Scott Cutting Sr. & Scott Cutting Jr.
Photo of Scott Jr, Tiffani, and Scott Sr., courtesy of Tiffani Fortney.
Scott Douglas Cutting Sr. left this world on May 9th, after more than three weeks of being hospitalized with COVID-19. He was 70 years old. He left behind two children who he loved dearly: Tiffani Fortney and Scott Cutting Jr. Tragically, Scott Jr. took his own life on July 30th—we mourn the losses of him and his father.
Prior to his incarceration, Scott Sr. worked as a tax preparer in Apple Valley, California. He and his wife Linda were high school sweethearts. Scott played on the basketball team, and during one game, the ball flew to the sidelines and hit Linda on the head. “My dad said that’s what gave him courage to ask her out,” Tiffani said.
Scott Sr. is remembered fondly by his high school classmates. “I’m glad that I was able to visit with Scott Sr at our high school 50th reunion,” said classmate Chris Caldwell. “What a fun guy!!!!”
After high school, Scott attended the University of Southern California. As an alum, he purchased football season tickets and would take his entire family, or sometimes just Tiffani, to the games.
“My dad was one of the best dads anybody could ever ask for,” Tiffani said. The Cuttings were a close-knit family. Once, they went hiking in the hills and Tiffani started sinking in a pile of mud. Scott Jr. pulled her to safety and carried her the rest of the way home.
Family photograph of the Cuttings, courtesy of Tiffani Fortney.
About 25 years ago, Linda passed away. “It was very hard for us,” Tiffani said. “But we stuck together through all of the bumpy times.”
Scott Sr. kept up a strong connection with his children. Before he was incarcerated, he spoke to them everyday—to Tiffani on the phone and to Scott Jr. in person because the two of them lived close to one another. The last time the three of them were all together was a few years ago when Scott Sr. and Jr. visited Tiffani at her home in Prescott, Arizona. “We had a great time just hanging out and talking,” she said.
In 2017, Tiffani entered a local singing competition—the Prescott Idol. Scott Sr. came out to watch her perform, and Tiffani won first place. Scott was thrilled—he started to cry, and despite Tiffani’s modest claims that it was just a local competition, he said it didn’t matter and that he was just so proud of her.
“One of the best things my dad ever said to me was that I was one of his best friends,” Tiffani said.
Photo of Tiffani and Scott Sr., courtesy of Tiffani Fortney.
At the time of his death, Scott Sr. was serving a 26-month sentence at Terminal Island, a low-security federal prison in San Pedro, California, that quickly became a hotspot for the coronavirus. More than 66% of the incarcerated people living there contracted COVID-19, and Scott was the seventh to die.
Terminal Island was particularly vulnerable because many of the people imprisoned there require long-term medical or mental health care. Scott was one of these people—he had diabetes and heart problems. Furthermore, the facility was vastly overcrowded when the pandemic hit. Built to accommodate only 800 people, the prison housed 1,042.
Several California members of Congress demanded investigations into conditions at Terminal Island, and the ACLU filed a lawsuit calling for a substantial reduction to the prison population there. The lawsuit alleges that “Despite being 70 years old, having preexisting conditions, and showing symptoms for days, [Scott Sr.] was not tested for coronavirus until his symptoms were so severe that he had to be placed on a ventilator.”
In a statement, the ACLU added that “This crisis need never to have reached such horrific proportions,” but “through a series of unconscionable delays, blunders, and failures to follow official guidelines, the situation grew unimaginably worse.”
Family photograph of Scott Cutting Sr., courtesy of Tiffani Fortney.
After Scott Sr. passed away, Scott Jr. spoke on CBS Los Angeles about his father’s death. “I feel terrible,” he said. “That’s my dad. I love him.”
A few months later, he took his own life. Though we will never know how connected Scott Jr.’s suicide was to his father’s passing, Tiffani said they were extremely close. “The loss of my dad really hit my brother very hard,” she added.
We mourn Scott Sr. and Scott Jr., and we condemn the negligence and cruelty of the federal prison system that is at the center of their deaths. We send Tiffani all the strength we can, and we hope she finds comfort in the thought of her family reunited in eternal rest. Her brother and father will be missed.
This memorial was written by MOL team member Andrew Kornfeld, based on correspondence with Tiffani Fortney and information from reporting by David Golstein of CBS Los Angeles, Jonah Valdez of East Bay Times, and Emily Elena Dugdale and Julia Paskin of LAist.
