Source: Raymond Boyd / Getty
Marshae Jones, a 27-year-old Birmingham resident, was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on charges of manslaughter when her unborn child died after Jones herself was shot. Jones was taken into custody Wednesday.
Jones was charged with manslaughter because it was concluded by a grand jury that she initiated the disagreement that consequentially ended up in her being shot. The shooter, Ebony Jamison, was initially charged, however, after a grand jury failed to indict her, charges were completely dismissed.
“The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby,’’ said Pleasant Grove police Lt. Danny Reid. “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 police reports, the shooting took place outside of a Dollar General. The dispute was found to be initiated and escalated by Jones, over the unborn child’s father. Lt. Reid believes the only true victim is the unborn baby; Jones was shot in the stomach. Jones is currently being held on $50,000 bond.
The indictment angered a lot of women’s right advocates. The Yellowhammer Fund is an organization that helps women access abortion services, according to AL.com, they released a statement in relation to the indictment.
“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 an official statement.
