Defendant Pleads Guilty to Murder after Charge Upgraded from Assault

By Ashleigh Joplin [former] - September 1, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

On Aug. 31, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Gale E. Rasin upheld a previous ruling that found a defendant not criminally responsible (NCR) for a 2014 assault after his charge was changed to murder following the victim’s death.

John Watson has been on conditional release since June after being found guilty but not criminally responsible for first-degree assault in 2014 for the stabbing of Daniel Smith, leaving him paralyzed. However, Smith recently passed away from complications related to the injuries he sustained during the assault, according to the medical examiner’s office.

According to Fox 45 News, Smith died in December 2021, prompting the prosecution to follow through with charging Watson, 37, with murder.

Watson, represented by defense attorney Linda Zeit, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder pending an outpatient evaluation. 

Judge Rasin said the NCR results from the initial assault plea still holds for the first-degree murder charge because Watson’s mindset at the time of the murder was the same.

Instead, Judge Rasin ordered the Department of Health to conduct an outpatient evaluation to determine if the defendant is dangerous to himself or others. If he is found to be dangerous, he will be removed from the community and committed to a hospital. If not, he will remain on conditional release.

Watson was sentenced to conditional release for 5 years for the assault charge. The sentence began on June 3, 2021.

During her victim impact statement Smith’s niece said she felt like the victim’s sentence was more than the “criminal’s” sentencing, referring to Smith’s seven years in a nursing home after the stabbing. 

A cousin of Smith also gave a statement saying, “I wanted my cousin to survive so many things, but no one could survive the torture the defendant put my cousin through.

The defendant was prescribed “serious antipsychotic” medication, explained Judge Rasin to the victim’s relatives, saying she did not want to diminish [the defendant’s] actions but wanted them to know. 

Smith’s family expressed concern about the defendant’s ability to take his prescribed medications, which was found to have contributed to his mental state during his attack on Smith.

Judge Rasin told Watson that just because he was found not criminally responsible, that did not relieve him from his “moral responsibility” to take his medication.

She informed Watson that if he failed to take his medication, a warrant would be issued to have him removed from the community.

Watson’s next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 2.