Bio 

Jason Matthew Joseph was born in 1972. Clemency materials stated that his father left the family when Joseph was about three years old and that he was raised primarily by his mother. He did not graduate from high school and was unemployed at the time of the crime.

Defense mitigation evidence described Joseph as having experienced emotional instability and a lack of a consistent father figure. A defense psychological expert argued that these circumstances affected his development and decision-making. The Commonwealth’s psychologist disagreed with that assessment and found no serious mental condition that would excuse or reduce his responsibility.

Before the murder, Joseph had used drugs, including marijuana and cocaine. On the evening of October 26, 1992, Joseph, Kaisi Powell, Joseph’s brother, and Joseph’s sister reportedly used marijuana and cocaine before Joseph and Powell went out to commit robberies.

Murder Story

On October 26, 1992, Jason Matthew Joseph and Kaisi Powell went to a Subway sandwich shop in Portsmouth, Virginia. The clerk working inside was Jeffrey Anderson, 22. According to the Virginia Supreme Court summary later cited in federal review, Powell gave Joseph a .45-caliber pistol before the robbery.

Joseph and Powell entered the shop, and Joseph ordered a sandwich. After Anderson made the sandwich, Joseph pulled the pistol from his pocket and ordered Anderson to open the cash register and hand over the money. Anderson complied. Joseph then ordered Anderson to get down on the floor behind the counter. After Anderson obeyed, Joseph reached over the counter and shot him in the back.

The killing was captured on the store’s video camera system. The Fourth Circuit later described the case as a capital murder and related offenses arising from the October 1992 robbery and killing of Jeffrey Anderson at a Subway sandwich shop.

At trial, prosecutors also presented evidence of other crimes during sentencing, including the armed robbery and abduction of two convenience store clerks. Joseph received a death sentence, along with a life sentence and an additional 100-year sentence.

Joseph challenged his conviction and sentence through appeals and habeas proceedings. He argued, among other claims, that the evidence did not prove premeditation and that Powell was not a credible witness. The appellate courts rejected his claims and upheld the conviction and death sentence.

Joseph’s lawyers later sought clemency, arguing that jurors had been influenced by inaccurate media reports and that jurors did not fully hear about Joseph’s crack cocaine use and alleged brain injury. Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore denied clemency, and the United States Supreme Court refused to stay the execution.

Jason Matthew Joseph was executed by lethal injection at Greensville Correctional Center in Virginia on October 19, 1999. He was 27 years old and was pronounced dead at 9:05 p.m.