A woman who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the November 2006death of her boyfriend was ordered to serve 14 years in prisonFriday in Lincoln County Circuit Court.

Lawanda Dillon, 31, of 621 Booker Ave., was sentenced to themaximum 20 years in prison, with six years suspended and five yearsof post-release supervision, by Judge David Strong after pleadingguilty to charges that she ran over 32-year-old Boris E. Jackson,also of Brookhaven, during a domestic dispute.

Dillon allegedly ran over Jackson with her car as he was walkingdown Turner Street late on the evening of Nov. 17. He waspronounced dead on the scene.

Dillon’s case was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday, but shepleaded guilty before it began.

Attorney Sylvia Owen, of Tupelo, said her client was a “textbookvictim” of domestic abuse, and that her three children andJackson’s eight children were also victims of circumstance.

“This is a textbook case of domestic abuse, the kind the policesee every day. It’s a sad day when a victim of domestic abuse goesto prison leaving children behind,” she said. “There are a lot ofvictims in this case, and at least 11 of them are children.”

District Attorney Dee Bates agreed the case was a tragedy forall involved, saying it wasn’t just the fact that the children wereleft behind, but that some of them were there on the night ofJackson’s death that was tragic.

“She had the children in the car with her, and they experiencedthis traumatic event with their mother and Boris, which isshocking. It shocks the conscience,” he said. “They witnessed thishappen to a man who lived in the household with them, a fatherfigure.”

Owen said Dillon was acting in self-defense the night ofJackson’s death.

“He threatened to kill her, and threw something through thewindshield,” she said. “She was in fear for the safety of her lifeand her children.”

Bates said whatever the situation, justice was served.

“This is a perfect example of when people go into fits of rage,I believe that’s what it was. It’s a situation where people have tounderstand to control the rage, because they will be heldaccountable for that, even in domestic cases,” Bates said. “Life isa precious thing that God gives and no one has the right to take itaway.”

It was because of the courage of eyewitnesses that Dillon wasconvicted, Bates said. He said the climate of the world todaydiscourages people from getting involved or coming forward withinformation in a case, but that justice cannot be served withoutthe help of brave people who will testify.

“One thing that was very important in this case is the threewitnesses that came forward and told what they saw,” he said. “Inthe world we live in people try not to get involved, but it’s veryimportant for people to come out and say what they saw.”

Owen said she hopes Dillon’s incarceration will not be in vain,and that other women in similar situations will take heed.

“My message to battered women is this: Insist on getting help,”she said. “Don’t wait for a tragedy like this to find the strengthto get out. An abuser is not going to change.”