Accused killer won’t face death penalty

NORRISTOWN >> A Norristown woman accused of fatally stabbing a man during a “heated” argument outside the borough apartment where they resided will not face the death penalty if she’s convicted of first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, according to prosecutors.

“This is not a death penalty case based on the legal standards and the factors that we had to consider. Ultimately, our office decided not to pursue the death penalty,” Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Alexandria MacMaster explained on Monday after Jacqueline Janis Jackson was arraigned on homiciderelated charges.

With the death penalty off the table, Jackson, 35, of the 800 block of Smith Street, will face life imprisonment if she’s convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the alleged 2:14 a.m. May 20 stabbing death of 58-yearold Charles Dewalt.

Under state law, first-degree murder is punishable by either life imprisonment or death by lethal injection. It’s during a formal arraignment hearing that prosecutors must notify a judge about their intentions regarding the death penalty. Jackson

In order to obtain a death penalty, prosecutors must show that aggravating factors – circumstances that make a killing more heinous – outweigh any mitigating factors – circumstances that favor a defendant. Specifically, prosecutors have about 18 aggravating factors, under state law, which they can use to seek the death penalty.

Jackson also faces charges of third-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime. A conviction of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20-to-40-years in prison.

Jackson, who is represented by defense lawyer Carrie L. Allman, chief homicide lawyer for the Montgomery County Office of the Public Defender, waived a formal reading of the charges against her and pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Judge William R. Carpenter said pretrial hearings will be held in October. Carpenter scheduled

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