TRANSCRIPTS: Parole granted for ex-marine convicted of attempted murder at Lover’s Point back in 2000
MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV)- KION has obtained transcripts of the Oct. 11 parole hearing that resulted in the granting of a parole to a man convicted of attempted murder in Pacific Grove back in 2000.
During the meeting, Jason Blad talks about his crimes and what he has learned in his time behind bars.
"Well, um, when I started through this process in, I think my first hearing was in 2008, uh, I was in a lot of denial and I blamed a lot of people and justified bad behavior. Um, so it's been a process for me to get this far," said Blad.
He said that his understanding of who he was and why he attempted to murder an innocent person became clear throughout the years. That he has done the work in prison to become a better person.
The Parole Board Presiding Commissioner said that in 2020 a doctor conducted a risk assessment and the doctor said Blad was found to be at moderate risk if released.
The board also added that Blad had no juvenile criminal history and no criminal history prior to his attempted murder conviction. The judge asked Bald for causative factors he has worked on in regard to his conviction.
Well, the, the newest, um, umbrella that I've been dealing with is codependency. That's been the, the one that I've been working on, um, to, to help understand a lot of the things I've been talking about in the past. So there's always, there's always been like low self-worth, low self-esteem, um, not understanding who I was as a person, feelings of inadequacy, um, having vengeful thoughts, being, um, dominated by my father physically and, and emotionally, being bullied by my peers. All of those things, um, attributed to a codependent, um, interpersonal style. I dealt with people very co-dependently. So that's the one I've been working on, um, recently.
Bald answered
The board commissioner asks Blad how a person goes from zero to one hundred one day. Blad answered he liked to manipulate people to need him and be manipulated in return. He would often act as a clown to convince people he was funny.
He said this clashed with his ideal self, someone who was violent because Blad believed people who are more violent are more respected and have more friends.
He went on to say the Marines only deepened his depression and feelings of isolation, he even thought of suicide. Blad added his father beating him as a child had an immense impact on who he became.
Blad said he previously lied saying he took eight shots to offer an out as to why he committed such a violent crime. He later said that he only had two shots but that had no effect on his decision that day.
"No, I had made that decision, I made the decision to murder somebody to not feel so bad about myself sober," said Blad. "That decision was made, that decision was made without alcohol."
He said he felt his codefendant Carson was the only one who understood him and wanted to have at least one person like him. So when Carson began speaking about committing murder he went along out of fear Carson would kill him or he (Blad) would kill himself.
A representative with the Monterey County District Attorney's office asked Blad if he personally stabbed the victim and said he himself did not stab his victim and just held her down. He said Carson was the leader in this crime and he wanted to be liked by him so he went along with it, per court documents.
Um, the inmate still claims not to have personally stabbed the victim despite the fact that he was armed, despite the fact that he is per — uh, previously told panels on the record under oath that he was always armed because he, he always carried a, a knife with him. Uh, and despite the victim, uh, having stated that she was vending off one knife of the hand while she was being stabbed by a different knife, that's two stabbers and that's two knives.
Um, and victim is the most credible person in this scenario.
Monterey County District Attorney's Office on why Blad should not be granted parole.
The district attorney's office said Blad is trying to shift the blame on someone else. Both suspects taunted the victim and as they attempted to murder her, per the victim.
The victim's mother spoke at the hearing as well pleading the board not to release Blad.
"The terror that this crime created, it has affected so many lives. But let's just talk about the one who had it done to her who was stabbed over 13 times," said the victim's mother. "Both suspects taunted the victim and as they attempted to murder her, and her throat slit three times and yelled at her, die b**** die. Why won't she die? And she cried out, I will die, just leave me alone."
She added her daughter may be alive but isn't living the life anyone wanted her. That they have sat through every parole hearing and Blad is still lying about events, he hasn't changed because they haven't even after going through therapy.
With both sides being given a chance to make their claims, teh board decided to grant Blad parole.
In reviewing parole suitability, a denial of parole must be based on findings that the inmate poses a current danger to society. In this case, we also applied the youth offender law. The law requires us to give great weight to the youth offender factors in deciding parole suitability for Mr. Blad. This is a grant of parole. Based on the legal standards and record, we find Mr. Blad does not pose a current unreasonable risk to public safety and is therefore suitable for parole. We do acknowledge — to the victim's family, we do acknowledge your deep loss, certainly the loss that you talked about, certainly with your daughter being injured and really not having recovered from the injuries that were sustained.
Parole board's decision and reasoning behind it.
Blad was given six months of transitional housing, and will not be allowed to use alcohol or marijuana if released or go to an establishment where alcohol is the primary substance provided, on top of parole.
Blad was also ordered not to return to Monterey County and not have any contact with the victim or her family, per parole hearing transcript.
Original Story
Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced the California Board of Parole Hearings made the decision in late Feb. to grant parole to a man convicted of the attempted murder of a woman back in 2000 in Pacific Grove.
Jason Blad, the now 43-year-old ex-marine, was granted parole back on October 11, 2022, by two Board of Parole Commissioners. After parole was granted the victim's family and Monterey County District Attorney's Office asked Governor Newsom to send the review for parole to the entire panel of 21 Board of Parole Commissioners.
Blad had served 21 years in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation after being sentenced to 7 years to life in prison. This was Blad's 7th Parole Board Hearing, according to Pacioni.
Both parties argued for the recession of the parole granted. The family pleaded to the board not to release their daughter's attackers.
In the Oct. hearing The Board of Parole used the “Youthful Offender” factors in finding Blad eligible for Parole. Blad was 21 at the time of the attempted murder and listed his accomplishments since being in prison.
"He participated and completed many programs offered to inmates both in the vocation and self-help arenas. The Board found that he had no negative association in prison and that he had an adequate discharge plan," said Pacioni.
Back in 2000 Blad, for an unknown reason along with a codefendant, Jesse Jay Carson, planned to murder their victim on the hiking trail at Lover's Point. Pacioni said they prepared and hastily selected a lone victim.
Pacioni said the pair restrained the victim and repeatedly stabbed and slashed her. They threatened to kill her while taunting her.
"The victim was unarmed, alone, and vulnerable and presented no threat to the defendants. The actions of Blad went well beyond that necessary for his conviction of attempted first-degree murder and shocked the Monterey community," said Pacioni.
The codefendants were active duty uniformed Marines at the time enrolled in the Defense Language Institute’s Cryptological Linguistics program. At first, both gave alibi's that checked out but after Carson experience a mental health crisis months later the truth was revealed, said Pacioni.
A date for Blad's release has not been set.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation responded to our inquiry into the decision to release Blad.
Jason Blad T59384 was sentenced to CDCR from Monterey County on June 6, 2002, to serve a life with parole sentence for attempted first-degree murder. Blad was found suitable for parole on Oct. 11, 2022, but the Governor referred the approval to the full Board for an en banc review. The en banc review occurred on Feb. 22, 2023 at which the Board affirmed the grant of suitability for parole for Blad.
The Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) is the entity that conducts parole suitability hearings.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
A transcript of the review of the board's decision was requested and we will provide that information when it becomes available to us.
