Jamari Tyrese Taylor

Photograph of Jamari, courtesy of Melisia Taylor. 

On February 8th, 2021, the world lost a beloved soul. Born on July 27th, 2001 in Hartford, Connecticut, Jamari Taylor departed from the world too young at only the age of nineteen. Jamari leaves behind a family that continues to miss his presence every day. From relatives in Conneticut, New York, and Georgia to family members in Saint Lucia and Jamaica, the devastation from his death ranges near and far.

Jamari, who loved playing basketball and baking cookies in his free time, was someone who was family-oriented. “I couldn’t have picked anyone better to be Kendall’s godfather,” his best friend Renee Robinson wrote in his obituary guestbook. His mother Melisia recalled how children naturally gravitated towards him and how his smile could light up an entire room. “Jamari didn’t go looking for trouble,” Melisia wrote in a Facebook post after her son’s death. “He always knew his family loved him unconditionally.”

A young Jamari (left and above). Photographs courtesy of Melisia Taylor.

According to Melisia’s Facebook post, Jamari’s family learned that he had been falsely convicted of his crime while he was being held at Macdougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, Connecticut and that the parties involved were planning to drop the charges. The day before he died, Jamari was in good spirits and looked forward to coming home. “My son was putting me on [about how] I needed to go grocery shopping and was ready for a home cook[ed] meal in a few hours,” Melisia wrote. “Instead of waking up to get my son, I received a tragic phone call at 8:13am from the jail chaplain [and learned that] an incident took place early morning and my nineteen year old [wa]s dead.” 

Jamari had a bright life ahead of him. He should have been able to spend many more years making memories with his family, friends, and goddaughter, but his days were cut short by a tragedy for which the Connecticut Department of Corrections has refused to provide a complete explanation. We honor Jamari’s life and demand answers for his death. Jamari is mourned but never forgotten.

Jamari Taylor with his friends. Courtesy of Melisia Taylor.

This memorial was written by MOL team members Ladrina Johnson and Mirilla Zhu with information from an obituary from Howard K. Hill Funeral Services, a news article from Olivia Lank of Eyewitness News, and a Facebook post from Melisia Taylor. 

If you have information about the circumstances behind Jamari’s death, please call 860-817-3122 or 860-478-3072.