Manslaughter charge dropped against Alabama woman whose unborn baby died after shooting

An Alabama woman who was charged with manslaughter after her unborn baby died after she was shot in the stomach in December will not be prosecuted for manslaughter, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Marshae Jones was indicted by a grand jury after she allegedly started a fight in Pleasant Grove, Alabama, with a coworker who then pulled out a gun and shot her, killing her five-month-old fetus. The coworker was not charged, but Jones was indicted for "initiating a fight" while pregnant, The New York Times reports. The case sparked national outrage when Jones was arrested last week, and the Times says that the office of the prosecutor, District Attorney Lynneice Washington, was "flooded with angry calls and messages about the injustice of arresting a woman who was shot, while allowing the person who fired the weapon to walk free."

The case illustrated the potential moral minefield of adhering to Alabama's law that says an unborn fetus has the same rights as a person. Robert Knight, the Pleasant Grove police chief, told the Times: "If the laws are there, we are sworn to enforce them. That's what we're going to do."

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It wasn't entirely clear why Washington dropped the charges. In a statement Wednesday, she called the case "disturbing," but said she had "determined that it is not in the best interest of justice to pursue prosecution of Ms. Jones," AL.com reports. She added: "There are no winners, only losers, in this sad ordeal."

The manslaughter charge would have been punishable by up to 20 years in prison. One of Jones' lawyers told the Times that when Jones found out the charges against her were being dismissed, she broke down in tears. "She cried," he said. "We both cried. Then she said, 'Thank you.'"

Watch District Attorney Washington announce her decision below. Jessica Hullinger