Mobile mother to daughter’s killer: ‘You need to suffer day by day for the rest of your life’
Antonio Maurice Collier appeared before a judge and accepted a life prison sentence with no possibility of parole for the death of Mercedes Jackson. Jackson's mother says Collier "needs to suffer day by day for the rest of your life.”
By Brendan Kirby
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MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — Antonio Maurice Collier appeared before a judge Thursday and accepted his fate – a life prison sentence with no possibility of parole for death of Mercedes Jackson.
After prosecutors took the death penalty off the table, it was the only sentence Mobile County Circuit Judge Wesley Pipes could impose.
“The facts were terrible,” the judge said. “The testimony was compelling.”
The judge said the reason he did not immediately impose sentence after the jury found Collier guilty last month is that he wanted the victim’s four children and her mother to be able to address the court.
Sharon Jackson looked directly at Collier, 41, when she talked about her daughter.
“I don’t know why you felt the need to kill my daughter,” she said. “I’m glad they didn’t give you the death penalty. You need to suffer day by day for the rest of your life.”
Outside the courtroom, Jackson added: “I wish there was a way where they could have pictures. So he could see the pictures in his cell every single day.”
Jackson’s death was Mobile’s first homicide of the year in 2018. Evidence at trial indicated that Collier and Jackson were an on-again, off-again couple and that he shot her after seeing her in a car with her new boyfriend. The car, under Alabama law, is an aggravating factor and prompted a grand jury to elevate the charge from intentional murder.
Collier expressed remorse when it was his turn to speak Thursday.
“I’d just like to say I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. … Please, one day, forgive me.”
Jacksons said she was surprised to hear Collier’s apology.
“I didn’t see any remorse the entire court,” she said. “So it seems as if he do have a heart. So I just don’t know why he made that terrible, terrible decision.”
On her daughter, Jackson said: “She was a great person. She was young. You know how young people are. But she was a loving person. She loved the kids. She loved her family.”
Collier’s lawyers said he would appeal.
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