Delaware County Court Judge Barry C. Dozer sentenced a Delaware County, PA man to life without parole plus an additional 104 to 223 months on Friday for the sexual strangulation of his 23 year old coworker from South Dakota.
[Jason] Shephard, 23, of Cavalier, N.D., worked as an intern for Daktronics, a South Dakota scoreboard manufacturer. Smithson, 43, was a regional manager. Police found Shephard dead in Smithson's basement in September 2006. Prosecutors said Smithson had given Shephard the date-rape drug GHB and later strangled the intern when he tried to fight off Smithson's sexual advances.
A jury convicted Smithson in November of first-degree murder, but spared him the death penalty. The jury also convicted him of aggravated assault, attempted rape, kidnapping, and drug and other offenses.
G. Guy Smith, Smithson's attorney will appeal, with Fen Bruce Covington, a 58 year old St. Joeseph college administrator who took the 5th during the trial as the subject of the appeal. Covington said that he wasn't at the Smithson residence the night of the murder and attempted rape, but later admitted he was. Covington is charged with drug offenses and perjury.
In his closing argument, prosecutor Thomas Lawrie blasted Smithson for being a psychopath with no sympathy or remorse for Shepard's death. Jason's father Kyle also blasted Smithson.
"He had no reason to fear you...You were his boss, his contact."
When given a chance to speak, Smithson, shackled and flanked by four sheriff's deputies, quoted the poet Aeschylus:
" 'Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.' "
Smithson added: "A young man has lost his life. My heart lies heavy with pain from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment