A virulent Maryland racist who murdered a black man with a sword in Manhattan nearly two years ago was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison — as the district attorney revealed for the first time the hateful contents of his manifesto.
James Jackson, 30, previously pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder, terrorism, hate-crime and weapons charges for slaughtering 66-year-old stranger Timothy Caughman in Midtown on March 20, 2017.
He took the plea deal even though it gave him no advantage over a trial conviction.
In a rare occurrence, Cy Vance Jr. stood on the case in Manhattan Supreme Court and read a passage from Jackson’s manifesto to show that this crime was an act of domestic terrorism.
“The racial World War starts today,” Vance read from Jackson’s sick manifesto. “This political terrorist attack is a formal declaration of global total war on the Negro races. They must be exterminated as quickly as possible.”
Jackson left the manifesto, which was emblazoned with a swastika and a Crusader’s Cross, on an unencrypted flash drive, which he directed police to after his arrest. The malicious document closes with “Hail Victory! Sieg Heil” and is signed Sir James Harris Jackson, the DA said.
Vance said his office would not release the full document “lest we inadvertently help the defendant spread his message of terror and hate.” But he wanted to show that, “By targeting Mr. Caughman, [Jackson] was launching an attack against all African-Americans.”
Jackson’s case marked the first-ever conviction in New York State of first-degree murder as an act of terrorism, according to Vance.
Richard Peek, a cousin of Caughman, read an emotional letter written by his niece, who he did not name.
“We’ll never be able to share another family moment with Timothy, we’ll never get to say goodbye to our loved one, we’ll never know how much he truly suffered or how alone he felt in his last moments,” Peek read from the heart-wrenching missive. “That is our life sentence. We get no parole either.”
Peek said Caughman, a lifelong New Yorker, left behind 11 first cousins, a brother in law, nephews and nieces.
In a monotone, Jackson expressed remorse for the first time. “I just wanted to apologize to everyone who has been negatively affected by this horrible and unnecessary tragedy,” he said flatly. “If I could do it all over again, this never would have happened.”
Caughman’s childhood friend, Portia Clark, called his apology “B.S.” and a show for the courts. Her husband, Carl Nimmons, whose eyes welled with tears, said that Jackson’s words were “insulting.”
In a slaying so evil that it shook the city to its core, Jackson plunged a sword into Caughman’s back while he was bent over a pile of trash collecting cans and bottles.
Caughman, a well-liked Chelsea resident, fell on the ground and put his hands up as Jackson repeatedly stabbed him in the chest on Ninth Avenue near West 36th Street. Jackson fled to hunt for his next victim.
The Army vet later told cops during a chilling videotaped confession that he wanted to start a race war and was particularly enraged by interracial dating.
As he stalked the streets looking for a new target, he said, he saw mixed-race couples on every block and realized it was too late.
He turned himself in a day after Caughman’s tragic murder without striking again.