Former Death Row Inmate Pleads Guilty to 2002 Murder, Receives 46½-Year Sentence
Lazale Ashby, aged 38, has been handed a prison term of 46½ years for the 2002 killing of Elizabeth Garcia, 21, from Hartford. This marks the third sentence Ashby has faced in relation to this case. Initially facing the death penalty, Ashby’s fate shifted when Connecticut abolished capital punishment. In 2020, his conviction was overturned due to rights violations during his original trial.
Ashby, a previous death row inmate in Connecticut, found his legal journey take an unexpected turn in 2020. Pleading guilty to the murder charge, he received a 46½-year prison sentence. This decision stemmed from an agreement reached between Ashby, the prosecutor, and the family of his victim, Elizabeth Garcia, who was just 21 years old. Joe Lopez, Ashby’s attorney, shared this information on Tuesday.
Garcia’s tragic fate unfolded in 2002 within her Hartford apartment. Strangled in the presence of her 2-year-old daughter, who was engrossed in television in another room, Garcia fell victim to this heinous crime.
The perplexing case of Lazale Ashby took a series of legal twists. This marks Ashby’s third sentencing for the murder of Garcia. Originally, in 2008, he was found guilty of multiple charges, including capital felony, sexual assault, and kidnapping. The death penalty was his fate then. However, Connecticut’s decision to eliminate capital punishment led to Ashby’s resentencing to life in prison in 2016.
The saga continued as the Connecticut Supreme Court intervened in 2020, ordering a new trial for Ashby. The violation of Ashby’s rights was evident when the court found that the original trial judge had allowed prison testimony from another inmate, who claimed Ashby confessed to the crime.
Ashby’s attorney, Lopez, has stated that Ashby vehemently denies any allegations of sexual assault or kidnapping of Garcia. Instead, he fully acknowledges his role in the murder. However, the attorney emphasized that a 46½-year sentence is no light punishment.
Ashby’s legal battles extend beyond Garcia’s murder. He is concurrently serving a 25-year sentence for another case — the fatal shooting of Nahshon Cohen, 22, on September 1, 2003.