Watch CBS News

Woman Who Lost Unborn Child After Being Shot Is Arrested, Alleged Shooter Goes Free

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (CBS Local) -- An Alabama woman who allegedly started a fight that led to the death of her unborn baby has been indicted for manslaughter, but the woman who allegedly shot her won't be charged.

Marshae Jones, 28, was five months pregnant when she attacked Ebony Jemison, 23, outside Dollar General store in Pleasant Grove in December of last year, according to authorities.

Jemison allegedly shot Jones in the stomach during the argument, which police say was over the unborn baby's father. The unborn baby did not survive.

A Jefferson County grand jury indicted Jones on a manslaughter charge, according to AL.com. She was taken into custody on Wednesday and held at the Jefferson County jail in Birmingham on $50,000 bond.

Jemison was initially charged with manslaughter, but the charge was dropped after the grand jury failed to indict her.

"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, 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."

Amanda Reyes, the executive director of the Yellowhammer Fund, a group that gained national attention after the passage of Alabama's new abortion law, vowed to assist Jones' defense.

"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," Reyes said in a statement.

"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 continued.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.