Mississippi man will spend 50 years in prison for being drunk when he crashed into a pregnant woman returning from baby shower, killing her unborn child
Published 9:41 pm Saturday, October 9, 2021
A Mississippi man convicted of killing an unborn child while driving drunk will spend more than half a century in prison for his crimes.
James Cory Gilbert, 34, of Jones County was convicted last week in the January 2020 death of the unborn baby of South Jones Elementary School teacher Mashayla Harper who was driving home from a baby shower when the fatal wreck occurred.
Gilbert was sentenced to 52 years in state prison with five years probation upon release and must pay a $10,000 fine, the Laurel Leader-Call newspaper reported.
The newspaper reported that while the jurors didn’t hear of Gilbert’s past criminal record, Judge Dal Williamson referenced Gilbert’s record before sentencing.
Gilbert had been arrested 21 times in the last 16 years including DUI and other alcohol-related crimes.
“Mr. Gilbert, you have been a ticking time bomb for a long time, and today, it’s going to stop,” the newspaper quoted Williamson as saying.