*An Alabama woman whose unborn baby was killed in a 2018 shooting has been indicted in the death.
Marshae Jones, 27, of Birmingham, was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on a manslaughter charge and taken into custody on Wednesday.
Jones was shot in the stomach while five months pregnant and later charged with manslaughter in her fetus’ death after police said she initiated the dispute that led to the shooting.
23-year-old Ebony Jemison was initially charged with manslaughter, but it was dismissed after the grand jury failed to indict her, AL.com reports.
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Marshae Jones was pregnant when she was shot by Ebony Jemison. Her unborn child didn’t survive – and Jones was charged with manslaughter.
Now the woman who shot Jones says she thinks that punishment is too harsh. https://t.co/7Cbd7meFep
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 28, 2019
According to the outlet, the shooting occurred on Dec. 4, 2018, outside Dollar General on Park Road, after a fight over the unborn baby’s father.
“The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby,’’ Pleasant Grove police Lt. Danny Reid said at the time of the shooting. “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 Jones initiated the fight which caused Jemison to defend herself , causing the death of the baby.
“Let’s not lose sight that the unborn baby is the victim here,’’ Reid said. “She had no choice in being brought unnecessarily into a fight where she was relying on her mother for protection.”
The 5-month fetus was “dependent on its mother to try to keep it from harm, and she shouldn’t seek out unnecessary physical altercations,” Reid added.
Jones is reportedly being held at the Jefferson County Jail on $50,000 bond.
News of her grand jury indictment outraged many women’s rights activists, including The Yellowhammer Fund, which helps women access abortion services. The organization released a statement Wednesday night, saying:
“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 the statement.“
“Today, Marshae Jones is being charged with manslaughter for being pregnant and getting shot while engaging in an altercation with a person who had a gun. Tomorrow, it will be another black woman, maybe for having a drink while pregnant. And after that, another, for not obtaining adequate prenatal care,” Reyes added.
“We commit ourselves to making sure that Marshae is released from jail on bond, assisting with her legal representation, and working to ensure that she gets justice for the multiple attacks that she has endured,’’ she concluded.
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