18-Year-Old Girl Charged With Murder After Throwing Newborn Baby in Dumpster
Following her arrest and accusation of murder, a teen who abandoned her newborn boy in a dumpster shortly after giving birth is now facing the death penalty.
After police discovered her son’s dead body stuffed inside a dumpster next to an apartment complex, Jakayla Williams, an 18-year-old from Dothan, Alabama, is currently jailed without bail on one count of capital murder.
She acknowledged to officers from the Dothan Police Department that the cost of childcare prevented her from wanting to take care of her child.
She allegedly gave birth to the child covertly at her home, but when her family learned she was expecting, she made up a story about having given birth at the Southeast Health Medical Center.
Jakayla, a recent Dothan High School alumna who wanted to have her baby back, was taken there by her family. There, the girl stated that she had surrendered her baby to a worker.
The staff at the center, however, discovered after reviewing CCTV footage that Jakayla had not left her infant with them.
They alerted the Dothan Police Department, who later discovered her dead child buried beneath a pile of trash.
Although an autopsy for the infant has already been scheduled, the precise reason for the child’s death is still unknown.
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Legal Uncertainty Surrounds Jakayla’s Capital Murder Charge Following Infant’s Tragic Death
Tragically, the chief cop claimed that if Jakayla had headed to the hospital, staff members would have provided care for the now-dead infant in accordance with Alabama’s no-questions-asked rule.
What will happen to Jakayla if she proves to be guilty of her capital murder charge is not yet known.
According to local prosecutors, they are currently deliberating what sentence to seek in this instance.
Russ Goodman, the district attorney for Houston County, would not say if his office will seek the death penalty for the 18-year-old.
Jakayla’s case may still be under consideration by the prosecution, but the state’s statistics on the death penalty may make her nervous.
According to the Equal Justice Initiative, Alabama executes more individuals per capita than any other state in the union.
Additionally, there is no age restriction set by the state on who can be sentenced to death row.
Additionally, the state permits death sentences to be imposed even when juries are not unanimous.
According to the non-profit, 80% of those who are already on execution row in the state did not get unanimous death sentences from the jury.
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Source: Daily Mail, NY Breaking