BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York State has released a transcript of a parole hearing held last month that resulted in a decision to release a notorious Southern Tier child killer, who has been incarcerated for 28 years.
Eric Smith was 13 when he killed Darrick Robie, age 4, when both lived in the Steuben County town of Savona in 1993.
Crime shocked a community
It was a shocking crime, not only because of the ages of both the perpetrator and the victim, but also because of the sheer brutality displayed.
Now 41, Smith described in graphic detail how he strangled, bludgeoned, and then sodomized Robie with a stick after luring him down a trail into a wooded area.
At the parole hearing held October 5, Smith said he did not even know Robie and claimed the built-up pressure of a troubled home life and being incessantly picked on in school for his small size and appearance, and his inability to find an outlet for his anger, caused him to snap against someone much smaller and weaker than he was.
"I essentially became the bully that I disliked in everything else in my life." Smith told the parole board.
"He (Darrick Robie) didn't do anything to deserve it. No one deserves that type of violence. I displaced my anger that was unresolved with other individuals on him. It should have never happened."
Smith expressed remorse for his actions, for which he says he is solely accountable, and sorrow for Robie's parents, about whom he expressed a hope that "at some point they can get to a point where they feel comfortable to say, for themselves, I forgive you,' even though I don't deserve that. "
Now having spent the last part of his childhood and his entre adult life behind bars, Smith told the parole board:
"I ask you to take into consideration the 13-year-old kid who took Darrick's life, and had so many other things going on with him internally at that time, is not the man sitting in front of you talking. ... I assure you that if you were to give me the chance, I would not only prove that I'm not a threat, I would definitely be an asset to society."
Paroled on 11th try
Some of Smith's remarks mirror those he gave in his 10 previous appearances before boards of parole, who denied each one of his bids for release.
However, this parole board's report concludes with his recommended release, and listed several factors in reaching that conclusion.
It cited Smith's age (13) when the crime was committed, and the trauma and abuse Smith often experienced in his youth through bullying and his troubled home life.
The parole board also noted that he has served more than 28 years, which it termed as "significantly in excess" of the minimum sentence of nine years he had been given.
It also cited his record while behind bars, noting that in all those years, Smith had only been written up three times for infractions, the last time being 15 years ago.
The parole board also took note that Smith had a low COMPAS score.
COMPAS is an acronym for a computerized case management tool, with software that uses an algorithm to asses the potential of recidivism among those up for parole.
It all led the parole board to conclude that: "There is a reasonable probability that you would live and remain at liberty without again violating the law and your release is appropriate."
Future plans
Smith, who told the parole board that he wants to continue his education toward becoming an evangelical preacher, also expressed his desire to move back to Savona and live with his mother, and eventually his fiancé, a woman who he says he met while she was researching the incarceration juvenile offenders.
However, approval of where he can live rests with the division of parole, which must take into account not only the community's public's safety, but also the safety of the parolee within that community.
Members of the Robie family still reside there, and members of the community have not forgotten the heinous crime.
Though he was due to be released from prison Wednesday, as of Friday the state still listed Smith as being in custody at the Woodbourne Correctional facility near Poughkeepsie, with the Department of Corrections only saying that Smith does not yet have an approved address upon his release.