Man gets over 26 years in prison
Morrison sentenced for stabbing Harris 65 times after dispute
SCHENECTADY — A defendant who had a “trauma-free upbringing” received 261⁄3 years in prison Friday for stabbing his roommate over 65 times in an apparent fit of rage and in front of the victim’s 3-year-old sister.
The fatal stabbing occurred April 12, 2022, only a week after Dwayne Harris allowed the defendant, Jaquan Morrison, who he considered a friend, to stay at Harris’ Maple Avenue apartment because Morrison had nowhere else to go.
The two men worked together and on the day of the killing apparently got into a verbal dispute over Morrison’s attempt to have a relationship with a woman who lived at the apartment, according to trial testimony.
Harris, 21, was treated at the scene by fire department paramedics for stab wounds to his neck, chest and stomach, but could not be saved. The attack happened inside a bathroom at the apartment where several others lived.
Prosecutor Peter Willis read a statement from the victim’s mother, Jacqueline Padilla, during Friday’s sentencing before Visiting Schenectady County Court Judge Robert Smith.
In it, the woman who was in court with two of her children, recounted the devastation of losing her 21-yearold son only two years after her husband died of cancer.
“Jaquan Morrison has destroyed my life emotionally and physically and has traumatized us and broken our heart in pieces, half of my heart is with my son,” she wrote. She also said in the letter that the defendant has “damaged my daughter,” who asks her “why did he kill my brother?” and tries to call Harris on her mother’s
phone. Mother and daughter are both receiving counseling.
Padilla also used the letter to tell the court that her son, a 2019 graduate of Schenectady High School, was a “pretty boy who liked to dress up in expensive clothes and get lots of attention from the girls.”
At the same time, he was also a “mama’s baby boy and would never let anyone mess with his mama.”
“He was my protector, my best friend, and him and I were very close,” she added.
Morrison, who turns 25 on Monday, declined to address the court. His attorney, Samantha Chorny, said Morrison’s family, some of whom attended the sentencing, were “upset that there was a life
lost.”
The lawyer also reiterated a point she made at last year’s trial, that her client suffers from “mental illness that went dormant for years” and that they planned to appeal the conviction to the state Appellate Division.
Though it wasn’t read, Chorny submitted a letter to the court from Morrison’s mother, Sonia Morrison. She writes that her son “did not willfully cause harm to his friend, Dwayne” and that he has a “kind genuine heart and cares deeply for the people near and dear to him.”
“I ask you to please consider Jaquan’s mental health when making your decision, as you had an expert who evaluated and diagnosed Jaquan,” she stated.
Padilla and Willis asked the judge to impose the maximum
sentence, which in the end he did.
Willis lamented that the defendant hasn’t shown remorse and stabbed Harris “for no reason at all in a savage and despicable way” in the presence of the sister. He also noted the pre-sentence report shows that Morrison had a “traumafree upbringing.”
Morrison was sentenced to 25 years to life on the top second-degree murder offense and 11⁄3 to 4 years for tampering with physical evidence. The two penalties will run consecutive. He also received a year in jail for criminal possession of a weapon and child endangerment, was ordered to pay $4,500 in restitution and issued a full stay away order of protection prohibiting Morrison from having any contact with members of the Harris family for 100 years.