South Miami Man Sentenced To Life For Father's Murder
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Found guilty last year in the death of his father, Jason Beckman has been sentenced to life in prison.
During his sentencing hearing Friday, Beckman apologized for killing his father and indicated he was all right with a life sentence.
"I recognize my mistake," Beckman told the court. "My father should be dead. I wish he was till here and not because I am here but because I loved him and I really feel I could have improved my relationship with him just by doing a few things different."
Beckman also took a parting shot at his attorney.
"The way he represented me, I think he's a clown honestly," said Beckman. "I think he did a horrible job."
Miami-Dade Judge Rodney Smith acknowledged that Beckman suffers from a mild form of autism, but added he has a genius IQ, plotted his father's murder and had a hit list of people he wanted dead.
"This is your make up, that's not going to change. This is who you are. You are very vengeful, you have a personality like a ticking time bomb," said Smith.
No one spoke for Beckman who lost his mother to cancer as a child.
"It's very sad what happened," said assistant state attorney Gail Levine. "It's a terrible situation but the community will be made safe."
Beckman invited the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
"If you feel like a life sentence is appropriate, then by all means impose it," he told the judge.
And that's just what Smith did.
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In November, 2013, a jury convicted Beckman of first degree murder in the death of his father; South Miami City Commissioner Jay Beckman.
Jason Beckman was 17 when he shot his father with a shotgun as Jay Beckman showered in April, 2009.
Beckman presented a shotgun defense. First he said it was an accident, then it was self defense then he said he was temporarily insane at the time.
During the trial, a jailhouse informant testified that Beckman admitted to shooting his father. The informant said the killing happened after the elder Beckman made a joke about his son after he showed him a picture of actress Megan Fox.
The informant said Jay Beckman told his son "he wouldn't know what to do with that," and that the comment enraged Beckman.
Two former classmates testified that Jason Beckman had expressed hatred toward his father for years before the murder. The former classmates also testified that Beckman kept a list of the people who crossed him.
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