Departing New Jersey governor pardons killer son of Democratic fundraiser hours before conviction

In his final hours as New Jersey governor, Democrat Phil Murphy issued 97 pardons and 51 commutations.

Among Murphy's more controversial recipients of clemency was Harris Jacobs, the killer son of Democratic fundraiser and Atlantic City powerbroker Joe Jacobs. Jacobs is a friend of Murphy who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the failed 2024 Senate campaign of the then-governor's wife, Tammy Murphy.

'When politics pervades justice, the rule of law becomes subordinate to influence and power.'

Orlando Fraga — a Cuban who moved to the United States in 1980 in pursuit of a better life — was fatally struck by a vehicle when walking along Atlantic Avenue on Sept. 4, 2022.

Harris Jacobs knew he had struck Fraga. Jacobs reportedly can be seen in surveillance footage pulling into a nearby Dunkin' Donuts, then repeatedly inspecting his bloody victim before fleeing the scene.

Jacobs' defense attorney Lou Barbone suggested to WCAU-TV that the recognition that Fraga "had expired" was "simply too much of an emotional trigger" for his client to stick around and face the music.

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Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Prosecutors noted during Harris' first trial that between the time of the hit-and-run and Harris' arrest, the killer had called his father 10 times after the crash but not the police.

Although jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision last May in Harris' first trial, they reached a verdict on Tuesday, finding the 28-year-old guilty of second-degree knowingly leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident, reported WCAU. The conviction would have carried a sentence of five to 10 years.

Barbone revealed that his client knew in advance that the jury's efforts to mete out justice were in vain.

"My client received a call from the governor's counsel at 7:30 a.m.," Barbone told BreakingAC. "The pardon was issued but not in our possession. We know it was issued before the verdict."

Barbone indicated he is filing a motion to vacate the conviction on the basis that the pardon was granted prior to the jury's verdict.

Murphy claimed that "each pardon and commutation represents a story of accountability, growth, and redemption."

"By offering second chances to individuals who have demonstrated rehabilitation and a commitment to their communities, we have strengthened not only individual lives, but our entire state," added Murphy.

A spokesperson for the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office told WCAU, "Unfortunately, when politics pervades justice, the rule of law becomes subordinate to influence and power. ... A conviction can be rendered meaningless not by the verdict of a jury, but by the intervention of political power and connections."

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