Roadblocks to an early release | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to a new week. We’re promised mostly sunny skies with warmer high temps near 50.

Marie Scott was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison at 19. Now 71 with cancer, she is trying to get released early. Our top story uncovers the complicated details of the case, and why relatives of Scott’s victim are advocating for her freedom.

Further on, see what The Inquirer learned about how Philadelphia crime rates might relate to whether the Eagles are playing in — or winning — the Super Bowl.

— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Marie Scott is behind bars for acting as lookout in 1973, when her then-16-year-old boyfriend Leroy Saxton robbed a Germantown convenience store and shot and killed the cashier.

Saxton pulled the trigger, but both of them were convicted and sentenced to the same fate. Saxton was freed in 2020 after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturned mandatory life sentences for juveniles.

Meanwhile, after serving more than half a century, Scott’s attorneys say she has become a model inmate, yet faces roadblocks to convincing the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons to release her.

Scott is now suffering from stage two breast cancer and uses a wheelchair. And among those supporting her release is Doreen Kerrigan Burgess, the daughter of the cashier who lost his life.

In Burgess' own words: “I try to see the good in everybody.”

Criminal justice reporter Ellie Rushing has the story on Scott’s case and why the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is unlikely to support Scott’s application for commutation.

Does the City of Brotherly Love live up to its name when the game is won?

Here’s a preview of what The Inquirer found in an analysis of Philly police crime data going back to 2018, when the Birds won their first Super Bowl.

🔻 Reported crime in the city was at its lowest level of the year when the Eagles won the big game on Feb. 9 and the day after.

🔻 The total amount of crime reported on game day and the day after across the city was lower when the Eagles were in the Super Bowl than when they did not play.

🔺 However, vandalism and criminal mischief in particular rose when they won the championship game.

Dig into the data with Lizzie Mulvey and Rodrigo Torrejón.

700 student dancers stood for __ hours and raised $17 million in bringing awareness to childhood cancer during Penn State’s THON weekend.

A) 25

B) 32

C) 46

D) 55

Think you know? Check your answer.

⚾ Cheering on: Penn’s baseball program embarking on its 150th year.

✏️ Curious about: A new creative writing series named in honor of North Philly writer Larry Neal.

🍸 Still trying to get into: Palizzi Social Club, soon opening a martini bar with live jazz.

Hint: Chicago soul singer who helped define the Sound of Philadelphia

BLURRY JR TEE

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Ginny Mellor who solved Sunday’s anagram: Long Bright River. Peacock just dropped the trailer for its Kensington-set thriller, which is based on the book with the same name by Philly novelist Liz Moore. (Ginny’s review: “It’s a page-turner!”)

📬 Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Chris Chan, who describes an unforgettable moment with a friendly driver:

I returned to Penn in October 2024, four years after receiving my Ph.D. from the English department. I’d been away from Philly on a research fellowship abroad (in Belgium), so working again with my old colleagues was — and remains — surreal, yet exciting.

But it wasn’t until one evening commute back to Jersey that I really felt like I’d come home.

Sometime in January, I joined half the city in taking the Schuylkill eastbound toward the Walt Whitman. From the moment I got on from the South Street on-ramp, I knew I’d made a mistake: the same mistake I used to make years ago as a Ph.D. student, commuting twice a week from Penn back to Jersey. It was like swimming straight into a river of red-eyed, stationary fish, all of us clogged in the same current.

Eventually, the traffic began to lighten up, and I started to round the curve before the 28th Street exit. Seeing more red eyes in the distance, I cursed audibly and started to slow down.

Just as I rounded the curve, I saw another car get on the on-ramp, ready to enter my lane. I couldn’t see much of the driver at all, but he seemed anxious about merging safely. So I continued to slow down and quickly flashed my high beam. The driver obliged and got on.

Then, to my surprise, I saw him roll down his window and stick out his arm. He extended his palm in a wave. Then he clenched it into a fist and stuck out his thumb. Two seconds later, he sped off toward the Oregon Avenue exit.

Now, whenever I’m stuck in Philly traffic — on the Schuylkill, the Vine, or 95 — I play that scene over and over in my head. I haven’t gotten a thumbs-up from anyone else on the road. But I’ll always be on the lookout for that driver, because I want to thank him for his moment of kindness: for welcoming me home, in a true show of Philly spirit.

Go down to the Sunshine State with staff photographer Jose F. Moreno through this first-person look inside the Phils' dugout, and hear some of the best sounds from spring training so far.

👋🏽 That should get you started for the day. Thanks for spending part of your morning with us. Have a great Monday.

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