A federal judge has overturned the conviction of one of the men found guilty in the 2002 killing of Run-D.M.C. icon Jam Master Jay, marking a dramatic turn in one of hip-hop’s most closely watched criminal cases.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall vacated the conviction of Karl Jordan Jr., ruling that prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence showing he had a motive to kill the pioneering DJ. Jordan had been found guilty of murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking, as well as firearm-related murder. The decision came nearly two years after a jury found Jordan guilty and was issued by the same Brooklyn judge who oversaw the trial.
Jordan had been convicted in 2024 for the fatal shooting of Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, inside his Queens recording studio on October 30, 2002.
An eyewitness had testified during the trial that he saw Jordan shoot Mizell, who was also his godfather. Jordan’s defense team said after trial that the evidence did not support the prosecution’s narrative regarding motive, and asked for the conviction to be thrown out and for a new trial. Motive was important because Jordan was convicted not just of murder and using a firearm, but of committing murder and using a firearm while engaging in a drug offense. During trial, the government offered several possible drug trafficking-related motives for Jordan's actions.
Judge Hall in her decision wrote, "a review of the trial record reveals that the evidence—direct and circumstantial—purportedly supporting these motives is at most 'meager.'"
In granting the acquittal, the judge sided with the defense's argument that the government did not prove that Jordan was part of a drug trafficking conspiracy that led to him shooting Mizell. The judge did, however, deny Jordan's request for a new trial.
“We are really happy for Mr. Jordan and his family that justice was served,” Jordan’s attorney, John Diaz, said in a statement. Although the murder conviction has been overturned, Jordan remains incarcerated while awaiting trial on unrelated drug charges that arose years after Mizell’s death.
The judge separately denied a request from co-defendant Ronald Washington, who was also found guilty in the case. Washington’s conviction remains intact after the court rejected his motions for acquittal or a new trial.
Jam Master Jay’s murder had long been considered one of hip-hop’s most enduring unsolved tragedies. As a founding member and DJ of Run-D.M.C., Mizell played a crucial role in pushing hip-hop into the pop mainstream during the 1980s.