Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess announced that Joseph Patrick Soule, 31, of Pasadena was sentenced to 35 years in prison by the Honorable Mark W. Crooks for second degree murder.
“Protection of the community does not stop at a prison cell door. Soule viciously murdered Mr. Stephenson and for that he was found guilty,” said State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Glen Neubauer and Luke Clippinger prosecuted the case on behalf of the citizens of Anne Arundel County.
On November 2, 2018, correctional officers with Jessup Correctional Institution learned that a window to a jail cell was covered with an object blocking the view inside the cell. Officers ordered the occupants to remove the object but initially they failed to do so. Although the cell was occupied by two individuals, only one occupant, the defendant, Joseph Patrick Soule, responded to the officer’s request. Upon entering the cell, officers found Soule’s cellmate, David Stephenson, lying face down in a pool of blood on the floor of the cell. His body was cold and correctional officers noted that he had been bound by an electrical cord which was tied around his neck, hands and feet. Soule was taken into custody. Medical personnel attempted to attend to Mr. Stephenson injuries but were unsuccessful. Stephenson was pronounced deceased at the scene. His death was ruled a homicide by means of blunt force trauma, sharp force trauma and strangulation.
During the trial, Soule testified that the victim attacked him from behind but prosecutors countered with forensic evidence presented that refuted those claims.
