Alabama is prosecuting a pregnant woman for manslaughter for losing her baby after being shot in the stomach. However, they aren’t prosecuting her shooter.
Marshae Jones, a 27-year-old Birmingham woman, was shot in the stomach at about noon on Dec. 4, 2018, outside Dollar General on Park Road. She was 5 months pregnant at the time and her unborn child died as a result of the shooting.
Marshae was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on a manslaughter charge. She was taken into custody on Wednesday. Meanwhile, charges against her shooter, Ebony Jemison, 23, have been dismissed by a grand jury.
Though Jones didn’t fire the shots that killed her unborn baby girl, according to reports, authorities said the mother 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.
Pleasant Grove police Lt. Danny Reid said at the time of the shooting: “The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby. It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby.”
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 to defend herself and unfortunately caused the death of the baby.
Reid said: “Let’s not lose sight that the unborn baby is the victim here. She had no choice in being brought unnecessarily into a fight where she was relying on her mother for protection.”
The story has sparked outrage as people are saying the victim is being blamed while the criminal is allowed to go free. It has also sparked a discussion about fetal personhood and abortion laws.
