Lawyers for Marshae Jones, the Alabama woman who was indicted in the death of her unborn child after being shot during a fight, plan to file a motion Monday morning to dismiss charges against her, according to her attorney, Mark White.
White says that there isn’t a time frame for when the motion will be reviewed by a judge.
The Jefferson County grand jury indicted Jones, 27, on a manslaughter charge June 27.
Jones was five months pregnant on December 4 when she got into a fight with another woman outside a Dollar General store in Pleasant Grove, just west of Birmingham, CNN affiliate WBMA reported.
“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 told AL.com shortly after the shooting.
He said the fight caused the other woman, Ebony Jemison, to react and defend herself. He would not describe Jones, the pregnant woman, as a shooting victim.
Ebony Jemison was originally charged with murder and attempted murder, but those charges were dismissed, WBMA reported.
The indictment may or may not lead to prosecution, according to a statement from the Jefferson County District Attorney Bessemer Division’s office.
“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,” Bessemer Cutoff District Attorney Lynneice Washington said. “We will announce our decision only after all due diligence has been performed.”
According to Alabama law, manslaughter happens when:
— A person recklessly causes the death of another person; or
— A person causes the death of another person under circumstances that would constitute murder, “except that he or she causes the death due to a sudden heat of passion caused by provocation recognized by law, and before a reasonable time for the passion to cool and for reason to reassert itself.”
Manslaughter is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
