Jeffery Jackson pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a 2022 Chatham County homicide and is to be released in February 2027 after credit for time served. He has been in jail since 2022.
The plea reduced Jackson’s original malice murder charge. Lemuel Rouse died after a gunfight with Jackson following an argument.
Prosecutors said conflicting evidence left them unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt who fired first. The judge said there was insufficient evidence to find that Jackson acted in self-defense.
The judge said an attorney on the case had engaged experts to examine whether the proximate cause of Rouse’s death was the gunshot or something that happened at the hospital. Rouse had a pacemaker, which was an issue in the case.
The judge said he accepted the plea because he believed it offered certainty, finality and consequences in a case that otherwise could result in nothing.
In a separate gun-charge case, Jackson has a suspended three-year sentence. The term may be imposed if he commits a violation.
Yolonda Harris
News Now Georgia
