Niyajah Hales Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for 2021 Wheeling Island Shooting
Niamh Coomey Trending
WHEELING -- Niyajah Hales was sentenced to 40 years in prison Tuesday for fatally shooting Michael J. Jackson in a January 2021 disagreement outside of the VooDoo Lounge bar on Wheeling Island.
A jury found New York native Hales guilty of second-degree murder in July, a change in severity from his initial first-degree murder charge.
Ohio County Circuit Judge Michael Olejasz delivered the sentencing Tuesday morning at the City-County Building following final remarks from the prosecutor and defense attorneys, as well as several of Jackson's family members.
In addition to giving Hales the maximum sentence of 40 years, Olejasz granted the family $6,533 in restitution to reimburse Jackson's funeral costs. Hales will be responsible for all court costs related to his conviction.
Jackson's family and friends filled the court's pews, crying and hugging each other after Olejasz announced the sentence.
In his final remarks to the judge, defense attorney Kevin Neiswonger argued that "it takes two to tango." He asserted that "there is some blame to go around for what happened" and "not every single person involved with this had completely clean hands."
Neiswonger also said Hales has maintained that he did do something wrong in shooting Jackson and accepts punishment for his actions. He has challenged only the specific charges he was given, according to Neiswonger.
Prosecutor Shawn Turak rebuked this statement in her comments to the judge, bringing up Hales' claims to police that he did not shoot anyone.
Turak said Hales made "a series of stupid decisions" that led him to this point and must face accountability for the killing and the harm to Jackson's loved ones.
"From the beginning he failed to take responsibility for his actions," she said. "And with respect to 'clean hands,' your honor, the only person in this courtroom whose hands are not clean has been adjudicated guilty by a jury of his peers of second-degree murder."
Three of Hales' loved ones addressed the court at the sentencing, explaining the devastating impact that Hales' killing continues to have on them.
Jackson's wife and mother of their children Tonya Jackson said her husband's death, which took place weeks after the shooting, was drawn out and painful. She has seen her children suffer greatly as they deal with the loss of their father, she said.
Her youngest daughter constantly fears she will lose her mother in the same way she lost her dad, she said, while her son has developed a "hard exterior" and her oldest daughter is forgoing her college education.
In Olejasz's sentencing, he echoed the "catastrophic damage" Hales inflicted on Jackson's family, particularly his children, who will now have to grow up without a father.
Olejasz denied Neiswonger's requests to consider a lesser sentence due to Hales' young age and lack of extensive criminal background.
"Quite simply, he shot an unarmed man for absolutely no good reason," Olejasz said. "Not only did he shoot this man without lawful provocation, he caused this man to suffer, in pain, in a hospital bed for some six weeks."
The sentencing comes just two months short of the four-year anniversary of the shooting.