The offer from the State’s Attorney’s office clearly shows that prosecutors never believed they could convince a judge or jury that our client, Keshia Golden, was guilty of first-degree murder.
It is a disgrace that it took almost four years for the prosecution to admit this. Continuing to prosecute Keshia for first-degree murder has caused her and her family unbelievable stress as she was threatened with decades in prison.
Keshia has made the difficult decision to accept the prosecution’s offer to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and a sentence of probation in this case to ensure that she will be able to raise her daughter and see her grow up. This is a rational decision, but it is not a just outcome.
Our clients face these difficult and personal decisions every day when choosing between the risk to their freedom at trial and pleading guilty to something they are innocent of.
We hope the State's Attorney will keep Keshia’s case in mind moving forward, particularly in the case of criminalized survivors. The State's Attorney's Office has an obligation to pursue justice even when it means not achieving a conviction.