LUBBOCK, Texas — Shani Nichols pleaded guilty Thursday for manslaughter in the death of Maggie Davidson, 30.
Nichols, aged 32 at the time of a deadly crash, was sentenced 10 years of probation. The actual sentence was 10 years of prison time. However, in court, the defense asked that it be converted to probation, and prosecutors said no objection will be made when the request for conversion is filed in court records.
As part of the deal, Nichols will spend up to 180 days of “shock” time in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Ordinarily, shock time is done in jail, not prison. However, in this case, Davidson’s family asked that Nichols serve the time with TDJC.
“Nichols was alleged to have been under the influence of alcohol while operating a motor vehicle when she ran a red light and collided with another vehicle at the intersection of 34th Street and Indiana Avenue,” the Lubbock Police Department said a few months after the crash on February 25, 2017.
“Davidson was pronounced deceased at the scene,” LPD said.
In a victim impact statement, Davidson’s mother wrote, “My name is Becky Davidson and on February 5, 1987, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Maggie Amber Elizabeth Davidson. Thirty years and 20 days later, Shani Nichols chose to drive drunk and killed my daughter.”
“Maggie was a confident, vibrant young woman and was one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever known,” the statement continued. “She was an artist and humanitarian whose life of good works was cut short through no fault of her own. Maggie’s death impacts everyone here because she was a champion of the underdog and was destined to change the world one person at a time.”
The original charge was Intoxication Manslaughter. Prosecutors agreed to drop a “deadly weapon” finding as part of the plea deal.
