Judge says Nalah Jackson will remain in jail, trial scheduled to start in October
Columbus, Ohio (WSYX) — The Columbus woman facing federal kidnapping charges for the abduction of twin babies in a stolen car appeared in court Friday morning.
Nalah Jackson, 24, has been in the Franklin County Jail for the last five months, and a federal judge ruled to have her remain in jail ahead of a federal trial.
Initially, Jackson was due in court Thursday afternoon, but due to issues with transport, the court date was changed to Friday morning.
Previously, a Franklin County Municipal Court judge gave Jackson a $1.5 million bond on local felony kidnapping charges.
Jackson's defense team wanted to get her transferred to Cheryl’s House of Hope, a sober house. Cheryl Beverly appeared via video conference saying she will provide medical and mental treatment for Jackson and will take her to all her state and federal court appearances.
The state argued that the sober house did not have enough security to keep Jackson there, even with GPS monitoring. Prosecutors said that Jackson is a flight risk, that would be a danger to the community and has a history of lying to police about her identity.
The defense argued that jail is not a mental health facility and Jackson's health is getting worse. She’s in solitary confinement and some of the attorney’s clients tell her it takes one to two months to see a doctor.
Jackson is receiving medication while in jail for her mental health but there’s no way of monitoring it.
The judge says there’s not enough evidence to transfer her out of jail to a third-party place because she needs to be locked up.
Jackson's trial is scheduled to start on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
