A homicide defendant accepted a plea deal extended by prosecutors before DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman on Aug. 28, despite the unhappiness of the victim’s family.
Shaneka Jackson, 41, was originally charged with second-degree murder while armed for her involvement in the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Gray Hall on Sept. 1, 2024, on the 900 block of Division Avenue, NE.
During the hearing, Joseph Yarbough, Jackson’s attorney, alerted Judge Edelman of her intent to accept a deal, which required her to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor count of possession of a prohibited weapon.
In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the murder charge and not seek an indictment. Through the deal, parties agreed to a sentencing range of four-to-10 years of imprisonment for the manslaughter charge, and up to a year for the possession charge. Each party is able to argue for or against consecutive sentences at the sentencing hearing.
According to the prosecution, had the case gone to trial, they would have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that on the day of the incident, Jackson became involved in a physical altercation with Hall’s girlfriend inside an apartment building, which Hall attempted to quell. While Hall attempted to stop the fight, another man interfered and fought Hall – with the men ending up outside of the building.
The prosecution claimed that, while outside, Jackson stabbed Hall once in the back, which punctured his lung. The prosecution insisted Jackson did not act in self-defense, and that her claim that she acted in the defense of others was not reasonable.
Hall’s mother told Judge Edelman she and her husband oppose the plea agreement, stating it is “unfathomable that she could possibly get four years” for killing Hall.
She deemed Hall a “bright, energetic, excessively curious boy,” who was trying to diffuse a situation.
“My son was murdered by another mother,” she stated, adding that each time she attempts to sleep she envisions Hall’s suffering as he fought for his life.
“As a mother, I couldn’t imagine taking someone’s child from them,” Hall’s mom stated.
Parties are slated to reconvene Oct. 31.
