Daniella was born and raised in Port Gibson, Mississippi and is a Port Gibson High School class of 2002 graduate. She was born to Ollie L. (Wilson) Shorter, a native of Jefferson County, Mississippi and a Liddell High School class of 1959 graduate and the late Carl E. Haywood of Port Gibson. She has four sisters who are all teachers and one brother who is a master welder and currently works in law enforcement. They all hail from Port Gibson as well.

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Daniella graduated from thee Jackson State University with a bachelor’s degree in English in 2005 and is a 2008 University of Mississippi School of Law graduate where she obtained her juris doctor degree. From there Daniella was a staff attorney with the Ninth Chancery Court District in Vicksburg, Mississippi; operated her own law office, the Law Office of Daniella M. Shorter, PLLC where she practiced criminal defense, chancery, and civil litigation; before finally moving to Greenville, Mississippi to become an Assistant District Attorney for the Fourth Circuit District Attorney’s Office in Washington, Leflore, and Sunflower Counties.

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Daniella moved to the Mississippi Delta to gain the knowledge, skill, and training necessary to be a prosecutor at the state level. She worked at the District Attorney’s Office in Washington County for over three years before moving back home to Port Gibson to be an Assistant District Attorney for the Twenty-Second Circuit District under the leadership of the honorable Alexander C. Martin which encompasses Claiborne, Copiah and Jefferson Counties. Just like in the Delta, Daniella prosecuted all manner of felony crimes when she moved back home. She has almost a decade and
a half of experience prosecuting murder, armed robbery, carjacking, rape, aggravated assault, kidnapping, house burglary, grand larceny, embezzlement and ALL other felony crimes that arrive on her desk. She has extensive jury trial experience prosecuting felony crimes. Daniella has been lead prosecutor or co-prosecutor on more than sixty criminal felony trials during the length of her career.

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After four years of serving as Assistant District Attorney in the Twenty-Second District, Daniella ran, unopposed, for the Office of District Attorney of the Twenty-Second Circuit District. She was sworn-in for duty by the honorable Presiding Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, James W. “Jim” Kitchens, and has been serving as District Attorney in Claiborne, Copiah, and Jefferson Counties since January 2020. Daniella stated, “It is an absolute honor to serve the people of my community and seek justice for them. It has been my career mission to serve in the role of District Attorney as an advocate for what’s right and just, and to treat all people fairly and equally.” Her main office is in Hazlehurst, Mississippi and her satellite office is in Port Gibson.

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Daniella has expanded the budget of the Office, has written grants and hired three new personnel under those grants to serve the people of the Twenty-Second, and has incorporated a program for group grief counseling for surviving family members of homicide victims. She spends one-on-one time with all the high schools in her district and sponsors multiple football and basketball teams in Claiborne, Copiah, and Jefferson counties. She can also be found reading to elementary school students and sponsoring classes of tiny tots as well. She can always be found supporting students
at athletic events and teaching them their rights at school. Her love for children has always been a driving force to her work as District Attorney. She is stern when it comes to crimes against children and vulnerable adults and prosecutes those cases to the fullest extent of the law. Daniella’s office is a victim-centric office where she makes sure their rights are respected so that they don’t become victimized twice.

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Daniella has one beautiful, lovely two-year-old son who is the light of her world and who drives her passion even more to make sure violent offenders are brought to justice. She is a member of Forest Grove Christian Church in Pattison, Mississippi and credits her faith in God as the reason for her passion and will to serve. Philippians 2:13 says, “for God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Daniella often quotes this verse because being a public servant, specifically being District Attorney, is the profession and career path that God called her to do. That specific desire is the single-most reason for her dedication and success in the profession.