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| Mechie — 40 Years Into A Life Sentence that Began at 19 |
| By jjie.org - Ellen Melchiondo |
| Published: 10/21/2013 |
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Marie Scott does not want to be called by her given name. She prefers Mechie. Her name rhymes with Peachie, as in Sharon “Peachie” Wiggins. Peachie died on March 24, 2013 at the age of 62 after being incarcerated since she was 17 in 1968. In fact, originally sentenced to death, Peachie spent two and half years on death row along with her 17- and 18-year-old male co-defendants. Mechie joined Peachie at the State Correctional Institution at Muncy in Pennsylvania in 1973, charged with murder in the first degree, aggravated robbery and conspiracy, at the age of 19. Mechie and Peachie’s friendship soon developed into soul sisters and soldier sisters. Peachie was the consummate friend and leader who selflessly shared her refined value system, spirit and grace throughout Muncy. Mechie embraced Peachie’s ethics and wisdom and grew up to be an equal to Peachie. Sadly, Mechie must carry the torch once held by Peachie, alone but with strong determination to gain her deserved second chance. Mechie has spent 40 years incarcerated at Muncy. I met her for the first time on March 25, 2013, when I went to Muncy to find out what had happened to Peachie and to offer and receive comfort from Mechie and another woman serving life. I had been writing and visiting Peachie for a little more than two years. My life revolved around Peachie. I reached out to her friends and to lifers advocacy groups to learn more about commutation and juvenile life without parole, and she guided me and taught me about case law. We were so hopeful that she would be released when the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 abolished mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles in Miller v. Alabama. But Peachie died while waiting for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to rule on retroactivity of the Miller decision. I, like so many of her friends and advocates, was devastated by her death and missed opportunity for freedom. Prior the Miller ruling, Peachie was viewed by all at Muncy to be the most deserving of commutation. She applied 13 times. The women would say, “She did it all, tried 13 times and was turned down. Why should I try for commutation?” In fact, since 1971, only nine women have received commutation from a life sentence. I doubt I’d try. I was aware of Mechie from other advocates who spoke highly of her, and I had wanted to meet her for quite some time. Any friend of Peachie’s was someone I wanted to meet. As an Official Visitor with the Pennsylvania Prison Society, I was able to visit Mechie on that cold, dark, sad day after Peachie died. Mechie and I never thought that our first meeting would be on such an overwhelmingly emotional occasion. We tried to cheer each other up and we vowed that we would not let the memory of Peachie fade. We would work to preserve her legacy. Read More. |
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