According to prosecutors Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan, the two men suspected of killing Run DMC’s Jam Master Jay will not face the death penalty in New York.
Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was 37 when he was killed in his Queens, N.Y. music studio on Oct. 30, 2002. Washington and Jordan were arrested in 2020 for the murder.
Prosecutors alleged that Jordan shot Mizell inside the music studio over an alleged cocaine purchase. United States Attorney General Merrick B. Garland directed the New York DA not to seek the death penalty against the men in a letter.
“Please be advised that United States Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has authorized and directed the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York not to seek the death penalty against defendants Karl Jordan, Jr. and Ronald Washington.”
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Authorities claim that Mizell cut Washington out of a 10-kilogram cocaine deal and that Washington retaliated by executing him in the music studio.
Jordan allegedly fired the shot that killed Mizell. Washington allegedly held his gun on the other people inside the recording studio.
Seemingly lacking interest in solving the case, authorities made no arrests until August 2020, when Washington and Jordan were arrested.
A Netflix documentary series about the unsolved murder called ReMastered: Who Killed Jam Master Jay? aired in 2018, and the documentary Set the Record Straight: The Jam Master Jay Case in 2020 renewed public interest in the unsolved murder.
The “My Adidas” rapper and Run DMC’s album “Raising Hell” was the first rap record to go platinum. The rap album also went triple platinum. In addition to Run DMC, Mizell founded JMJ Records, which helped launch 50 Cent’s career.
The men are now facing life in prison for the murder.
