Circuit Court Judge Paul Burch sentenced Jamel Dow, 29, to 42 years in prison following his guilty plea to murder on Wednesday. Dow admitted to shooting his then-girlfriend, Ashley Blackmon, multiple times following a dispute on November 23, 2018 in Hamer. After the shooting, Dow called 911 and reported what he had done.
“This was a senseless tragedy that didn’t have to happen,” said Assistant Solicitor Shipp Daniel, who prosecuted the case. “I commend the Blackmon family for their dignity and class throughout this awful experience, and while nothing will make them whole again, I pray that this result gives them some sense of justice.”
At the plea hearing, Daniel described the events of that night, saying Dow attempted to barricade Blackmon in a house. Blackmon escaped and ran next door for help with Dow chasing her, and it was there that he shot her six times.
“This is a man who had beaten Ashley before this fatal night,” said Daniel at the hearing. “But on November 23, 2018, he emptied a gun in her When he did, he ended a life, left a six-year-old little girl without a mother, and left this family without their sister, their daughter, their granddaughter.”
Dow spoke and asked the family for forgiveness, saying he should have handled his anger in a different way.
Judge Burch said Dow gets some consideration for admitting his guilt and not putting the family through the ordeal of a trial.
According to Daniel, by law, Dow will get credit for the time he has spent in jail awaiting this hearing. But Daniel said that a murder charge in South Carolina is “day-for-day” meaning Dow must serve every single day of his 42-year sentence.
Detective Allan Rogers of the Dillon County Sheriff’s Department led the investigation of this case.