In case you missed it, Marshae Jones, a 27-year-old woman from Birmingham got shot in the stomach, causing her to lose her pregnancy. And yet, Jones is facing charges of manslaughter.
The rationale is even more bizarre, on the face of it, than the charges themselves. Back in December, Jones got into a fight with Ebony Jemison in the parking lot of a Dollar General in Pleasant Grove, a Birmingham suburb, as part of a long-simmering dispute over the father of Jones’ child. Jemison shot Jones in the stomach—and as it turned out, mortally wounded Jones’ unborn child. Jones was rushed to UAB Hospital after being found in nearby Fairfield. The baby, a girl named Marlaysia, didn’t survive.
From the very beginning, police claimed that Jones was the aggressor. Indeed, according to an AL.com story announcing that Jemison had initially been charged with manslaughter, Pleasant Grove police spokesman Danny Reid dropped a pretty loud hint that Jones could be facing charges as well.
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.
He said the fight stemmed over the unborn baby’s father. “When a 5-month pregnant woman initiates a fight and attacks another person, I believe some responsibility lies with her as to any injury to her unborn child,’’ Reid said. “That child is dependent on its mother to try to keep it from harm, and she shouldn’t seek out unnecessary physical altercations.”
Okay, fair enough. But even if you accept the line that Jones is the aggressor, you would think that Jemison would still have to answer for shooting Jones in the stomach. But a grand jury not only returned a no bill on manslaughter charges against Jemison, but found that Jemison acted in self-defense. And investigators laid out a scenario that, on the face of it, sounds believable.
According to authorities, Jones was the aggressor in the dispute that day and continued to press the fight even after Jemison had gotten into her vehicle to try to get away. It was then that Jemison got hold of a gun and fired a shot at Jones to stop the attack.
But that raises another question—what exactly was Jones doing to “press the fight”? On paper, it’s plausible that Jones was threatening to barge into the car, and Jemison opened fire to protect herself. But we don't know that for sure. Nonetheless, this prospect is plausible enough to my mind that until more information comes out, I’m loath to join in any “justice for Marshae” campaign. We can’t take a chance on this being another Covington Catholic situation.
Jones’ grandmother, Patrice, claims someone has cell phone video of the whole thing that supposedly proves Jemison was the aggressor. If that’s true, someone needs to release it. And regardless, prosecutors down there need to give us some answers, and soon.
Fortunately, there’s reason to hope we may get them. Jefferson County, home to Birmingham, is split between two judicial divisions—one based in Birmingham, the other based in Bessemer. The DA for the Bessemer division is Lynneice Washington, the first black woman elected as a DA in Alabama. She’s out of the country for now. Hopefully once she gets back to the States, the first thing on her agenda will be to give us some answers. After all, on paper, a DA of color would be quick to correct a situation that threatens to become yet another embarrassment for a state that has a long history of generating them.