Pennsylvania Governor Corbett Signs Execution Warrant

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Tom Corbett today signed an execution warrant for Lewis M. Jordan, who was convicted of First Degree Murder for the shooting death of Philadelphia Police Officer Charles Cassidy on October 31, 2007.

Jordan is incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Greene and his execution has been scheduled for June 18, 2014.  The execution warrant signed today for Jordan was Governor Corbett's 32^nd warrant signed since taking office.

Executions in Pennsylvania are carried out by lethal injection. For more information, visit the Department of Corrections online at www.cor.state.pa.us and select "Death Penalty'' from the left-side navigation bar.

Case Background: 

Jordan, now 27, was sentenced to death on November 24, 2009 by a jury in the Court of Common Pleas, Criminal Division of Philadelphia County.

In September of 2007, Jordan began a six-week armed robbery spree in which he targeted businesses in North Philadelphia.  At approximately 10:30 a.m. on October 31, 2007, Jordan entered the Dunkin' Donuts at 6620 North Broad Street in Philadelphia (site of his first robbery during the spree), pointed a nine millimeter weapon at the manager's head and commanded the manager to place money into a bag.  During this time, Jordan commanded employees and customers to stay where they were.

At the same time, 25-year Philadelphia Police Veteran Charles Cassidy pulled into the parking lot of the establishment, tasked with making an unscheduled visit as part of a crime prevention initiative in response to Jordan's earlier robberies.  Officer Cassidy, unaware of the robbery in progress, walked unhurriedly to the door.

As Officer Cassidy entered the establishment, Jordan turned to face the door and Officer Cassidy immediately drew his service weapon and crouched down on the ground.  Without hesitation, Jordan took a few steps towards Officer Cassidy, raised his gun, aimed, and fired a hollow-point bullet into his head above his right eyebrow from approximately three feet away.  The bullet pierced Officer Cassidy's frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes.  Jordan immediately fled the scene.

Officer Cassidy was immediately transported to Albert Einstein Hospital; he later succumbed to the injury and was pronounced dead the following morning.

Several days after the murder, Jordan was gathered with his mother, Lynn Dyches, and his two sisters at Dyches' house.  Dyches called her nephew, Hakim Glover, to the house; upon Glover's arrival, both she and Jordan made reference to the shooting of a police officer.  Jordan specifically told him that he "did something bad," removing two guns from his waistband.  When Dyches' boyfriend, a corrections officer, arrived at the house, Jordan admitted to him that he "shot the cop." Jordan then became confrontational, and Dyches' boyfriend was able to leave the home and contact authorities as soon as Jordan was distracted.

Glover and Jordan drove to Glover's sister's house, where Jordan was able to stash both guns before Glover drove him to Wilmington, DE where Jordan boarded a bus bound for Miami, FL.  Jordan was arrested days later at a Miami homeless shelter.  He later waived extradition and returned to Philadelphia to face charges for the murder of Officer Cassidy.

Media contact:
Joshua Maus, Governor's Office of General Counsel, 717-346-4463
Susan McNaughton, Department of Corrections, 717-728-4025

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor