Category Archives: Mechie Scott

Mechie on a childhood mistake, and an adult life of activism

M._Scott._2013_Photo_#2_1Letter from Marie “Mechie” Scott in July of 2014

What’s one thing that you think people would be surprised to know about you.

That I’m the first female to have written a bill that was sponsored by five senators in its original version. It called on several state agencies to conduct a study of the problems and needs of children whose parent(s) are incarcerated. It later became Senate Resolution 71. Out of that experience, I’ve published several articles on the subject. I’m the editor of C.O.P.I.N.G. newsletter (Children of Parent Inmates Needing Guidance). And I’m in a book, coauthored by a very close friend of mine, Howard Zehr, on the subject of children of incarcerated parents.
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Mechie on breaking co-dependency and fighting for justice

Marie "Mechie" Scott
Marie “Mechie” Scott

Letter from Marie “Mechie” Scott in September 2014

Would you speak a bit more about what motivated or drove you to craft the language and ideas for what eventually became Senate Resolution 71?

When I gave birth to my daughter, and her aunt nicknamed her Hope (in hopes that she did not turn out like her parents who were in prison and on drugs), I agreed to it. Unlike the legacy left by my father, I did not want my child to ride the vicious cycle in inter-generational incarceration.

What started out as an incentive to save my daughter’ s future ended up being a life-long endeavor. Try raising a child from behind bars. It is no easy undertaking. In fact, it would test my endurance to become who I am today.
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Mechie on personal decisions and mass incarceration

Marie "Mechie" Scott
Marie “Mechie” Scott

Letter from Marie “Mechie” Scott on January 12, 2015

What questions would you ask the other people serving life sentences who are participating in this project? Are there specific things you would most like to hear them respond to?

  • Do they feel as if it is gender disparity inside of the commutation process?
  • Do you believe the new governor will have the “unanimous decision” in the commutation process repealed?
  • Have they heard talk of the commutation board supposedly letting people out? If so, can they be more detailed in what they heard?
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