Cause No. 12-15-00003-CR 

In the Court of Appeals for the 

Twelfth Judicial District at Tyler, Texas 

Dequisha Jackson, 

Appellant 

v. 

State of Texas, 

Appellee 

On Appeal from Cause No. 2013-0731 in the 159th 

Judicial District Court of Angelina County, Texas 

State’s Brief 

April Ayers-Perez 

Assistant District Attorney 

Angelina County D.A.’s Office 

P.O. Box 908 

Lufkin, Texas 75902 

(936) 632-5090 phone 

(936) 637-2818 fax 

State Bar No. 24090975 

aperez@angelinacounty.net 

Oral Argument Not Requested

ACCEPTED

12-15-00003-CR

TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS

TYLER, TEXAS

10/30/2015 11:41:02 PM

Pam Estes

CLERK

 FILED IN 12th COURT OF APPEALS TYLER, TEXAS 10/30/2015 11:41:02 PM PAM ESTES Clerk
ii 

Identity of Parties and Counsel 

Dequisha Jackson, Appellant 

TDCJ Number: 01972267 

Crain Unit 

1401 State School Road 

Gatesville, Texas 76599 

John Tatum II. 

Attorney for Appellant (trial) 

P.O. Box 582 

Lufkin, Texas 75902 

SBN: 00789674 

Katrina Carswell 

District Attorney 

Attorney for the State (trial)

Angelina County District Attorney’s Office 

P.O. Box 908 

Lufkin, Texas 75902 

SBN: 104822700 

April Ayers-Perez 

Assistant District Attorney 

Attorney for the State (appeal) 

Angelina County District Attorney’s Office 

P.O. Box 908 

Lufkin, Texas 75902 

SBN: 24090975 
iii 

Table of Contents 

Identity of Parties and Counsel ................................................................... ii

Table of Contents .......................................................................................iii 

Index of Authorities .................................................................................... iv 

Statement Regarding Oral Argument .......................................................... v 

Issue Presented .......................................................................................... v 

Statement of Facts ...................................................................................... 1 

Summary of the Argument ........................................................................ 10 

Argument .................................................................................................. 11 

Reply Issue #1: The evidence is legally sufficient to sustain 

the jury’s guilty verdict for manslaughter . ........................................ 11 

 Applicable law ......................................................................... 11 

Standard of review .................................................................. 12 

The Actions and Inactions of the Appellant Rise to the 

Level of Reckless Conduct .................................................... 13 

The Evidence Against the Appellant was More 

Compelling than the Evidence Against Isaiah Tolliver ............ 18 

 

Prayer ....................................................................................................... 19 

Certificate of Compliance .......................................................................... 20 
iv 

Certificate of Service ................................................................................. 20

Index of Authorities 

Cases Page 

Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 839 (Tex.Crim.App. 2010) ........................... 12 

Clayton v. State, 235 S.W.3d 772 (Tex.Crim.App. 2007) .......................... 12 

Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9 (Tex.Crim.App. 2007) ............................... 12 

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) ............................................ 12, 13 

Kitchens v. State, 823 S.W.2d 256 (Tex.Crim.App. 1991) ......................... 13 

Paulson v. State, 570 S.W.3d 570 (Tex.Crim.App. 2000).......................... 13 

Temple v. State, 390 F.3d 341 (Tex.Crim.App. 2013) ......................... 12, 13 

Rules 

Tex. R. App. P. 9.4(i)(1) ............................................................................ 20 

Tex. R. App. P. 39.1 ................................................................................... v 

Statutes 

Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 19.04(a) (West 2011) ........................................... 11 

Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 6.03(c) (West 2011) ............................................. 11 
v 

Statement Regarding Oral Argument 

Pursuant to Tex. R. App. P. 39.1, the State feels oral argument is 

unnecessary, as the facts and legal arguments are adequately presented in 

the briefs and record and the decisional process would not be significantly 

aided by oral argument. 

Issue Presented 

Reply Issue #1: The evidence is legally sufficient to sustain the 

jury’s guilty verdict for Manslaughter. 
1 

Statement of Facts 

 On August 13, 2013 Imauri Jackson was born to Dequisha Jackson 

and Isaiah Tolliver at Methodist Hospital in Baytown, Texas.1 Jackson 

received discharge instructions from Methodist Hospital stating that she 

was supposed to follow up with a physician three days after discharge for 

Imauri.2 An appointment for Imauri was made for August 19, 2013.3 

Jackson never showed up for the appointment with Imauri, nor did anybody 

ever take Imauri to a physician again until his death on October 11, 2013.4 

On August 28, 2013 Jackson, Tolliver, and baby Imauri moved to Lufkin, 

Texas, in Angelina County, to live with Linda Bankhead, Jackson’s Aunt at 

1506 Williams Street.5 

On October 11, 2013 Desmond Garcia, a paramedic with the city of 

Lufkin, Texas, responded to a call of an infant not breathing at 1506 

Williams Street.6 Garcia’s unit was the first on the scene,7 and it took about 

six to seven minutes for Garcia’s unit to arrive on scene after receiving the 

 

1

 VI R.R. at 110. 

2

Id. at 111. 

3

Id. at 112. 

4

Id. 

5

Id. at 109. 

6

 V R.R. at 38-41. 

7

Id. at 41. 
2 

911 call.8 Upon entering the house Garcia went to the right into a bedroom 

where an infant, Imauri Jackson, was lying on the floor on its back, while 

the Appellant, Dequisha Jackson, was sitting on the bed, and her codefendant, Isaiah Tolliver, was pacing.9

 Garcia noted that Jackson and 

Tolliver were not behaving as typically parents behave during these 

situations based on his experience.10 Garcia said, in his experience, 

parents are more irate and distraught than anything he saw from Jackson 

and Tolliver, whereas, in this instance, Jackson and Tolliver were not acting 

as if this was an emergency.11 The first thing Garcia did was to pick Imauri 

up, who was already in cardiac arrest and stiff, and began resuscitation 

efforts including attempting to get intravenous access, establish the airway, 

and push medications through.12 One of Garcia’s first thoughts was that 

Imauri was a preemie, or premature, because of its size.13 After checking 

Imauri’s pulse, and finding none, and noting Imauri was blue and cold to 

the touch, Garcia’s partner, Dillon Millender, scooped Imauri up and ran to 

the ambulance with him.14 Garcia and his unit were only at the residence 

 

8

Id. at 50. 

9

Id. at 43. 

10 Id. at 43-44. 

11 Id. at 44, 52. 

12 Id. at 46. 

13 Id. at 47. 

14 Id. at 47-48. 
3 

for two to three minutes.15 After arriving at the hospital, Woodland Heights,

Garcia transferred care to the nurses and stayed at the hospital for 35-40 

minutes to check on the status of baby Imauri.16 It took a total of 

approximately ten to twelve minutes to arrive in the hospital’s emergency 

room.17

 After Garcia and his unit left with Imauri, Jarrod Hennigan, a patrol 

officer with the Lufkin Police Department, was one of the first officers to 

arrive on scene at 1506 Williams Street.18 One of the first people Officer 

Hennigan spoke to was Linda Bankhead, who was nonchalant and stated 

that she did not know much, except that Jackson woke her up to tell her the 

baby was not breathing, and Bankhead called 911.19 After learning of the 

Imauri’s death, Hennigan, along with Debra Walsh, a crime scene 

technician, walked around the house taking photographs.20 In the bedroom 

where Jackson, Tolliver, and Imauri were staying the baby carrier, which 

had a lot of blankets and pillows, looked as though it was being used as a 

bed for Imauri.21 In the room Imauri was staying in there were no baby 

 

15 Id. at 50. 

16 Id. at 48-49. 

17 Id. at 50. 

18 Id. at 57-58. 

19 Id. at 63. 

20 Id. at 64-65. 

21 Id. at 76-77. 
4 

supplies, diapers, supplies of diapers, and only one used diaper in the trash 

can.22 In the closet in the bedroom Officer Hennigan found one new diaper 

as well as some diaper wipes.23 There were five cans of formula on top of 

the refrigerator, as well as some cereal, and no other formula found in the 

house.24 Also in the kitchen Officer Hennigan located some sippy cups, 

commonly used by older children.25 Officer Hennigan noted that another 

Officer, Offficer Brooks, looked through the city trash can that was outside 

the house for dirty diapers, and because Officer Brooks did not take any 

photographs it was assumed no dirty diapers were found in the trash can.26

 Linda Bankhead, the aunt of Jackson, and the renter of the twobedroom house at 1506 Williams Street, stated that, in addition to Jackson, 

Tolliver, and Imauri, Bankhead’s children –Robert, age 26, Zyron, Chyrieka, 

age 20, and Zyron, age 16, all lived at the house as well.27 During the 

month Jackson, Tolliver, and Imauri were living with Bankhead, Bankhead 

had only held Imauri once and had never changed his diaper, given him a 

bath, or fed him.28

 

22 Id. at 77-79. 

23 Id. at 80-81. 

24 Id. at 81-84. 

25 Id. at 95-98. 

26 Id. at 101-03. 

27 Id. at 120-21. 

28 Id. at 124-25. 
5 

 Bankhead stated that Jackson would fix bottles for Imauri, with cereal 

in them, though, when pressed, Bankhead could not remember if she had 

ever actually seen Jackson do this.29 Due to the appearance of Imauri, 

Bankhead told Jackson she needed to take Imauri to a doctor.30 Bankhead 

further noted that the weight of Imauri alarmed her, even going so far as to 

ask Jackson if the two month old baby Imauri was a preemie.31 Jackson 

had an appointment for the baby for October 14, 2013.32 Bankhead bought 

formula for Imauri once, but never bought diapers or bottles.33 Bankhead 

had encouraged Jackson, and shown her, how to sign up for WIC.34 

Bankhead told Nick Malone with the Lufkin Police Department that upon 

touching Imauri before calling 911 Imauri was stiff and cold.35

 Only two physicians offices in Lufkin saw children with medicare, Dr. 

Andrew Fercowitz and Angelina Pediatrics.36 The Custodian of Records for 

Dr. Fercowitz, Donna Bailey, did not have any record of Imauri Jackson.37

 

Sharon Shaw, the Custodian of Records for the Health District of Angelina 

 

29 Id. at 128-29. 

30 Id. at 132. 

31 Id. at 157, 161. 

32 Id. at 134. 

33 Id. at 140-41. 

34 Id. at 144-46. 

35 VI R.R. at 107. 

36 V R.R. at 191-92, 216-17. 

37 Id. at 193. 
6 

County, testified that it was on October 4, 2013 that Jackson requested her 

WIC be transferred from Liberty County, and that Imauri was never in the 

system up until October 4, 2013.38 However, after Imauri’s death, it was 

discovered that Jackson had Medicaid and thus Imauri was covered as 

well.39

 Dr. Melissa Handley, a pediatrician, was the on call pediatrician for 

the hospital when Imauri was brought in as a cardiorespiratory 

emergency.40 It took five minutes for Dr. Handley to arrive at the hospital 

after being paged.41 When Dr. Handley arrived the Emergency Room 

Physician, Dr. Monroe, had begun resuscitation on Imauri.42 Imauri also 

had two intravenous lines put in his leg, been given three runs of 

epinephrine, and given fluid boluses to support Imauri and had received no 

response.43 Imauri was in asystole and had no cardiac electrical activity 

since his arrival.44 Imauri arrived at the hospital with no heartbeat and his 

 

38 Id. at 197-98. 

39 VI R.R. at 42-43. 

40 V R.R. at 219. 

41 Id. at 220. 

42 Id. 

43 Id. 

44 Id. at 220-21. 
7 

temperature was 94.7, well below the average for a baby Imauri’s age of 

99.5.45 Dr. Handley noted Imauri did not look healthy: 

The most dramatic thing is that he was just emaciated. He looked – 

he was -- he did not look like a healthy two-month-old. He had – his 

skeletal, you could easily see his ribs. He didn’t have a lot of the 

subcutaneous fat that a normal two-month-old baby would have, the 

chubby cheeks, the thick neck, the pudgy arms. He didn’t have any 

of that. He was emaciated.46

Dr. Handley continued resuscitation efforts for 25 minutes with no response 

from Imauri, before pronouncing Imauri dead at 10:40 a.m.47 Imauri was 

very stuff and his pupils were fixed and dilated by the time he arrived at the 

hospital, and he was already in rigor mortis.48 Imauri weighed five pounds 

six ounces when he died on October 11, 2013, whereas his weight should 

have been around nine and a half pounds49 Imauri weighed six pounds six 

ounces two months earlier when he was born.50 Dr. Handley further noted 

that Imauri’s fontanel was sunken, which is consistent with dehydration, 

and is something that occurs late in time from dehydration, occurring only 

after the body is more than 10% dehydrated.51

 

45 Id. at 221-22. 

46 Id. at 222. 

47 Id. at 222-23. 

48 Id. at 223, 229. 

49 Id. at 227, 267. 

50 VI R.R. at 68. 

51 V R.R. at 250-51. 
8 

 After Dr. Handley was informed of the timeline of events, based on 

Jackson’s information to emergency responders, she was concerned 

because the fact that Imauri was in rigor mortis, which does not occur until 

three to eight hours after death, did not fit the timeline Jackson was 

providing.52 The timeline given to Dr. Handley was that Jackson and 

Tolliver were handling Imauri for about fifteen minutes until he stopped 

breathing, it took five minutes for the ambulance to get to the house, it took 

ten minutes for the ambulance to get to the hospital, and when Dr. Handley 

saw Imauri right after he arrived he was already in rigor mortis.53 Dr. 

Handley said the timeline was not correct because Imauri died sooner than 

what Jackson was claiming.54 Further, when rigor mortis set in, Imauri was 

lying flat, not in the car seat like the story that had been told to the EMT.55 

Imauri also had blanching, which is where everything stays in place after 

the time of death.56 Essentially, whatever part of the body pressed up

against a surface will not refill with blood when moved because there is no 

 

52 Id. at 232. 

53 Id. 

54 Id. at 233. 

55 Id. at 233-34. 

56 VI R.R. at 38. 
9 

more blood pressure.57 Blanching does not occur until eight to twelve 

hours after death, and was just starting to occur to Imauri.58

 Dr. Handley noted that all emergency room instructions are virtually 

the same, that babies are going to eat one to three ounces every two to 

four hours.59 Dr. Handley noted that Jackson would have received 

discharge papers stating that when she left the hospital with Imauri.60 Dr. 

Handley also noted that the fact that Jackson received paperwork telling 

her to take Imauri to a Dr. within three days after discharge also would 

have been normal.61

 On October 12, 2013 Dr. Candace Schoppe of the Dallas County 

Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on Imauri Jackson.62 Her 

initial notes on Imauri’s condition were: 

“There were no – he had no external injuries. The major findings 

were just his extreme emaciation. The muscles on [his] temporals, 

they’re wasted. The fat pads in [his] cheeks were almost depleted. 

You could see his ribs through his skin. There was almost no fat in 

the skin – underlying the ribs. 

The skin had what we call decreased turgor. So when somebody 

gets really dehydrated with you, an example, if you kind of pinch their 

skin, it sticks. It doesn’t just flatted back out. And his skin did that. 

 

57 Id. at 39. 

58 Id. at 36-37. 

59 V R.R. at 235-36. 

60 Id. at 236. 

61 Id. at 246. 

62 VI R.R. at 63, 66-67. 
10 

He also had a green discoloration of his abdomen. He didn’t have 

much residual rigor mortis. So he wasn’t very stiff anymore. His 

eyes had clouded over, and he had fixed lividity on his back.”63

Dr. Schoppe also noted that many of the organs of Imauri, including his 

liver, stomach, and skull, were showing signs of malnutrition and 

dehydration.64 Further, Imauri had a heightened level of cortisol, which is a 

sign of stress in an infant caused by dehydration and malnutrition.65

 

Despite a myriad of tests Dr. Schoppe found no diseases or conditions that 

Imauri had that would explain any sort of malnutrition or dehydration.66

 While in the Angelina County Jail, Jackson told Misti Davis, a fellow 

inmate, that when Imauri would cry Jackson would just give him a pacifier 

instead of feeding him.67 Jackson also told Davis that Tolliver would never

change Imauri’s diaper or feed Imauri.68

Summary of the Argument

 Dequisha Jackson had little regard for her son, Imauri Jackson. She 

purposefully withheld food, telling a future inmate that when two month old 

Imauri would cry for food she would put a pacifier in his mouth to make him 

 

63 Id. at 68-69. 

64 Id. at 80-82. 

65 Id. at 83-84. 

66 Id. at 84-86. 

67 Id. at 133. 

68 Id. at 135. 
11 

stop. Jackson ignored discharge instructions from the hospital after giving 

birth, refused to take Imauri to the Dr., and let him waste away before dying 

from malnutrition and dehydration. 

 Jackson, not Isaiah Tolliver, was the person primarily responsible for 

Imauri’s care, and the person ultimately more culpable for Imauri’s demise. 

Argument

Reply Issue #1: The evidence is legally sufficient to sustain the 

jury’s guilty verdict for Manslaughter. 

Applicable law 

 A person commits the offense of manslaughter if [s]he recklessly 

causes the death of an individual.69

A person acts recklessly, or is reckless, with respect to circumstances 

surrounding his conduct or the result of his conduct when he is aware of 

but consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the 

circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a 

nature and degree that its disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the 

standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the 

circumstances as viewed from the actor’s standpoint.

70

 

69 Tex. Pen. Code Ann. §19.04 (a) (West 2011). 

70 Tex. Pen. Code Ann. §6.03(c) (West 2011). 
12 

Standard of review 

The State must prove every element of the crime charged beyond 

a reasonable doubt.71 In reviewing the legal sufficiency of the 

evidence in support of a conviction, the court considers the evidence 

in the light most favorable to the verdict to determine whether – 

based on evidence and reasonable inferences – the jury was 

rationally justified in finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.72 The 

jury is the sole judge of credibility and weight to be attached to the 

testimony of witnesses.73 Although the court allows juries to draw 

multiple inferences from facts, as long as those facts are supported 

by evidence presented at the trial, the jury is not allowed to draw 

conclusions based upon speculation, because in doing so the jury 

would not be supporting a finding of beyond a reasonable doubt.74

 

The definition of “beyond a reasonable doubt”, and “reasonable 

 

71 Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 313-14 (1979). 

72 Temple v. State, 390 S.W.3d 341, 360 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (citing Jackson, 443 

U.S. at 318-19 & Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 839, 912 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010)); Hooper 

v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9, 13 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007); Clayton v. State, 235 S.W.3d 772, 

778 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007). 

73 Id. 

74 Id. 
13 

doubt” itself are left to the jury, and the trial court is discouraged from 

defining it for the jury.75

 A criminal case may, however, be based solely upon

circumstantial evidence, and that circumstantial evidence can be 

sufficient by itself to support a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable 

doubt.76 In circumstantial cases not every fact and circumstance 

needs to point “directly and independently to the defendant’s guilt.”77

 

The Actions and Inactions of the Appellant Rise to the Level of 

Reckless Conduct 

 The actions, and inactions, of Jackson are beyond the level of just 

criminally negligent, and rose to the level of reckless, thus making Jackson 

guilty of manslaughter, not just endangering a child. The State alleged, in 

its indictment, that Jackson committed the reckless conduct one of three 

separate ways: providing inadequate nutrition, providing inadequate fluids, 

or providing inadequate medical care. As long as there is evidence to 

support any one of the acts as reckless as alleged in the indictment the 

verdict is sufficient.78

 

 

75 Paulson v. State, 570 S.W.3d 570, 573 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000) 

76 Temple, 390 S.W.3d at 359. 

77 Id. 

78 Kitchens v. State, 823 S.W.2d 256, 258 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). 
14 

Dequisha Jackson did not behave like a mother who had just lost her 

child, and this was the first sign of consciousness of guilt for those who saw 

Jackson’s reactions or lack of reactions. Desmond Garcia, the EMT who 

first arrived on scene, noted that Jackson was not behaving typically: 

“Typically – mothers, in particular, tend to be more irate, screaming, you 

know. You know, just really irate, screaming and hollering, walking around 

with their baby. Usually the mother has the baby in their hands. Most of 

them, they’re holding the baby. You basically have to pry the baby out of 

the mom’s arms pretty much.”79 Officer Malone also saw the lack of 

empathy: “Both parents had significantly less grief than what you would 

expect and didn’t seem near as sad and upset as parents in other cases of 

child deaths that I’ve been involved with.”80 Only one clean diaper was 

found in the house Imauri was living in with Jackson and Tolliver, only two 

bottles were found that were sufficient for Imauri to use, and only about a 

weeks worth of formula was found, in all different brands.81

Despite Imauri’s very visible emaciation82, Jackson never once took 

Imauri to a Doctor, to a hospital, or any type of facility.83 In fact, despite 

 

79 V R.R. at 51. 

80 VI R.R. at 104. 

81 V R.R. at 77-79, 81-84, & 95-98. 

82 See State’s Exhibits 39-43. 

83 VI R.R. at 111. 
15 

hospital discharge instructions telling Jackson to take Imauri to a physician 

within three days, Jackson made an appointment and never showed up.84 

Meanwhile, Imauri lost over a pound from his birth weight until his untimely 

death at two months old, and this still did not concern Jackson enough to 

take Imauri to a doctor.85 Further, after Imauri’s death, Jackson admitted 

that she would just put a pacifier in Imauri’s mouth instead of feeding him.86 

Jackson’s concern was not Imauri, her concern was her boyfriend, Isaiah 

Tolliver.87 

Linda Bankhead, Jackson’s Aunt and the person Jackson, Tolliver, and 

Imauri were living with, did her best to try to defend Jackson. However, 

when asked if she actually saw Jackson feed Imauri Bankhead repeatedly 

struggled to answer that question, just saying she knew Imauri was fed.88 

Bankhead initially told Officer Malone that Imauri was cold to the touch and 

stiff when she initially touched him89, however at trial Bankhead changed 

her mind and decided that Imauri was actually warm when she touched 

him.90 Bankhead had more inconsistencies in her statement, which largely 

 

84 Id. at 112. 

85 V R.R. at 227. 

86 VI R.R. at 133. 

87 Id. at 138. 

88 V R.R. at 127-29. 

89 VI R.R. at 107. 

90 V R.R. at 147. 
16 

was positive toward Jackson, when Bankhead claimed Imauri was on the 

bed91 however Garcia saw Imauri on the floor92, and levidity prove Imauri 

was on a flat surface, not the bed93. Despite Bankhead’s best efforts to 

defendant Jackson, even she was concerned, as best as she could be, with 

Imauri, trying to convince Jackson to get on WIC, to make an appointment 

with a physician, and even making a comment on the day of Imauri’s death 

that “I told them they need to get the baby checked out... I told them 

something was wrong with the baby. The baby needed to be checked 

out”.94

One of the biggest signs of evidence the jury heard was the picture of 

Imauri at the time of his death, emaciated, and the reactions from all the 

first responders to the condition of Imauri. It started with Desmond Garcia, 

the EMT from Lufkin and one of the first responders, who said Imauri “was 

blue in color, and he was cold to touch, and he was visibly malnourished. 

You could see his ribs, cheekbones. His jaw – his cheeks were sunken in. 

He looked like an older person, like a geriatric, you know, kind of.”95 Next 

Dr. Handley saw Imauri and she, too, was surprised and shocked by the 

 

91 V R.R. at 148. 

92 Id. at 221. 

93 VI R.R. at 36. 

94 V R.R. at 45. 

95 Id. at 46. 
17 

appearance of this two month old: “The most dramatic thing is that he was 

just emaciated. He looked – he was – he did not look like a healthy twomonth-old. He had – his skeletal, you could easily see his ribs. He didn’t 

have a lot of the subcutaneous fat that a normal two-month-old baby would 

have, the chubby cheeks, the thick neck, the pudgy arms. He didn’t’ have 

any of that. He was emaciated.”96 The next day, October 12, 2013, when 

Dr. Schoppe performed the autopsy on baby Imarui, she too was shocked 

by his appearance: “There were no – he had no external injuries. The 

major findings were just his extreme emaciation.”97 Finally Officer Malone 

of the Lufkin Police Department also observed Imauri: “I had never seen 

anything like it. You know, it was obviously a young infant, and you could 

see the majority of his bone and skeletal structure. I don’t know how else 

to describe it, just a child who was very under weight.” A picture of Imauri 

at the time of his death shows just how dramatic, and obvious, his condition 

was.98 

When all of the evidence is added up, particularly Jackson’s lack of 

remorse or grief, Bankhead’s inconsistencies coupled with her claim that 

Jackson fed Imauri, Jackson’s not appearing at a doctor’s appointment for 

 

96 Id. at 222. 

97 VI R.R. at 68. 

98 C.R., See State’s Exhibit 39-43. 
18 

Imauri and never taking Imauri to a doctor in his two months alive, 

Jackson’s own admission to Misti Davis that she did not feed Imauri and 

instead just gave him a pacifier when he was hungry, combined with the 

sheer horror of the image of an emaciated Imauri, the overwhelming 

evidence points to reckless behavior on the behalf of Jackson, and in a 

light most favorable to the jury’s verdict of guilt for manslaughter, the 

evidence is sufficient to support that. 

The Evidence Against the Appellant was More Compelling than the 

Evidence Against Isaiah Tolliver 

By her own admission, it was Dequisha Jackson who was home with 

Imauri during the day, not Isaiah Tolliver for the most part. The evidence 

points toward more culpable actions and inactions out of Jackson than 

Tolliver, thus the jury’s guilty verdict of manslaughter for Jackson and 

endangerment of a child for Tolliver is correct and the totality of the 

evidence was not substantially similar between Jackson and Tolliver. 

 When Dequisha Jackson left Methodist Hospital in Baytown, Texas 

she received discharge instructions on how to care for Imauri, and to bring 

Imauri to a physician within three days.99 Jackson not only did not follow 

the instructions she was aware she had, she did not ever take Imauri to a 

 

99 VI R.R. at 112. 
19 

physician, despite claiming to others that she had.100 It was Jackson, not 

Tolliver, who was home all day with Imauri, and in charge of feeding Imauri 

while home. Tolliver was out during the day looking for a job, and once 

Tolliver began working for Pilgrim’s Pride, he was gone all night while 

Jackson was in charge of Imauri’s care.101 Furthermore, Jackson was the 

one who told Misti Davis she would just put a pacifier in Imauri’s mouth, 

rather than feed him.102 Jackson also apologized to Tolliver for putting him 

in this position.103

 

 Jackson was always at the center of all of the malnutrition and 

dehydration problems baby Imauri had. Between Jackson’s own 

admissions, coupled with Jackson’s time with Imauri being so much greater 

than Tolliver’s time with Imauri, the totality of the evidence was not similar 

between Jackson and Tolliver, and thus a guilty verdict on endangering a 

child, and not manslaughter, for Tolliver should have no impact on the 

guilty verdict of manslaughter for Jackson. 

Prayer 

The State of Texas prays that this Court of Appeals affirm the 

judgment of the trial court. 

 

100 VII R.R. at 52. 

101 Id. at 69. 

102 VI R.R. at 133. 

103 VII R.R. at 100. 
20 

Respectfully Submitted, 

 /s/ April Ayers-Perez 

Assistant District Attorney 

Angelina County D.A.’s Office 

P.O. Box 908 

Lufkin, Texas 75902 

(936) 632-5090 phone 

(936) 637-2818 fax 

State Bar No. 24090975 

ATTORNEY FOR THE 

STATE OF TEXAS 

Certificate of Compliance 

I certify that this document contains 4,033 words, counting all parts 

of the document except those excluded by Tex. R. App. P. 9.4(i)(1). The 

body text is in 14 point font, and the footnote text is in 12 point font. 

/s/ April Ayers-Perez 

Certificate of Service 

I certify that on October 30, 2015, a true and correct copy of the 

above document has been forwarded to John Reeves, 1007 Grant Ave., 

Lufkin, TX 75901, by electronic service through efile.txcourts.gov. 

/s/ April Ayers-Perez