In 1993, four-year-old Derrick Robie was on his way to summer school in Savona, New York. On the way, he then met 13-year-old Eric M. Smith, who tricked Robie into a forest area.
Here Smith hit the four-year-old in the head with a stone until he died.
Spin Sprett sweater
The case received widespread media coverage in the United States due to both the killer and the victim’s young age. A picture of Smith in the courtroom, wearing a Spinning Boundary border, also attracted attention.
Smith’s defense attorney tried to claim that the 13-year-old was insane, without success. In 1994, he was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of nine years.
27 years later, Smith can move outside the walls for the first time. He has now had his application for parole approved, on the eleventh attempt, he writes Associated Press.
Smith has regularly applied for parole since 2002, but each time the deceased Derrick’s parents have opposed the request.
The parents have also worked actively to introduce legislative changes for parole, and have, among other things, wanted the period between each application to be extended from two years to five.
Victim of bullying
When considering applications for parole, the judicial authorities will, in addition to listening to statements from the victim’s family, also consider the convict’s criminal history, behavior in prison, the danger they pose to the public and the opportunities to contribute to society. On the twelfth attempt, the authorities have decided that Smith can try his hand as a free man.
Smith has previously stated that he was often angry as a teenager, because for several years he had been bullied by his own father, siblings and classmates. This is said to have led him to the murder of four-year-old Derrick.
– He did not deserve any of what I did to him, no one deserves to be exposed to that type of violence, Smith said in 2014.
– What I did to him was brutal.
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