The Case
In the early morning hours of June 25, 1987, the life of Florida shop owner Rama Sharma came to an abrupt and tragic end. Four days later, the life of 20 year old Samuel Jason Derrick also took a tragic turn when he was charged with the murder despite the absence of any physical, forensic or DNA evidence connecting him to the crime. Pasco County sheriff detectives originally focused their investigation on David Lowry, who became a prime suspect after the authorities received a tip with a partial vehicle license plate of a car which matched David Lowry’s vehicle that was seen driving suspiciously around the crime scene vicinity during the early morning hours of June 25, 1987. David Lowry deflected the investigation away from himself by implicating his then friend Jason Derrick. Sheriff detectives then focused their investigation on Samuel Jason Derrick who was charged, indicted, tried and sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit. From day one, he has maintained his innocence. Despite numerous inconsistencies and many unanswered questions in the state’s case, Samuel Jason Derrick continues to sit on Death Row. Five Pasco County detectives swore under oath that he confessed to the crime. There is no written, audio or video record of this “alleged” confession or personal handwritten interrogation notes by any of the five detectives. Details that David Lowry and the five detectives swore under oath that Samuel Jason Derrick “confessed” to them have no basis in reality and conflict with actual details reported by Medical Examiner Edward Corcoran.
From www.savejasonderrick.org
Articles
Saint Petersburg Times: “Family’s hope rests in court hearing—-“
TampaBay.com: “Inmate hopes DNA will free him”
Innocence Project: “Testing granted in Florida death row case”