BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Prosecutors with the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office are now seeking the death penalty against eight people connected to the kidnapping and killing of a 20-year-old woman in Birmingham earlier this year.
Airana Lashay Robinson, Giovonnie Clapp, Teja Lewis, Si'Niya McCall, Blair Green, Jeremiah McDowell, Francis Harris and Brandon Pope are now facing the death penalty nearly a year after Mahogany Jackson was found shot to death in the woods on Feb. 26. The Birmingham Police Department claims that prior to her death, Jackson was sexually assaulted.
Gail Maddox Trotter, Jackson's mother, said her daughter had reached out to her before her death, texting her that she was being held hostage at an undisclosed apartment. No other information was released, other than the suspects were all acquaintances with Jackson.
“The facts of this case are deplorable and sickening,” Former BPD Chief Scott Thurmond said at the time. “Saddest of all, they were made public by the suspects’ decision to videotape portions of this horrific act.”
All of the suspects are charged with capital murder. They have all pleaded not guilty in the case.