Prosecutors in the case against the eight Alabama suspects accused in the brutal kidnapping, rape and murder of Mahogany Jackson will seek the death penalty.
The motion was filed Friday by Jefferson County Deputy District Attorney Charissa Henrich, according to AL.com.
If convicted of capital murder, Brandon Pope, 25, Francis Harris, 25, Jeremiah McDowell, 19, Blair Green, 26, Si'Niya McCall, 24, Teja Lewis, 26, Giovonnie Clapp, 24, and Airana Lashay Robinson, 23, may be sentenced to death.
In February, the suspects allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and fatally shot the 20-year-old mother of one over a possible gun dispute in Birmingham, Alabama, detectives alleged, according to the outlet.
Jackson's body was found at an illegal dump site a day later.
"I am in agreement with it [the death penalty] because they showed my daughter no mercy," Jackson's mother, Gail Shearer, shared in a statement to WBRC-TV Monday. "They laughed when they were torturing her. She didn't have a judge nor jury. The world would be better without them. Justice for Mahogany."
Defense attorneys filed a motion in response to prosecutors, asking a judge to only allow the death penalty if delivered by a unanimous jury.
The suspects were initially taken into custody on charges of felony murder, but in September a grand jury upped the charges to capital murder.
"The facts of this case are deplorable and sickening," Birmingham Police Department Chief Scott Thurmond said at the time of the arrests, WIAT-TV reported.
"Saddest of all, they were made public by the suspects' decision to videotape portions of this horrific act."
During their arraignment Monday, the suspects pleaded not guilty, according to KLFY-TV.
