Noura Jackson, originally convicted in the murder of her mother, is officially a free woman.
Local 24 cameras were rolling Sunday morning, as the 29-year-old was released from the Mark Luttrell Correctional Center.
Her release ended a more than a decade long legal saga, which included a second degree murder conviction, a later overturning of that conviction, and an eventual plea deal which set her release into action.
Jackson was released at 8:30 Sunday morning.
Once she was outside the prison gates, a friend greeted Jackson with a long hug.
Jackson was 18 when her mother Jennifer Jackson was found stabbed at least 50 times in the bedroom of her east Memphis home.
In 2009, a jury convicted her of second degree murder.
But in a twist, in August 2014, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned her conviction and ordered a new trial; an important victory at the time for Jackson’s legal team.
“She’s back to being presumed innocent,” Michael Working, one of Jackson’s attorneys, said at the time.
The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled a retrial, claiming the lead prosecutor , now Shelby County District Attorney Amy Wierich, withheld a witness statement from the defense and said “just tell us where you were, that’s all we’re asking Noura” during closing arguments.
But a new trial never happened.
In May 2015, Jackson’s attorneys accepted a plea deal from prosecutors of voluntary manslaughter to avoid a potentially lengthy new trial.
“She could have fought for another 10 years on principle,” Working said in 2015.
“I don’t know anyone who would give up their thirties on principle.”
In the deal, Jackson did not admit guilt in the death of her mother but accepted the lesser offense.
“We wanted to obtain justice for Jennifer Jackson,” Mike Dunavant, a special prosecutor assigned to the case, said in 2015.
Dunavant said last year his office was happy with what the plea deal represented.
“We wanted to make sure there was an adjudication of guilt for a homicide, and that’s exactly what happened today,” Dunavant said.
Noura Jackson’s attorneys said their client has always maintained her innocence in the death of her mother.
Her release is based on credit for time already served.
Jackson responded to Local 24 with this statement:
“I am so thankful for the friends, lawyers, and family who supported me throughout the last eleven years. One long,dark chapter of my life ended this morning, and today I enjoyed small pleasures you all take for granted, like a good cup of coffee, the smell of fresh flowers, painted toenails, and a trip to Target. In the next chapter of my life, I plan to honor my mom by forcing the State of Tennessee to identify the person whose complete DNA profile was mixed with my mother’s blood in her bed. I have been greatly disappointed in the justice system, but I still hope for justice in the upcoming ethical misconduct trials of Prosecutors Amy Weirich and Steve Jones. Despite many requests today, I will not be giving interviews until I settle into a new life. I will not grant any future interview to those who cannot respect my present desire to be alone for the first time, in a very, very long time.”
Thank you.
Noura Jackson
