‘Sanity at last!’ Alabama DROPS manslaughter charges against a pregnant woman after she was shot during a fight and lost her unborn baby – Backlash after state dropped charges against shooter, instead charged Marshae Jones who was five months pregnant when she was shot in the stomach
Jefferson County, Alabama announced they’re dropping manslaughter charges against a pregnant victim of a shooting, who lost her child in the process
Marshae Jones, 27, was shot in the stomach during a fight out a Dollar store on Dec 18, and lost her unborn baby
Police said the shooting took place following a dispute between Jones and Ebony Jemison about the unborn baby’s father
Jones was arrested last week in Birmingham, Alabama for manslaughter
A grand jury issued an indictment saying she intentionally caused the death of her fetus by initiating a fight while five-months pregnant
Jemison, 23, allegedly shot Jones, but the case against her was dismissed, instead Jones who lost her baby as a result, was arrested and charged
The unusual persecution of an expectant mother who lost her baby led to an outcry from civil rights group, accusing the state of an overreach
Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff District Attorney Lynneice Washington announced Wednesday that charges against Marshae Jones will be dismissed
Attorney’s representing Jones filed a motion to dismiss in a Jefferson County court Monday morning arguing the charges were ‘completely unreasonable and unjust’
The state could not bring an indictment against the 23-year-old female shooter in the incident.
All charges were dropped against Ebony Johnson, but the victim Marshae Jones was arrested June 26 after a grand jury concluded she ‘intentionally’ caused the death of her fetus by ‘initiating’ a fight with another woman.
Jones was five-months pregnant when she was shot in the stomach in a December. 18 altercation.
Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff District Attorney Lynneice O. Washington said during a press conference that charges against Jones will be dismissed.
‘There are no winners, only losers, in this sad ordeal,’ Washington said, after stressing that ‘nothing, nothing, nothing’ will bring back Jones’ unborn baby.
‘After reviewing the facts of this case and the applicable state law, I have determined that it is not in the best interest of justice to pursue prosecution of Ms Jones on the misdemeanor charge, for which she was indicted by the grand jury,’ said Washington, flanked by her chief assistant and local church leaders.
‘Therefore, I am hereby dismissing this case, and no further legal action will be taken against Ms Jones in this matter.’
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Jones’ defense lawyers released a prepared statement just minutes after the district attorney’s announcement, saying they are pleased with the decision to drop charges against her.
‘It is the appropriate decision, both for our client and the State of Alabama,’ the emailed statement from the firm White Arnold & Dowd read: ‘We are gratified the District Attorney evaluated the matter and chose not to proceed with a case that was neither reasonable nor just.’
ACLU applauded the outcome of the case, tweeting: ‘The DA’s decision here represents precisely what we want to see in these critical moments: a prosecutor who is not afraid to use discretion and the power to refuse to prosecute when justice demands the charges be dropped.’
Jones’ attorneys had filed a motion Monday asking the charges to be dismissed. They called the charges ‘completely unreasonable and unjust.’
They only later learned that Jones was five months pregnant and her fetus did not survive the shooting.
Police said the shooting took place following a dispute between Jones and 23-year-old Ebony Jemison.
When authorities failed to secure an indictment against Jemison, they decided to seek charges against Jones.
‘The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby,’ Pleasant Grove police Lt. Danny Reid said at the time of the shooting.
‘It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby.’
According to Reid, Jones and Jemison got into an argument over the baby’s father.
‘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.’
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