NEW HAVEN, CT — A state judge sentenced a 19-year-old to 30 years in prison Tuesday, Oct. 27, for the 2024 killing of 17-year-old Daily Jackson, with 10 years of special parole to follow. The New Haven Independent reported the sentence, which followed the young man's guilty pleas to murder and criminal possession of a firearm.
At a hearing at New Haven state court on Church Street, State Superior Court Judge Tracy Dayton imposed the sentence.
Jackson's Family Described Him at Sentencing
Jackson was a Riverside Academy student walking on Shelton Avenue near Huntington Street in Newhallville when he was shot at about 6:41 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2024. City police arrested the defendant in January 2025, when he was 17, the New Haven Independent reported.
The arrest warrant suggested the killing may have been connected in part to a gun that Uzziah Shell allegedly took from the defendant. Shell, Jackson's friend and a 16-year-old student at Riverside Academy, was shot dead less than two weeks before Jackson, on Nov. 22, 2024, near Goffe and Hudson streets in the Dixwell neighborhood.
“Daily was a beautiful young man with an enormous heart,” said Jaychelle Jackson, Daily's aunt and legal guardian, in remarks to the Independent. She recalled hearing him tell the court, “I didn't have a problem or beef with Daily, just his friend.”
Godparent Shelley Mackinnon attended the hearing with her husband, Colin Ryan, along with many of Daily's family and friends. Another aunt, Gloria Jackson, did not attend, saying she was having a hard time adjusting.
His Attorney Said He Took Responsibility
His attorney, Kaprice Bonaiuto Blatche, said her client apologized to the victim's family at sentencing and took responsibility for his actions. She said she pushed for a lower offer, but the judge and the state both considered 30 years plus 10 years of special parole fair, given his age and the facts of the case.
Blatche said he is incarcerated at Manson Youth Institution and is two credits away from earning his high school diploma through the state Department of Correction. She expects the sentence to open more program opportunities for him.