Prosecutors want the death penalty for all of them in one of Birmingham’s most horrific killings.
Mahogany Jackson, a 20-year-old mother of a young daughter, went to an apartment in southwest Birmingham on the night of February 24, 2024, thinking she was hanging out with people she knew. Instead, she was held captive for hours, beaten, spit on, stripped, handcuffed, and forced to perform sex acts at gunpoint before being shot in the back of the head, police and prosecutors say.AP News
Much of the ordeal was filmed by the suspects themselves. Jackson managed to text her family that she was being held hostage and shared her location. She was killed soon after. Her body was later found dumped near an illegal dump site under a mattress.Al
Eight people, four men and four women, were charged: Brandon Pope, Francis “Ace” Harris (believed to be the shooter), Jeremiah McDowell, Blair Green, Si’Niya McCall, Teja Lewis, Giovonnie Clapp, and Airana Robinson. All eight now face capital murder charges. Jefferson County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against every one of them, calling the crime “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.”Al
Jackson’s mother, Gail Maddox, has said the group showed her daughter “no mercy.” She has described her daughter as full of life and someone who loved people, sometimes the wrong ones. “I would never think that so many people could hate one individual so badly,” Maddox has said. “My child weighed 105 pounds soaking wet, but eight people, that’s too much.” She has vowed to attend every court date and has said she supports the death penalty because of the cruelty involved.Wbrc
As of mid-2026, none of the defendants had gone to trial. All have pleaded not guilty and remain in custody. The court has repeatedly delayed dates, and one defendant’s trial setting was vacated earlier this year. Prosecutors have said no plea offers have been made and that the death penalty remains on the table for all eight.Legalclarity
Police called the details “deplorable and sickening.” Detectives testified that Jackson was dragged naked, stomped, pistol-whipped, and sexually assaulted while suspects recorded it. She left behind a toddler daughter who, her mother has said, still asks for her.Wbrc
The case remains one of the most brutal in recent Birmingham history, with the entire group facing the possibility of execution if convicted.
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