MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On Sunday, Noura Jackson became a free woman after spending almost a decade in prison for the stabbing death of her mother.
Jackson entered an Alford plea last year on voluntary manslaughter charges after her original conviction was overturned.
The killing was so brutal, 10 years haven’t washed away its memory.
“I just was surprised that anything like that would happen in our neighborhood,” neighbor Karon Farrow said.
Jennifer Jackson was stabbed at least 50 times in her own home, with her own daughter, Noura Jackson, being the one arrested for the murder.
She was 18 years old at the time.
“It just kind of sent a shock wave through the neighborhood,” neighbor Jimmy Cull said.
Now, Jackson is walking free again.
Her attorney said she declined parole last fall. However, now she is being released six years early for good behavior.
Although Jackson won’t be moving back into the East Memphis house where it happened, neighbors said they’ll never forget that June morning.
“That is by far the biggest thing that’s happened here in the past, since I’ve been here 30 years,” Cull said.
Jackson was convicted in 2009 of second-degree murder, but that was overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct during the trial, according to her attorney.
She then took an Alford plea last year on voluntary manslaughter charges.
The plea means she maintains her innocence, while acknowledging the evidence against her.
“I would think by now if there was somebody else who’d done that, it’d be figured out who it was because it was somebody in the house,” Farrow said.
Prosecutors said they gave her the plea deal because evidence and witnesses changed.
They also wouldn’t be able to admit things like her sexual activity and drug use the second time around.
Although some question her claim for innocence, they still wish her well.
“Hopefully she gets out and becomes productive and leads a good life,” Cull said. “That’s all you can hope for.”
Jackson sent the following statement to WREG after her release:
I am thankful for the friends, lawyers, and family who supported me throughout the last eleven years. One long, dark chapter of my life ended this morning, and today I enjoyed small pleasures you all take for granted, like a good cup of coffee, the smell of fresh flowers, painted toenails, and a trip to Target. In the next chapter of my life, I plan to honor my mom by forcing the State of Tennessee to identify the person whose complete DNA profile was mixed with my mother’s blood in her bed. I have been greatly disappointed in the justice system, but I still hope for justice in the upcoming ethical misconduct trials of Prosecutors Amy Weirich and Steve Jones. Despite many requests today, I will not be giving interviews until I settle into a new life. I will not grant any future interview to those who cannot respect my present desire to be alone for the first time, in a very, very long time.
Thank you.
Noura Jackson
