Mary West
Appearances
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Jeremy was barely literate when he was sent to death row. And it sounds like that's where he finally tried to learn.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Between the GED books Mary sends and the paperback novels that I send him, it still sounds like he can't get enough to read.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Sometimes Jeremy's letters are just a stream of consciousness. What it's like to spend day after day in prison.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Mary West has had many jobs and worn many hats. She's in her 60s now and living in northern Florida, where, these days, she cleans houses.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
By summer, Jeremy and Mary are also talking on the phone.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
In my calls with him, Jeremy always asked for updates on Leo's case. And when I let him know that Leo had a big hearing coming up that could lead to his release, he wrote to Mary about it.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Jeremy will never see the day where he's actually paroled. But he tells Mary how much it means to him for Leo to be released from prison.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
In the spring of 2024, Leo was finally released from prison. Mary talked to Jeremy on the phone not long after.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Jeremy's not just concerned for Leo. He also shows a lot of concern for Mary, who is being treated for cancer.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
She shares her own health updates with him and how her chemotherapy treatments can leave her feeling exhausted. She shares a lot with him, actually.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
And sometimes, in Jeremy's letters back, you can hear his anguish when he thinks about losing this connection with her.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Victoria Avalon is an assistant state attorney who questioned Jeremy Scott after he confessed to killing Michelle Schofield in a 2017 evidentiary hearing.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
It was around this time that I gave Jeremy some exciting news about his family.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Justin is all Jeremy wants to talk and write about.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
He can't stop thinking and wondering about his son and this family he knows so little about.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Hearing how excited Jeremy is about Justin makes me realize just how much he's missed. His son's entire life. 35 years. Jeremy has never had to navigate a relationship like this, and I don't know if he has the tools to do it. What if he overwhelms Justin? What if he drives him away? What if, in trying so hard to hold on, he ends up making things even worse for himself?
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
I was hearing from both Jeremy and Justin that they were writing and rewriting drafts of letters to each other. Justin was unsure of how to find the right words for a father he'd never known. And Jeremy wasn't sure how to talk to his son he'd never held in his arms.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
With Mary's help, Jeremy is trying to be his best self, hoping Justin will recognize his effort and honesty.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Finally, Jeremy managed to write his letter to Justin.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Jeremy sent his letter for Justin to me so I could deliver it in person. He asked me to give you this. Is this like his handwriting?
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Our executive producers are Jason Flom, Jeff Kempler, and Kevin Werdes. Cara Kornhaber is our senior producer. Jackie Pauly and Hannah Beal are our producers. Britt Spangler is our sound designer. Marianne McCune is our editor. Fact-checking by Dania Suleiman. Jeff Clyburn is our head of marketing and operations. Our social media director is Ismadi Gouardrama.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Bone Valley Season 2. Jeremy. Chapter 5. Like a Little Kid. When Mary first decided to write Jeremy a letter, she wasn't sure how to reach him or where he was. In order to deposit funds into an inmate's canteen, the Florida DOC has to approve you, so I helped her navigate the protocols. She sent Jeremy a letter, got approved, then deposited a little money for deodorant and toothpaste.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
She assumed that would be the end of that. But Jeremy wrote her back. January 31st. Christmas had passed, and it was the beginning of a new year, 2023. One day, she was picking up her mail, and there it was.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
As soon as she started getting letters from Jeremy, Mary agreed to send me voice memos, talking me through them. What really struck me in those early letters was how surprised Jeremy was to be hearing from her.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Something else that stood out. It seemed like Jeremy wanted to prove to Mary that he was worthy of her time, her letters, and her attention.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
When Jeremy was a younger man in prison, his family was still writing and visiting. But then they stopped. Now, all of a sudden, he had someone new in his life, and it seemed important to him to be accountable to her.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
In those early letters, Jeremy and Mary are just getting to know each other.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
At first, he's writing once a week or maybe every two weeks.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
By April, Jeremy is writing all the time, sometimes every three days.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Mary asks him about his family and the people he used to know on the outside.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Mary wasn't able to find her gravestone, but she was able to find Arlene's obituary. It had a picture of her. Mary printed it out and sent a copy of it to Jeremy. He wrote back.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
Mary also did what she could to connect Jeremy with other family members, just like I did. The last time I checked, Royal Dean Scott was in prison himself in Alabama. Mary found his mugshot online and sent that to Jeremy as well.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
It's clear how much these family connections mean to Jeremy.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
From his letters, Mary has learned even more than I have about Jeremy's childhood.
Bone Valley
Jeremy | Chapter 5 - Like a Little Kid
During the sentencing phase of the Donald Moorhead trial, when he was 19 years old, Jeremy listened to his Aunt Debbie describe him as slow, with a mind that wanders like a nine-year-old child.