Charged for provocation!’ Pregnant Alabama woman, Marshae Jones, whose unborn child died after she was shot in the stomach during a fight, facing manslaughter charges in connection with her baby’s death – Charges against shooter are dismissed
Marshae Jones whose unborn child died as a result of her being shot in the stomach last year, while she was five months pregnant, has been arrested on manslaughter charges in connection with her baby’s death
An Alabama woman whose unborn child died as a result of a shooting last year has been arrested on manslaughter charges in connection with her baby’s death, while the alleged shooter has had charges against her dropped, AL.com reports.
Marshae Jones, 27, was reportedly taken into custody Wednesday after a a grand jury in the Bessemer division of Jefferson County handed down the indictment.
The charges come six months after Jones, who was five months pregnant at the time, was shot in the stomach outside a Dollar General in Pleasant Grove during an altercation with 23-year-old Ebony Jemison that police said focused on the unborn child’s father.
Jones was hospitalized but the baby did not make it.
In the aftermath of the December 4, 2018 shooting, police have argued it was Jones’ actions that sparked the shooting and ultimately led to her baby’s death.
Shooting victim charged for being the aggressor: Marshae Jones, a 27-year-old Birmingham woman, was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on a manslaughter charge. She was taken into custody on Wednesday.
Shooter left with no responsibility for bringing firearm into fist fight? Charges against alleged shooter, Ebony Jemison, [photo], were dismissed after her the shooting that wounded a pregnant woman and killed her unborn baby, outside a Dollar Store in Pleasant Grove, Alabama on Dec. 4, 2018
Though Jones didn’t fire the shots that killed her unborn baby girl, authorities say she initiated the dispute that led to the gunfire.
Police initially charged 23-year-old Ebony Jemison with manslaughter, but the charge against Jemison was dismissed after the grand jury failed to indict her.
The alleged shooter, Ebony Jemison, was also initially charged with manslaughter but the charges were dropped when a grand jury failed to indict her.
“It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby,” Pleasant Grove police Lt. Danny Reid was quoted as saying after the shooting. “The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby.”
Reid said the fight in the store parking lot, stemmed over the unborn baby’s father. Authorities believe Jemison was in a vehicle and the pregnant victim, Marshae Jones, outside of a vehicle when the shooting happened.
The investigation showed, he said, that it was Jones who initiated and pressed the fight, which ultimately caused Jemison to defend herself and unfortunately caused the death of the baby.
“Let’s not lose sight that the unborn baby is the victim here,’’ Reid said. “She had no choice in being brought unnecessarily into a fight where she was relying on her mother for protection.”
“When a 5-month pregnant woman initiates a fight and attacks another person, I believe some responsibility lies with her as to any injury to her unborn child,” Reid said.
Jones was due to be taken to a Jefferson County jail and held on a $50,000 bond on Wednesday night.
In response to Jones’ indictment, The Yellowhammer Fund, a member of the National Network of Abortion Funds which helps women access abortion services, released a statement Wednesday night: “The state of Alabama has proven yet again that the moment a person becomes pregnant their sole responsibility is to produce a live, healthy baby and that it considers any action a pregnant person takes that might impede in that live birth to be a criminal act,’’ Executive Director Amanda Reyes said in the statement.“
“Today, Marshae Jones is being charged with manslaughter for being pregnant and getting shot while engaging in an altercation with a person who had a gun. Tomorrow, it will be another black woman, maybe for having a drink while pregnant. And after that, another, for not obtaining adequate prenatal care,” Reyes said,. Adding: “We commit ourselves to making sure that Marshae is released from jail on bond, assisting with her legal representation, and working to ensure that she gets justice for the multiple attacks that she has endured’’.
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