A 41-year-old man who savagely murdered a 4-year-old boy at the age of 14 has been granted parole after 27 years behind bars. Eric M. Smith was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 after luring Derrick Robbie into the woods and hitting his head with a rock while the victim was on his way to a summer camp at a park in the Steuben County village of Savona in August 1993.
- Smith admitted killing Robie all along. The widely publicized case was shocking, not least because of Smith’s young age at the time of the crime and the details of the horrible act he committed. He admitted to luring Robie to a wooded area after he’d been kicked out of that same summer camp. Next, he strangled the boy and dropped a rock on his head. He also admitted to sodomizing Robie with a stick to ensure he died.
- Smith’s lawyer tried to claim that the teenager was mentally ill. At his original trial, Smith’s attorney attempted to argue diminished responsibility because of an undiagnosed mental illness. However, a judge didn’t buy it and he was given the maximum sentence for a criminal of his age, which was nine years to life in prison.
- Smith did issue an apology to Robie and his family from prison. “I know my actions have caused a terrible loss in the Robie family, and for that, I am truly sorry. I’ve tried to think as much as possible about what Derrick will never experience: his 16th birthday, Christmas, anytime, owning his own house, graduating, going to college, getting married, his first child,” he said in a statement which he read out on TV. “If I could go back in time, I would switch places with Derrick and endure all the pain I’ve caused him. If it meant that he would go on living, I’d switch places, but I can’t.”
- Robie’s parents have always opposed Smith’s release. Smith campaigned for parole roughly a dozen times throughout his 27 years behind bars and was turned down every single time. At each of those hearings, Robie’s parents, Dale and Doreen Robie, spoke out against Smith’s release. They’ve also been campaigning for parole reforms to extend the time between hearings for violent offenders.
- Smith’s request for parole was finally granted. Appearing for the 11th time in front of the Board of Parole on October 5, Smith was told he would finally be allowed to leave prison. The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said that he could be released as early as November 17.
