Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced today that James Stevens (age 31), of Providence, was sentenced before Superior Court Justice Luis M. Matos to 30 years for the 2016 manslaughter death of Jasper Williams. Stevens was found guilty by a Providence County Superior Court jury on April 9, 2019 after a six-day trial.
Stevens received a full sentence of 30 years, with 20 to serve at the ACI, and the balance suspended with probation.
During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that on the evening of December 10, 2016, Stevens became involved in an argument with his ex-girlfriend and the victim, Jasper Williams, that led to a violent confrontation outside of the ex-girlfriend's home on Warren Avenue in East Providence. During the confrontation, Stevens, armed with a knife, stabbed the victim 18 times. Jasper Williams later succumbed to his wounds at the hospital. Stevens, meanwhile, fled Rhode Island and was later arrested in El Paso, Texas.
The East Providence Police Department led the investigation and Assistant Attorney General Daniel Carr Guglielmo and Special Assistant Attorney General Robert Johnson prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.
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