Alabama: pregnant woman shot in stomach is charged in fetus's death

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/27/alabama-pregnant-woman-shot-manslaughter-charge-marshae-jones

Miranda Bryant
Thu 27 Jun 2019 16.18 EDT
Last modified on Thu 27 Jun 2019 19.57 EDT

A woman from Alabama who was shot in the stomach while pregnant – with the bullets killing the fetus – has been charged with manslaughter.

Marshae Jones was reportedly five months pregnant when she was shot by another woman in December outside a shop in Pleasant Grove, near Birmingham.

On Wednesday, Jones, 27, was indicted by a Jefferson county grand jury on a manslaughter charge and is expected to be held in Jefferson county jail on a $50,000 bond, while the woman accused of shooting her walked free, reported AL.com.

The case has raised alarm among pro-choice groups who say it is shocking evidence of how the state’s restrictive abortion laws are now being used against pregnant women.

“The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby,’’ said Lt Danny Reid of Pleasant Grove police following the shooting, reported AL.com in December. “It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby.”

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Alabama is one of 38 states with fetal homicide laws that recognize a fetus as a potential victim.

It is also a “stand-your-ground” state, which means people are allowed to use physical force to defend themselves if their reason is considered “justifiable”.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/27/us/alabama-pregnant-woman-shot-in-stomach-manslaughter-indictment-trnd/index.html

By Holly Yan and Madeline Holcombe, CNN

Updated 7:35 PM ET, Thu June 27, 2019

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Authorities say the dispute involved the baby's father, AL.com 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.

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Jemison, the accused shooter, initially faced a charge of manslaughter, AL.com reported. But a grand jury declined to indict the 23-year-old.

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