Nearly four years after Keshia Golden fatally stabbed her child’s father, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 24 months of probation at a packed court hearing Monday.
Golden’s attorneys say she was acting in self-defense when she stabbed Calvin Sidney at their baby shower in October 2022 and are calling for Governor JB Pritzker to pardon her.
“Our job at the Cook County Public Defender’s office is not over,” Julie Koehler, one of Golden’s lawyers, said at a press conference following the hearing. “We will show him the evidence and we will advocate for [Golden.]”
Golden’s lawyers and advocates had been urging the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to drop all charges. Golden eventually agreed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and be sentenced to two years of probation.
“I took this deal because I want to be able to raise my daughter,” Keshia Golden said in court Monday.
Golden and Sidney had just finished hosting a shower for their first child on Oct. 22, 2022, when he slammed her into a kitchen counter and a fridge, according to her lawyers. Golden was eight months pregnant at the time. A relative tried to separate the pair, but Sidney wouldn’t relent, her lawyers said. Golden grabbed a knife and stabbed Sidney’s leg, striking his femoral artery. He later died at Mount Sinai Hospital, officials said.
“After the stab, I just ran out of the house,” Golden previously told the Sun-Times. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just wanted him to stop, basically. I didn’t know that it hit an artery.”
The benches in Judge Steven Watkins’ courtroom were packed with relatives of both Sidney and Golden, along with about 20 domestic violence awareness supporters wearing purple shirts.
Golden appeared emotional at times during the hearing as Judge Watkins occasionally would have ask her to speak up.
“My nephew won’t ever get to see his daughter,” one man said minutes before he was asked to leave the courtroom during the hearing.
“There are no winners,” Watkins said after the ruling. “I’m sure the family of the victim appreciates your sincere apology.”
“No we don’t,” someone from the back row of the courtroom said in response.
“Keshia has made the difficult decision to accept the prosecution’s offer to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and a sentence of probation in this case to ensure that she will be able to raise her daughter and see her grow up. This is a rational decision, but it is not a just outcome,” the public defender’s office said in a statement. “We hope the State’s Attorney will keep Keshia’s case in mind moving forward, particularly in the case of criminalized survivors. The State’s Attorney’s Office has an obligation to pursue justice even when it means not achieving a conviction.”
“There isn’t a woman or a mother alive that, when faced with spending 20 to 60 years in prison, wouldn’t take a plea deal to probation,” Koehler said.
A Cook County judge initially set Golden’s bond at $2 million. Koehler, deputy chief of the public defender’s homicide task force, rallied anti-domestic violence and community organizations to raise awareness and the money needed to get Golden out of jail. A week later, a different Cook County judge reduced her bail to $50,000, requiring her to pay $5,000 to get out. After her release, she gave birth and has been raising her now 3-year-old daughter, Ky’liyah.
For almost four years, Golden has checked in daily with pretrial services and attended all her hearings, the public defenders office said.
Last month, a jury found Vanessa Sanders not guilty of all charges in a similar case. Sanders also was a pregnant mother charged with murder, accused of stabbing an abusive partner.
“When a man beats a woman, especially a pregnant woman, he forfeits his right to live,” Koehler said. “Today, she takes this plea so that she can stay home and raise that child, so she can be there at 3 o’clock today to pick up her child from daycare.”
Tarsha Elis, Golden’s mother, was “blessed and thankful” that her daughter wouldn’t be spending any time in jail.
While the guilty plea may impact Golden’s ability to find employment or housing, Elis said her family is ready for the challenge.
“It’s gonna be a fight but we’re up for it,” Elis said.