Woman found guilty of manslaughter in 'road rage' shooting death

COLUMBIANA, Ala. - A woman was convicted of manslaughter rather than murder for shooting a motorist she had been tailgating during a road-rage confrontation.

Shirley Henson, 40, could receive anything from probation to 20 years in prison for the Nov. 8 shooting death of Gena Foster, a 34-year-old mother of three, on an interstate exit ramp.

Henson, who was convicted Tuesday, could have been sentenced to life in prison had the jury found her guilty of murder.

Prosecutors said Henson had been tailgating Foster for up to six miles in a rush to get home to see her dogs at the end of the workday. An agitated Foster, who would not let Henson pass, finally stopped her car on an exit ramp. She went to the window of Henson's sports utility vehicle, and was fatally shot in the face.

Henson said she shot Foster because she feared for her life. Prosecutors said Henson could have simply driven away if she was afraid.

''(Henson) was mad. She wanted to get home and she wanted that woman out of her way,'' assistant district attorney Randy Hillman said. ''She chose to keep involving herself in this situation until it went bad. And then she freaks out and shoots the woman in the face.''

Defense lawyer David Cromwell Johnson argued that Foster was entirely to blame. He portrayed the victim as a drug-addled wild woman who refused to let Henson pass and then tried to kill her on the ramp.

Henson frowned as the jury foreman read the verdict but showed no other emotion. Her husband, Mike Henson, sat behind her with a hand to his face.

Foster's mother, Patricia Newell, said Henson has never expressed any remorse and should go to prison.

''In the United States we've got to do something about road rage. We've got to stop it,'' Newell said, her eyes reddened.

Shelby County Circuit Judge Al Crawson refused a prosecution request to double Henson's bond to $100,000, ruling there was no risk of her fleeing if she remained free.