Bio

Jonathan Wesley Stephenson was born on June 22, 1963. He grew up in Tennessee. Stephenson worked as a truck driver. He got married and had two children. Details about his marriage and family life are also sparse. It is known that he faced challenges in his personal life, including difficulties in his marriage.

In 1989, just before the crime that would change his life forever, he became involved with another woman, which added to the stress in his marriage. He was trying to balance his personal relationships, which led to tensions in his family life.

His life took a dramatic turn when he ended up being convicted for hiring someone to kill his wife. This event caught the attention of the public and law enforcement, which led to a lengthy legal battle. 

Murder Story

On December 4, 1989, Lisa Stephenson was found shot in her car in Cocke County, Tennessee. The police discovered she had been shot in the head at close range with a high-powered rifle. The circumstances of her death pointed to a planned murder.

Jonathan Wesley Stephenson, Lisa's husband, was accused of hiring a hit man, Ralph Thompson, to kill her. During the investigation, police found a rifle at Thompson's home. Both men were put on trial, and each blamed the other for pulling the trigger.

At the trial, testimony revealed that Jonathan had tried to hire multiple people to kill Lisa. He offered incentives, including money and items like boats and trucks. Evidence suggested that he wanted Lisa dead because he feared losing his assets in a divorce and because of a relationship he had with another woman.

Jonathan was originally sentenced to death in 1990. However, legal issues led to the sentence being overturned in 1994. After a new sentencing hearing, a different deal was proposed, resulting in a life sentence without parole for Jonathan. He later appealed this sentence, which led to another trial in 2006.

At this trial, the jury sentenced him to death again. The courts upheld the sentence even after multiple appeals that argued against the fairness of his treatment compared to Thompson's life sentence for the same crime.

As of October 2006, Jonathan faced an execution date but still had options for federal appeals. Throughout the legal proceedings, he maintained that he did not pull the trigger, insisting that Thompson was responsible for Lisa's murder.