|
Jason Joseph
In May of 1994, Jason Joseph was sentenced to death
for the October 26, 1992 murder of Jeffrey Anderson as he was working at
a subway Sandwich restaurant. Joseph was 20 years old when the crime
was committed. Joseph was raised by his mother because his father
abandoned the family when he was only three years old. He did not
graduate from high school and was unemployed at the time the crime was
committed. While incarcerated for this act, Joseph participated in
a substance abuse program, successfully finishing it. The defense
psychological expert stated that `the absence of a father figure in Joseph's
life and the lack of "emotional nurturance" with other people left Joseph
with "a sense of emptiness," which caused him to be`at risk for making
unfortunate choices in an effort to fill that emptiness." The expert
also noted that Joseph's mental condition could be improved if he was allowed
to participate in the prison's psychotherapy program. The Commonwealth's
psychologist disagreed, and found nothing wrong with Joseph.
Joseph was convicted and given the death penalty.
In the early evening on the night of the murder,
Joseph, his partner in the robbery, Kaisi Powell, Joseph's brother, and
his sister ingested marijuana and cocaine. The Commonwealth
claims that when they ran out of drugs Joseph and Powell decided to rob
a convenient store in order to get money to buy
more narcotics. The Commonwealth also
alleges that Joseph and Powell entered the Subway
store, forced Anderson to lie down
behind the counter while they took the money,
and, right before they were going to exit,
Joseph leaned over the counter and shot Anderson.
Joseph contests these statements. He believes that the prosecution's
primary witness, Powell, was unbelievable. Joseph
attempted to illustrate that Powell was not credible
by stating his, ôprior felony record,
his involvement in these crimes, his motive for
blaming Joseph, his inconsistent statements about the crimes, and the fact
of his `extremely generous "plea agreement." However, the Appellate
court ruled that Powell's credibility remained in the hands of the jury
and that they were correct in finding him believable. Joseph also
contends that the shooter could not be determined from watching the videotapes
or listening to the audio soundtrack of the tape. However, once again
the Appellate court ruled that if the evidence was strong enough for the
jury to convict than the decision should stand.
Joseph also believes that there was no premeditation
for the crime. The intent was not to kill anybody, but instead to
rob the store. The Appellate court ruled against Joseph, stating
that the killer had taken "extra effort" to lean over the counter to shoot
Anderson and that constituted premediation.
Jason Joseph entered death row on May 25, 1994
and was executed on October 19, 1999. |