Keshia Golden, accused of killing boyfriend, agrees to plea deal for involuntary manslaughter, gets 2 years probation

A woman accused of killing her boyfriend in 2022 has agreed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges ahead of her trial for first-degree murder.

Keshia Golden has said she was acting in self-defense when she stabbed her boyfriend, Calvin Sidney in 2022.

On Monday, as she was set to go on trial for first-degree murder, Cook County prosecutors offered to let her plead guilty to lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter in exchange for serving two years of probation.

As part of the deal Golden accepted on Monday, she will have to undergo regular drug testing as part of her probation and perform 30 hours of community service.

In a statement after Monday's hearing, the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender said the plea offer "clearly shows that prosecutors never believed they could convince a judge or jury that our client, Keshia Golden, was guilty of first-degree murder."

"It is a disgrace that it took almost four years for the prosecution to admit this. Continuing to prosecute Keshia for first-degree murder has caused her and her family unbelievable stress as she was threatened with decades in prison," Golden's public defenders added. "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.Our clients face these difficult and personal decisions every day when choosing between their freedom and pleading to something they are innocent of, but which risks much harsher penalties after trial."

Golden's defense attorneys said she was eight months pregnant when her boyfriend, Calvin Sidney,  attacked her while she was reheating leftovers from her baby shower. Golden stabbed Sidney once in the thigh, severing his femoral artery. He later died at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Golden was charged with first-degree murder, and since then, domestic abuse advocates have repeatedly rallied to support Golden and call on prosecutors to drop the first-degree murder charges against her.

Earlier this year, prosecutors offered Golden a plea deal to lesser charges of second-degree murder, but she turned it down, arguing she killed Sidney in self-defense. The plea deal she accepted on Monday avoids prison time for Golden, and means she won't have to register as a violent offender.

"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," the public defender's office said.