Adult Time for Adult Crime: Ashley Jones

Cully Stimson / October 27, 2009

The Equal Justice Initiative’s 2007 report describes Ashley’s Jones offense as follows: “At 14, Ashley tried to escape the violence and abuse by running away with an older boyfriend who shot and killed her grandfather and aunt. Her grandmother and sister, who were injured during the offense, want Ashley to come home.”

The actual facts of the case, taken from the judge’s written findings, appear below.

Defendant: Ashley Jones (14)
Victims: Deroy Nalls (grandfather; murdered), Millie Nalls (aunt; murdered), Mary Elizabeth Nalls (grandmother; attempted murder), Mary Elizabeth Jones (sister; attempted murder)
Crimes: Two counts, first degree capital murder. Two counts, attempted first degree murder & other charges
Crime date: August 30, 1999 in Birmingham, Alabama

Summary
In a span of minutes, Ashley Jones and her boyfriend shot her grandfather twice in the face and then stabbed him until he died; shot her sleeping aunt three times; shot her grandmother in the shoulder and then stabbed her, poured lighter fluid on her, set her on fire, and watched her burn; and stabbed her 10-year old sister 14 times. Jones then took $300 from her grandfather’s wallet and the keys to his Cadillac, which she drove away from the crime scene.

Facts
After Ashley Jones stabbed her father and pregnant mother in 1998, killing neither, she and her younger sister were sent to live with her grandparents and maternal aunt. Deroy Nalls, her 78-year-old grandfather, was a retired steelworker and deacon at his church. His wife, Mary Nalls, 73, was a homemaker. (more…)