Conviction overturned in murder of rap star Jam Master Jay, Run-DMC member

A judge in the United States overturned one of the two men who was found guilty of killing pioneering rap star Jam Master Jay in 2002, citing lack of evidence from the prosecution team.

The rapper, whose legal name was Jason Mizell and who became a producer and founding member of the 1980s hip-hop group Run-DMC, was found guilty on all counts and found guilty of murdering him. Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr., the alleged shooter, were found guilty of killing both of them.

With hits like It’s Tricky and a cover of Aerosmith’s Walk This Way off the best-selling album Raising Hell, Mizell and his Run-DMC bandmates helped pave the way for rap in the 1980s.

Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall denied a similar request for co-defendant Washington on Friday, but granted a surprisingly rare acquittal of Jordan.

In February of this year, Mizell’s godson, Jordan, and Washington, a close friend of the rapper’s friend, were both found guilty of murder on federal charges of drug trafficking.

According to the prosecution, Mizell was shot dead in his New York City recording studio on October 30, 2002, in what was alleged to have been a dispute between Jordan and Washington over a lucrative cocaine distribution deal in Baltimore.

Because witnesses resisted cooperating with investigators out of fear of retribution, the case, according to the prosecution, took many years to solve. After he cut them out of the Baltimore drug deal, they claimed in court that Jordan and Washington planned to murder Mizell, who ran a “middleman.”

Judge DeArcy Hall determined, however, that prosecutors had no reason to believe Jordan had been fired or had a dislike of the drug deal and had no proof he intended to steal anything from Mizell’s supplies.

In a 29-page opinion, the judge wrote that “to draw the conclusions urged by the government would exceed the bounds of reason and require plainly impermissible speculation” on the part of the jury.

The prosecutors’ spokesman said the decision was being reviewed.

Jay Bryant, a third defendant, is currently facing a different trial. Bryant allegedly shot Mizell in the head at close range in the rapper’s studio, according to Jordan.

Following the demise of Run-DMC and as his star status faded, the prosecution alleged that Mizell had started supplementing his income with cocaine.

Jesse, Mizell’s son, stated to the music magazine last year that he hoped the life and accomplishments of his father would serve both as an inspiration and a cautionary tale.

You are still a product of your environment, no matter how much success you see. When you’re stuck in that environment, he said, “there are thought processes that never leave you.”

The death of 37-year-old Mizell followed a string of tragedies in the hip-hop industry, including the 1990s shootings of rapper Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B I G.

Run-DMC and LL Cool J were the pioneers of contemporary hip-hop that incorporated aggressive boasting, sociopolitical commentary, and rock elements.

Run-DMC established a new rap style that incorporated street culture, breaking from the flashy, disco-inflected attire of their predecessors, and were also the first rappers to appear on MTV.