HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio -- A woman was sentenced to six years in prison for the shooting death of 26-year-old Briyona Ragland.
Ashley Freeny, 27, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a gun specification for shooting and killing Ragland on Jan. 11 in an Over-the-Rhine apartment.
Michelle Ragland, Briyona’s mother, said her whole family has suffered since Briyona’s death.
"I am sleeping on her grave at night,” Ragland said. “I have never done that before."
Prosecutors say Freeny had a gun at her side when a struggle ensued between her and Ragland. The gun discharged, and a bullet hit Ragland in the face.
Freeny is required to serve six years in prison.
"I truly apologize for this situation, and I apologize for this tragedy as a whole,” Freeny said.
Michelle Ragland said she doesn’t think the sentence is adequate; she also pleaded that people stop perpetuating gun violence.
"It needs to stop,” Ragland said. “We are killing each other every day. It needs to stop. Put the guns down. Because if you don't, we're not going to have anybody left."
