Lance Mason
Lance Mason | |
---|---|
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Member of the Ohio Senate from the 25th district | |
In office January 2, 2007 – September 16, 2008 | |
Preceded by | Eric Fingerhut |
Succeeded by | Nina Turner |
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 8th district | |
In office January 6, 2003 – December 31, 2006 | |
Preceded by | Shirley Smith |
Succeeded by | Armond Budish |
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 11th district | |
In office February 20, 2002 – January 6, 2003 | |
Preceded by | Peter Lawson Jones |
Succeeded by | Annie L. Key |
Personal details | |
Born | Lance Timothy Mason August 26, 1967 Shaker Heights, Ohio, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Aisha Fraser
(m. 2005; div. 2015) |
Alma mater | College of Wooster (BA) University of Michigan (JD) |
Lance Timothy Mason (born August 26, 1967) is a convicted murderer and former politician, government official, and judge, who served in various offices in and representing Cleveland, Ohio.
As a judge, he served on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. He was a member of the Ohio Senate, representing the 25th District from 2007 to 2008. From 2002 to 2006, he was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served as Assistant Minority Whip during his final year. He was also an assistant prosecuting attorney for the county and was an aide to U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones. In 2017, he worked as an official for the city of Cleveland under mayor Frank G. Jackson.
In 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 35 years for the murder of his ex-wife.
Early life
[edit]Mason was born on August 26, 1967, and graduated from Shaker Heights High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the College of Wooster and Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1992.[1]
Political career
[edit]From 2002 to 2008, Mason was a member of the Ohio General Assembly, first as a state representative, and then state senator. In August 2008, Ohio governor Ted Strickland announced that he appointed Mason to be a Judge on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas after a vacancy arose.[2]
In 2017, Mason was hired by the City of Cleveland as an official in the Frank G. Jackson administration, with the title of Minority Business Development Administrator.[3]
Murder and legal issues
[edit]On August 2, 2014, Mason was arrested and charged for beating his wife while he was driving and their children were in the backseat.[4][5] Later that day, police seized ammunition and weapons from Mason's home, including shotguns, semiautomatic rifles, handguns, smoke grenades, a bulletproof vest, a sword, and over 2,500 rounds of ammunition.[4] The couple, who were married in 2005, had separated the previous March.[6] Their divorce was finalized on November 12, 2015.[7] Mason pleaded guilty on August 13, 2015, to attempted felonious assault and domestic violence, and agreed to serve time in prison. On September 3, the Ohio Supreme Court suspended Mason from practicing law for being a convicted felon. Mason submitted his resignation as judge on September 15. The next day, he was sentenced to two years in prison; he was released after 9 months.[8] During sentencing, the judge read from a police report which detailed how Mason punched his wife 20 times with his fist, smashed her head against the car's center console five times, and continued to beat her, bite her, and threaten her after she exited the car. As a convicted felon, Mason will never be allowed to serve as a judge in the future, but could practice law depending on the outcome of disciplinary action by the state Supreme Court.[9]
Murder charge
[edit]On November 17, 2018, Mason stabbed his ex-wife to death at a house owned by his sister, in front of their two children.[10][11] Mason took his ex-wife's SUV and fled the scene, striking a police cruiser and injuring the police officer inside before he was arrested.[8][11] On August 20, 2019, he pleaded guilty and on September 12, 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 35 years.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ Goist, Robin (November 19, 2018). "Former Judge Lance Mason's rise and fall". www.cleveland.com. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Fields, Reginald (2008-08-12). "Sen. Lance Mason to become Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ Lance Mason fired from city of Cleveland after reportedly killing ex-wife - Cleveland 19.com (WOIO/WUAB)
- ^ a b Shaffer, Cory (August 3, 2014). "Cleveland judge accused of beating wife had 2,500 rounds of ammunition, semi-automatic rifles, sword and smoke grenades in home". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland.com. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
- ^ Tobias, Andrew J. (August 4, 2014). "What you need to know: Judge Lance Mason's arrest on felony domestic violence charge". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland.com. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
- ^ Dissell, Rachel (August 26, 2014). "Cuyahoga County Judge Lance Mason indicted on multiple felony charges". www.cleveland.com. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Donatelli, Joe; Assad, Samah (November 19, 2018). "What we know about the death of Aisha Fraser and the arrest of ex-judge Lance Mason". WEWS-TV. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Goist, Robin (18 November 2018). "Former Judge Lance Mason's rise and fall". Plain Dealer. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
- ^ Lieszkovszky, Ida (September 16, 2016). "Former Common Pleas Judge Lance Mason sentenced to 24 months for beating his wife". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland.com. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
- ^ Ferrise, Adam (17 November 2018). "Disgraced former Judge Lance Mason accused of fatally stabbing estranged wife in Shaker Heights, sources say". Plain Dealer. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ^ a b c Shaffer, Corey (12 September 2019). "Disgraced former judge Lance Mason has chance at parole after admitting to ex-wife's murder". Plain Dealer. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
External links
[edit]- "Judge Lance T. Mason". Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Archived from the original on 2014-08-04. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- Project Vote Smart - Senator Lance T. Mason (OH) profile
- Follow the Money - Lance T. Mason
- African-American judges
- African-American state legislators in Ohio
- College of Wooster alumni
- 1967 births
- Living people
- Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives
- Ohio lawyers
- Democratic Party Ohio state senators
- Ohio state court judges
- Politicians from Shaker Heights, Ohio
- University of Michigan Law School alumni
- 21st-century American legislators
- Ohio politicians convicted of crimes
- 20th-century American lawyers
- Judges convicted of crimes
- American politicians convicted of murder
- American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
- Violence against women in Ohio
- 21st-century American judges
- 21st-century African-American politicians
- People convicted of murder by Ohio
- Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Ohio
- 20th-century African-American lawyers
- United States congressional aides