Advocates Seek Clemency For Woman Jailed For 1986 Murder Of Abusive Husband
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Oct 11, 2012 10:00PM
In 1986 Peggy Jo Jackson was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of her abusive husband, and the Illinois Clemency Project for Battered Women is trying again to lobby for her release.
Jackson has spent 26 years behind bars after she and her brother were convicted of killing William Jackson, her husband who she says physically and emotionally abused her for 12 years.
Peggy Jo Jackson and her brother Richard Harshbarger, who died in prison in 2006, were tried and sentenced together for the killing of William Jackson. Jackson's attorneys argued Wednesday that "Jackson never wanted nor did she know her husband would be killed."
On Dec. 2, Peggy Jo Jackson's brother, Richard Harshbarger, called her and said he was coming to talk to William Jackson. He said she should leave the door open and not tell her husband.He arrived the following morning and confronted his brother-in-law. Peggy Jo Jackson said she heard her brother say, "My sister ain't no punching bag," before a fight started. She said she took the children to a neighbor's house.
William Jackson's body was later found in the family's station wagon, which was had been driven into a creek and set on fire, according to the petition. William Jackson had been beaten with a bat and shot.
Jefferson County State's Attorney Douglas R. Hoffman wrote in a letter that Jackson's trial was fair and noted it was affirmed by a jury and an appellate court.
"As the jury concluded … (Jackson) conspired with her brother and was responsible for her husband's violent death," [Jefferson County State's Attorney Douglas R.] Hoffman wrote. "William Jackson was not the best person, but he certainly did not deserve the fate that awaited him due to the actions of his wife and brother-in-law."
Her attorneys argue Peggy Jo Jackson did not receive a fair trial, and her trial attorney Michael D. McHaney filed an affidavit saying he made "several serious mistakes" in defending Jackson and especially regrets never presenting evidence of Jackson's abuse.
Attorneys also say Jackson was suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome when she was imprisoned. While Jackson's abuse was never documented, attorneys say awareness of domestic violence barely existed in 1986.
"1986 is a long time ago," said attorney Margaret Byrne, director of the clemency project. "The (Illinois) Domestic Violence Act had not been around very long. There were a few shelters in Chicago. There were none, I am sure, in Jefferson County."