Judge Bailey began the sentencing hearing of Shakeitha McGay at 10:06 a.m. on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. It ended with McGay being sentenced to 10 years with the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
She was on the stand for an event that took place in 2019 resulting in the death of a juvenile. On October 30, 2019, Shakeitha and her husband Allen McGay took Shantoria Ducksworth, a juvenile they were fostering, to the hospital with injuries. She died a few hours later.
A preliminary autopsy report claimed she died from blunt force trauma, and it was noted that there were what appeared to be older injuries as well, suggesting a history of abuse.
Shakeitha and Allen McGay were both arrested and charged with felony child abuse and other possible charges pending at the time. They were later indicted by the 2021 October Grand Jury.
In a previous session, Shakeitha McGay pled guilty to the child abuse charges and has been waiting at the Clarke County Jail for her sentencing hearing.
At the beginning of the hearing, McGay’s attorney, Marcus Evans brought forth three character witnesses, one of them being her father.
The first witness brought forth was Carl Rogers, a pastor. He explained how he has known McGay since she was born and described her as being very compassionate and always wanting to help others. He recalled how when she was in the youth group and how even as an adult she was always interested in assisting in civil matters to help others. Rogers was the first to mention McGay having a two-year-old child and recalled the spark he saw in her eyes the first time he saw her with the child.
When questioned about her relationship with Ducksworth, Rogers explained that she had been abandoned and that McGay chose to take on the responsibility of being her guardian since she was family and no one else would take her. He expressed that both girls were young and that he didn’t think McGay completely understood the gravity of the situation when she opted to become her guardian.
Next, Evans called Latricia Lee, pastor of a church Shakeitha attended, as a witness.
While Lee has known McGay’s family for 20-30 years, she explained that she didn’t become familiar with McGay until after the event occurred and the first time she really knew about it was when she went with McGay to court six months later. She has continued to visit with McGay each Sunday and claims that she has noticed where McGay has shown maturity and growth since being incarcerated.
The third and final witness called to the stand was McGay’s father, Tommy Harris. Once he was sworn in and got on the stand, he grabbed a tissue.
He explained how McGay is his only daughter and middle child. He recalled that she has never been a problem child, got along with her siblings just fine, and was never arrested before this. He teared up as he discussed his desire to protect her and how difficult it is to protect her when she has been in the jail for over 800 days instead of out and with her own child.
Once her father was off the stand, McGay requested to offer an allocution.
She explained that she was 23 years old when she took in Ducksworth and that she didn’t know a lot of the things going on with her when she first got custody. She stated that she never intended for anything to happen to her or for her to die.
McGay began to tear up before she continued to explain that if she had known then what she knows now then she would not have taken her in. She apologized and stated that she had been abused her whole life. She felt that she should never have taken her in when she wasn’t even taken care of herself. She did acknowledge that she understands that there are consequences.
She stated that even when she was in jail, she still made sure that Ducksworth had a proper burial.
The final thing McGay said was, “I just want to move on.”
In the closing arguments, Cassie Coleman referred back to the five-page autopsy report and seven photographs that she had presented as evidence. She requested that all of that be taken into consideration when determining the sentence.
The judge began his sentencing by explaining that the charge holds a minimum of five years and can go up to life in prison.
While the case was initially looked at as capital murder based on the initial autopsy report, a new final autopsy report lists the cause of death as undetermined. With the cause of death being undetermined, she was not being charged with capital murder. Instead, she was only facing one count of felony child abuse.
The judge reviewed the autopsy results, the substantial injuries shown in the photographs, and took into account everything the character witnesses had to say before issuing his decree.
The official sentence for Shakeitha McGay for one count of felony child abuse is 10 years with the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with 884 days of jail credit for the time she has already served. She will also pay $420.50 for Clarke County Court fees, a $500 fine, $250 for the victim’s compensation fund, and $1,000 to the children’s trust, totaling $2,170.50 in fines.
Once the judge exited the courtroom after the sentencing, McGay turned around and said, “Where is my mama?”
She was then turned around and escorted from the court room. She was taken back to the Clarke County Sheriff’s Department where she will await transport to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
