supreme Court rules retroactivity, he will be set free, and I will be left to die in precision. Not that I want him to die with me. I have forgiven him because I am an intelligent adult now who knows that as a teenager, our minds are not fully developed. The sad part to me is that my brain was no more developed than his. He was 16 and I was 19. So why should I be cut off and left to die in here!
Today I am an editor with a degree. I am currently working on a book of fiction. I love writing. I am also a pianist in training. My life does not stop because of my circumstances. Albeit, I have become infamous, one day I will turn that around with my love for writing.
