Ray Jasper Execution: Rapper Slit Christian Manager’s Throat, Set For Lethal Injection

Ray Jasper’s execution by lethal injection is set for Wednesday, March 19 in Huntsville, Texas. The story of Ray Jasper, 33, and his victim, David Alejandro, is one of the most pre-meditated crimes prosecutor Jeff Mulliner had ever seen.

The Ray Jasper execution will occur over 15 years after he was involved in the brutal murder of Alejandro, a Christian musician and studio manger in San Antonio. Jasper, who was only 18 years-old at the time, had led a troubled life. Growing up in the Bay Area in California, Jasper moved to San Antonio where a life of crime began to develop at the age of 15. Jasper had spent most of his life surrounded by gang culture and crime. It was what he knew. After being expelled twice from schools for marijuana possession, Jasper turned to the rap game, looking to find his way.

In his pursuit of music career, Ray Jasper encountered Christian musician and studio manager, David Alejandro. The two began to work together in Alejandro’s studio, where he offered free recording time to local musicians. That’s when Jasper began to formulate a plan. Realizing that Alejandro owned somewhere between $10,000 to $30,000 in recording equipment, Jasper set in motion a plan to murder Alejandro and steal the equipment.

Enlisting the help of two fellow rappers, Steven Russell and Doug Williams, they booked recording time with Alejandro one night. Upon entering the studio, Ray Jasper snuck up behind Alejandro and slit his throat from ear to ear using a kitchen knife. Incredibly, Alejandro did not die immediately and Russell then began to stab him repeatedly until his body collapsed to the floor. Alejandro, 33, was dead in his own music studio while Ray Jasper and his crew executed their robbery.

While the men were loading up two vans waiting outside, an off duty police officer approached and questioned the men. Jasper attacked the officer and fled on foot. He was caught several days later, confessing to police his plan. Jasper always maintained that he was not responsible for Alejandro’s death, but that Russell was. Both Russell, now 34, and Williams, now 35, received life sentences. Jasper received the death penalty in 2000.

What makes the Ray Jasper execution today so interesting is a recent series of written correspondence with The Gawker. Participating in their Letters From Death Row series, Jasper shared his 13 years of experience in awaiting execution. His final letter, probably his last public words, reveal a man who has become educated, possibly reformed, and full of angst against the system that has sentenced him to death. Jasper’s letter is long and powerful and deserves to be read in full. But one quote in particular stands out from the rest.

“Under the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution all prisoners in America are considered slaves. We look at slavery like its a thing of the past, but you can go to any penitentiary in this nation and you will see slavery. That was the reason for the protests by prisoners in Georgia in 2010. They said they were tired of being treated like slaves. People need to know that when they sit on trial juries and sentence people to prison time that they are sentencing them to slavery.”

Barring a last minute stay of Ray Jasper’s execution, which is not expected, he will become the third Texan subjected to lethal injection in 2014.

[Image via EduBlogs]