Mary Prince (born 1946; also called by her married name Mary Fitzpatrick
until the couple officially separated in 1979
) is an
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
woman
wrongly convicted
A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...
of
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
who then became the
nanny
A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
for
Amy Carter
Amy Lynn Carter (born October 19, 1967) is the daughter of the thirty-ninth U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his First Lady of the United States, first lady Rosalynn Carter. Carter entered the limelight as a child when she lived in the White Hou ...
, the daughter of
US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
and his wife
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter ( ; née Smith; born August 18, 1927) is an American writer and activist who served as First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981 as the wife of President Jimmy Carter. For decades, she has been a leading advocate ...
, and was eventually granted a full
pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
.
Early life and family
She was born "in stark rural poverty" in 1946 in
Richland,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, the second of three sisters. She can't remember her father, and her mother and stepfather separated when she was aged about 9. Her older sister Carrie Francis died of a
brain abscess
Brain abscess (or cerebral abscess) is an abscess caused by inflammation and collection of infected material, coming from local (ear infection, dental abscess, infection of paranasal sinuses, infection of the mastoid air cells of the temporal bone ...
when Mary was 12, after which she dropped out of school to look after her younger sister. She briefly married at age 14, and had her first son. A year later she began work as a domestic. She became pregnant with her second son in New York in 1964, before returning to Georgia in 1967, where she eventually became a cashier in a restaurant.
When she lived and worked in the White House, her sons stayed in an apartment in the
working-class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
Washington
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of
Suitland,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and were looked after by her sister during the day, while she took a taxi to take care of them in the evening before returning by taxi to the White House late at night to be up early for Amy.
She officially separated from her husband in 1979, and changed her name back from Mary Fitzpatrick to Mary Prince.
She is a devout Christian.
Conviction for murder
She was
sentenced to
life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
after being convicted of
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
ing another woman's boyfriend in April 1970 in
Lumpkin, Georgia
The city of Lumpkin is the county seat of Stewart County, Georgia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 891.
History
This area of Georgia was inhabited by succeeding cultures of indigenous Native Americans for thousands of ...
.
She and her cousin Aniemaude had gone into a bar in Lumpkin, and Aniemaude had got into an argument.
In 1977 Mary said: “I went outside and heard a shot. Aniemaude and this woman were fighting over Aniemaude’s gun. I didn’t know anything about guns, but I tried to take it away and it went off. We didn’t know it had hit anyone.”
Clare Crawford added: "The other woman, however, claimed that Mary seized the gun and deliberately fired it, killing the woman’s boyfriend."
Prince was defended by a white
court-appointed lawyer
A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...
whom she first met on the day of the trial.
In 1977, she said "I was under the impression I was pleading guilty to
involuntary manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th c ...
, but it turned out to be murder." Jimmy Carter (in 2005) and
Kate Andersen Brower (in 2015) both wrote that her lawyer advised her to plead guilty and promised a light sentence.
Clare Crawford wrote in 1977 that "Her attorney says that he read the indictment to Mary before she made her plea".
Prince said in 1977 that she saw her lawyer twice for 10 or 15 minutes and that she spent a total of less than an hour in court before receiving her life sentence.
Jimmy Carter says Prince was lucky the dead man was not white, as she would then have "likely" suffered the fate of
Lena Baker
Lena Baker (June 8, 1900 – March 5, 1945) was an African American maid in Cuthbert, Georgia, United States, who was wrongfully convicted of capital murder of a white man, Ernest Knight. She was executed by the state of Georgia in 1945. Ba ...
, a black woman pardoned in 2005, 60 years after being
executed
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
by
electric chair
An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...
.
Rosalynn Carter says that she was convicted because of the
color of her skin.
Nanny to Amy Carter
Prince became Amy's nanny in 1971 while Jimmy Carter was
governor of Georgia
The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...
and she was a
trusty prisoner assigned to the governor's mansion,
after being interviewed in December 1970
and chosen that month by Rosalynn Carter to look after Amy because Rosalynn was convinced of her
innocence
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relation ...
.
In 1975, when Jimmy Carter's term as governor ended, Prince was sent back to prison. However, in January 1977 she was able to travel to
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
for
Carter's
Carter's, Inc. is a major American designer and marketer of children's apparel. It was founded in 1865 by William Carter.
Carter's sells its products through its own Carter's and OshKosh B'gosh retail stores, its website, and in other retail ...
inauguration
In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...
as U.S. president.
Partly thanks to a letter to the
parole board A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdiction ...
by
First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
Rosalynn Carter,
and partly thanks to Jimmy Carter, who asked to be designated as her
parole officer
A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probati ...
,
Prince was
reprieved, and was able to live and work at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
for the four years of Carter's presidency.
Pardon
She was eventually granted a full pardon after "a reexamination of the evidence and trial proceedings by the original judge revealed that she was completely innocent".
Later life
As of 2015, she lives near the Carters in
Plains, Georgia
Plains is a town in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. The population was 776 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area. Plains is best known as the birthplace and home of Jimmy Carter, the 39th president o ...
, and sees them frequently,
and she still sometimes babysits for their grandchildren.
Media portrayal
When she was in the White House, her story was widely reported in the media, and some of the coverage was "not ... kind".
The coverage included a
skit
Skit may refer to:
*
* A short segment in a performance, such as:
** Sketch comedy
** Hip hop skit
** Puppet skit
** Promo (professional wrestling)
* Skit note, parody of a banknote
See also
* Skete
A skete ( ) is a monastic community ...
on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'', with Amy played by
Sissy Spacek
Mary Elizabeth Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four Briti ...
, and Prince played by comedian
Garrett Morris
Garrett Isaac Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American actor, comedian and singer. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program ''Saturday Night Live'', appearing from 1975 to 1980, and played Jimmy on ''The Jeffersons'' ...
in
drag.
Legacy
Jimmy Carter dedicated his 2004 book, ''Sharing Good Times'', to Prince, and discusses her in his 2005 book, ''Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis'', as an example of the dangers of racism and of the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, saying that had the dead man been white, she would "likely" have been
wrongfully executed
Wrongful execution is a miscarriage of justice occurring when an innocent person is put to death by capital punishment. Cases of wrongful execution are cited as an argument by opponents of capital punishment, while proponents say that the argum ...
like
Lena Baker
Lena Baker (June 8, 1900 – March 5, 1945) was an African American maid in Cuthbert, Georgia, United States, who was wrongfully convicted of capital murder of a white man, Ernest Knight. She was executed by the state of Georgia in 1945. Ba ...
.
Prince is also featured in the 2015
Kate Andersen Brower book ''The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House''.
Writer and former
Black Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was a far-left, black nationalist, underground Black Power revolutionary paramilitary organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of Ne ...
member
Assata Shakur
Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947; also married name, JoAnne Chesimard) is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1977, she was convicted in the first-degree murder ...
, in her book ''
Assata: An Autobiography'', creates a critical portrait of Carter's relationship towards Mary Prince, comparing Carter's treatment of Mary as akin to that of a domestic slave and stating that this is a notable example of how the criminal justice system perpetuates Black and Third World people's enslavement.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Mary
1946 births
Living people
People from Richland, Georgia
American domestic workers
Nannies
Jimmy Carter
Rosalynn Carter