Pam Stephenson

Pam Stephenson
Pam Stephenson
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives; from the 90th district
	In office; January 14, 2013 – September 10, 2020
Preceded by	Howard Mosby
Succeeded by	Angela Moore
Personal details
Born	Pamela Sturdivant; May 11, 1951
Died	June 17, 2024 (aged 73)
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Michigan,; Eastern Michigan University
Profession	Attorney at law
Committees	Health and Human Services,; Judiciary, ; MARTOC

Pamela Sturdivant Stephenson (May 11, 1951 – June 17, 2024) was an American politician from Georgia. Stephenson was a Democratic member of Georgia House of Representatives representing the state's 90th district, which includes parts of DeKalb and Rockdale counties. On September 10, 2020, Stephenson's daughter submitted a resignation on her behalf due to dementia.^[1]^[2]

The 90th district is 86% African American according to figures from the 2000 census.^[3]

Background

Education

Stephenson received her undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University and has two master's degrees from the University of Michigan. She attended the Woodrow Wilson College of Law in Atlanta.^[4] There has been some debate over whether or not she graduated from law school. The registrar for the school does not show that she graduated.^[5]

Career

Stephenson was elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 2005.^[6] She had been the executive director of the State Health Planning agency and had served on the State Medical Education Board. She served on the Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation Board of Directors.^[4]

In 2018, Stephenson was hired to defend Asa North, who had been accused of causing the deaths of his children after leaving them in a hot car in Carroll County, Georgia. During the trial, she was accused of being "woefully unprepared". She did not subpoena any witnesses and repeatedly talked on her cell phone, even during opening statements. Affidavits state that the judge asked Stephensen if she was on pills.^[7] The family of Asa North has since hired another attorney. As a result of the case, on September 20, 2019, Stephenson was suspended from the practice of law in Georgia.^[8]

Stephenson won her primary in June 2020, and was running unopposed for her seat. However, her daughter, acting as her guardian with power of attorney, filed a resignation with the Georgia Governor's office on September 10, 2020.^[9] Stephenson was suffering from degenerative dementia.^[10] Stephenson died on June 17, 2024, at the age of 73.^[11]^[12]

References

^ Prabhu, Maya T.; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Lithonia Democratic lawmaker resigns from Georgia House". ajc. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
^ "Representative Pam Stephenson". Georgia State Legislature. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
^ Census 2000: Population by Georgia House district (PDF) Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ ^a ^b "Our Leadership | Grady Health". www.gradyhealth.org. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
^ "Pam Stephenson's law degree questioned in ex-CEO's lawsuit". Atlanta Unfiltered. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
^ "Representative Pam Stephenson". www.house.ga.gov. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
^ Travis, Randy (September 19, 2018). "Attorney accused of being 'woefully unprepared' for double murder case". FOX 5 Atlanta. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
^ SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA, Case No. S20Y0212 (September 20, 2019). "IN THE MATTER OF PAMELA STURDIVANT STEPHENSON, State Bar No. 679558" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Prabhu, Maya T.; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Lithonia Democratic lawmaker resigns from Georgia House". ajc. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
^ Chidi, George (September 17, 2020). "George on Georgia – Lamenting the resignation of Pam Stephenson". Decaturish.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021. Stephenson is suffering from a degenerative dementia, which explains quite a bit. Her law license was suspended earlier this year after a disastrous performance in a defense case in court. It's heartbreaking. But as people are telling me, it's not shocking. She wasn't expected to qualify to run for re-election this year. Many people I spoke to said they were surprised when she signed on for another term.
^ [https://www.wgmurrayandson.com/obituary/MsPamela-Stephenson Pamela (Sturdivant) Stephenson obituary
^ Baruchman, Michelle (June 18, 2024). "Pamela Stephenson, former DeKalb state lawmaker and Grady CEO, dies at 73". ajc. Retrieved June 18, 2024.