Legal Question in Criminal Law in Ohio

My son was convicted of murder,he was sentenced to life without parole & 88 yrs.He was on parole when he shotI the man.and the 88 yrs was from aggravated attempted murder.He is 24.He took a plea to avoid the death penalty.I know he is never getting out .The newspaper said he shot him in the head,when in reality he shot him in the sholder,and it came thru his neck.I didnt learn this until after he took the plea,and it was over.I think his lawyer sold him down the river.How do you ask a man to cop a plea when in reality he really didnt mean to kill him.the media had him tried and convicted from the get-go.He has a tatoo across his forehead,and yes he looked very scary.He went to prison when he was 18 yrs.old for aggravated robbery for 5 yrs.He spent 5 yrs in when the 3 other guys that was with him spent a couple months.Jasons parole officer never offered him help when he got out and he couldnt find a job,he got extremly frustrated and he asked his parole officer to violate him.He did nothing to help Jason get on his feet,so he ended up hanging out with the wrong people and ended up wheres hes at.I dont understand why his lawyer didnt try to get a lesser sentence,He knew the whole story.And another thing I dont understand is the man that was driving the car got 15 yrs,and The victims brother heard him tell Jason "shoot him too he's a witness"I know he deserves to be in jail,he took a life,but a couple weeks after Jason was sentenced a man hacked up his mother and brother with a axe and got 22 yrs.I just dont understand.


Asked on 4/08/10, 3:22 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joseph Jacobs Jacobs & Lowder

If th murder occured during the commission of a felony, it does not matter what his intentions were; whether he really meant to shoot him on shoulder or head is totally irrelevant since the victim is never coming back. The judge has full discretion to make sentences different. I imagine that the judge felt like he/she couldn't take a chance on your son ever again.

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Answered on 4/17/10, 4:33 pm


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