A woman whose unborn baby was killed in a 2018 Pleasant Grove shooting has now been indicted in the death.

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.

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 shooting happened about noon on Dec. 4, 2018, outside Dollar General on Park Road. Officers were dispatched to the scene on a report of someone shot but arrived to find the shooting victim – later identified as Jones - had been picked up and driven to Fairfield. Police and paramedics then found the Jones at a Fairfield convenience store.

Jones was taken from Fairfield to UAB Hospital. She was five months pregnant and was shot in the stomach. The unborn baby did not survive the shooting.

Eris wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 11:40 am They are saying:

- a fetus is a person,
- the expectant mother started the fight that ended with her being shot and the fetus dying,
- therefore the pregnant woman should be charged with manslaughter for taking actions that lead to the death of the fetus.

This is the perfectly predictable result of fetal personhood laws. Get shot and lose the baby? You killed someone. Have a miscarriage? You killed someone. Use the day after pill? You killed someone.

Bang wrote:I understand the reasoning, but this is really taking it far. She attacked someone, charge her with assault or battery. Manslaughter is for someone who commits an act of killing, not an act that leads to a death.

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 [the shooter] was dismissed after the grand jury failed to indict her.

Reid said the fight stemmed over the unborn baby’s father. The investigation showed, he said, that it was Jones who initiated and pressed the fight, which ultimately caused Jemison [shooter] to defend herself and unfortunately caused the death of the baby.

wpkato wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:51 pm Ok, but doesn't intent follow the bullet? I thought you're responsible for the path/consequence of every bullet you fire in self defense?

K9s wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 12:54 am You guys can make fun of Alabama, but Indiana's fetal burial law was upheld by SCOTUS. Other non-southern states have these crazy anti-women laws, too. When it happens in Missouri or another Midwest state, will you be so glib?

If you can so easily write off Alabama (and probably the rest of us in the deep south and midwest), who will be left to speak for you? We have to stick together.

K9s wrote:You guys can make fun of Alabama, but Indiana's fetal burial law was upheld by SCOTUS. Other non-southern states have these crazy anti-women laws, too. When it happens in Missouri or another Midwest state, will you be so glib?

If you can so easily write off Alabama (and probably the rest of us in the deep south and midwest), who will be left to speak for you? We have to stick together.

Jefferson County prosecutors say they have not yet made a decision whether they will prosecute the woman who is charged in the death of her unborn born child after the woman was shot during a fight.

Cutoff District Attorney Lynneice Washington, the first African-American female district attorney in the state, is out of the country. Chief Assistant District Attorney Valerie Hicks Powe late Thursday night issued a statement about the case.

“Foremost, it should be stated this is a truly tragic case resulting in the death of an unborn child. We feel sympathy for the families involved, including Ms. Jones, who lost her unborn child,’’ Powe said. “The fact that this tragedy was 100 percent avoidable makes this case even more disheartening.”

At the time of Jemison’s arrest, Pleasant Grove police Lt. Danny Reid said, “the mother’s involvement and culpability will be presented to a grand jury” to determine if she also will be charged in the incident.

All felony arrests go before a grand jury to either charge (true bill) or decline to charge (no bill) the suspect. In this case, authorities put all evidence before a Bessemer Cutoff grand jury which convened on April 8, 2019.

Four days later, on April 12, the grand jury indicted Jones and declined to indict Jemison based on the evidence presented to them, which led to a dismissal of the charge against her. Indictments are only made public once the defendant has been arrested and served, which is why news of the charges against Jones were made public Wednesday.

“While the grand jury has had its say, our office is in the process of evaluating this case and has not yet made a determination about whether to prosecute it as a manslaughter case, reduce it to a lesser charge or not to prosecute it,’’ Powe said. “We will take a through look at all the facts provided, the applicable laws, and reach a decision that we believe will lead to an outcome that is the most just for all the parties involved. We will announce our decision only after all due diligence has been performed.”

“Unfortunately, some groups have attempted to tie this case to the anti-abortion law recent passed by the (state) legislature,’’ Powe said. “This case predates the passage of the legislation and we must point out the new law played no role in the consideration of the grand jury.”

max129 wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 8:01 pm Assuming for just a second that the DA there is rational, and reading the rest of the news, the pregnant woman apparently started a fight with a woman over a love triangle.

Apparently the DA decided, based on the evidence, that:

1) The pregnant woman started a fight
2) Apparently her actions were violent enough for the other woman to shoot her (killing the fetus) and have a successful claim of self defense
3) Therefore, the DA (Lynneice Washington) decides she cannot charge the shooter because it was legit self-defense
4) The DA then deals with the dead fetus by charging the mother for step (1) above

It is perfectly linear and logical - which shows that linear and logical can be very off course of "right and correct".

The woman lost her child. She got shot. She has had enough punishment, even if she did start the fight.

I'm with Eris on this one, an innocuous sounding law (fetus = person) leads to some batshit crazy outcomes.

Honestly, unless these people are totally incompetent, the assailing woman must have been a hell of a threat for the second woman to shoot her, kill the baby, and not get charged.

max129 wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:01 am All - I gently posted the DA's FB channel without mentioning race.

The prosecutor is not white. There may be more going on here than is discernable.

I find the charges bizarre, but I will not be so quick to assert racism.

BKinzey wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 12:55 pm

max129 wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:01 am All - I gently posted the DA's FB channel without mentioning race.

The prosecutor is not white. There may be more going on here than is discernable.

I find the charges bizarre, but I will not be so quick to assert racism.

Agreed again. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

BKinzey wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 12:50 pm One event I see in the article is the woman didn't go to the hospital. She went elsewhere and was taken by the police only after they picked her up. What was the reason she didn't immediately go to the hospital?