The man who pleaded guilty for shooting and killing a doctor in a confrontation on the road will get no prison time, a court ruled today - only probation.
"Well, we are astounded at the verdict," said Elyssa Honer, reacting to the punishment for the man who killed her husband. "We did not anticipate and expect that this is what would happen, especially after we heard the judge and how he himself felt. It was a horrible case. He was emotional. The judge was emotional, which to me, meant that he felt strongly in our particular case, and then the punishment did not fit the crime.”
Jason Scott Jameson killed Doctor Jeffrey Honer in an incident in Tucson’s foothills. It was March of last year.
A confrontation on the road brought Doctor Honer to a confrontation at the window of Jameson’s truck. As Honer walked away, Jameson shot him, but called 911 and tried to use first aid to save the doctor’s life.
In earlier court action, Jameson’s lawyers suggested it was self-defense but ultimately Jameson pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of negligent homicide compared to earlier charges of manslaughter.
Before sentencing, Judge Howard Fell heard tearful testimony from the Honer family and heard Jameson say he wished he could take back his actions. Jameson’s defense suggested the two men had something in common, with strong faith and two young children in each family.
Honor's family rejected that.
“The difference between the two couldn’t be clearer," Elyssa Honer said. "Jeff was a man who taught Seminary in the morning; six o'clock in the morning to teenagers. He took in a Ukrainian family he didn't know. He gave his time and his money and his talents to help others consistently.”
Arizona law says for negligent homicide, Jameson could have been sentenced to between one and three-and-three-quarters years in prison, but the Judge sentenced him to the maximum four years probation the law also allowed.
Judge Fell did tear up discussing the case, and as people were about to leave he stopped them for one more thing.
He said in 50 years as a prosecutor and later a judge, he has seen far too much gun violence, and it has to stop.
