Eric Smith gets 4th try for parole next week

[sonny]

fairywings wrote:

im not saying that parents don't have responsiblitity of their children! im just saying things were different then. that is all

13 years ago is not that different. You do not let your 4 year old take off to the park by himself without supervision!!! I don't care what kind of neighborhood they lived in.

[Community Cares]

It must be nice to sit back and judge while you apparently are without sin. Shame on you for casting the stone. Don't you think Derrick's family has heard enough. They lost a son to a pathetic child with a lot of problems. Leave the blame where it belongs. I pray you don't ever have to endure something like the Robie's did and then have someone pointing the finger at you. Shame Shame Shame

sonny wrote:

It doesn't matter where this incident took place. You watch your children especially a four year old. I like to know if counseling was available at the school Eric attended? Did they have a zera tolerence for bullying? If, a kid is coming off the bus crying everyday why didn't a teacher, counselor, bus driver do something at the school? Don't they have a responsibility to intervene and try and help this child interact with others? He did not deserve to be the target of unrelentless bullying!! Had someone help this child perhaps this would have never had happened. Sounds like it must not be that great of a neighborhood when adults stand back and watch a child being tormented. I feel bad for both victims. Eric has served is time and has gotten the counseling he needed. He should be let out on parole and monitored closely.

[Jay]

He should never get out. No ammount of rehabilitation or remorse can ever replace that poor boys childhood and future life that was robbed from him. So when should Smith be released. Whenever, those poor people can have their precious child back.

[cottoncandy]

my heart goes out to the robie family,i also agree that derrick was too young to go anywhere by hisself.i don't care how small the town is.i have a son that is not allowed out the front door without me.the back is fenced in and he can play out there.and i'm watching him the whole time.i think the safest thing for all concern is eric spend his intire life in jail.my heart breaks for his parents too.but they know where he's at.and that should give both families a little confront

[Maggie]

The most distubing part of this is to blame the mother of little derrick robie. If it had not been him that died Eric would have found someone else. Hopefully in 2010 the prole board will feel the same way they did in 2008. I feel for both families to have to live and second guess your self must be unbeleivable may god be with all the family members.

[fairywings]

i agree maggie. well said

[Robert]

Send him to texas, he will never have to worry about parole again!

[wth]

i LOVE him he's sooo cuddly

[fairywings]

that is just wrong.. please tell me you are being sarcastic...

[SCREAM FOR JUSTICE]

THERE IS NO PAROLE FOR DERICK !
THERE SHOULD BE NO PAROLE FOR ERICK EVER !

[West Philadelphia]

That child knew exactly what he was doing. He had and showed no remorse for his actions. He needs to be kept behind bars for the rest of his life. He is a total disgrace and a menace to society. if he could kill as a child, imagine what he will do if he is releases, being a grown man!

This man is a sore loser, and a MURDERERDo not ever let him out.

my prayers go out to th Robie family.

[Char]

Eric Smith should be a Poster Child for Future Serial Killers. Most serial killers when apprehended and evaluated, exhibited the same behavioral patterns that Eric exhibited when they were teenagers. Who really knows how many children were murdered by notorious convicted serial killers before they were caught as adults?Perhaps bedwetting and the killing of animals wasn't all they did? Perhaps many unsolved crimes of small children could have been committed by these notorious adults and they were never connected. In the first analysis of Derrick's murder, it was assumed to have been committed by an adult. If he is released on parole, he will just continue from where he left off. His profile will probably escalate to women. His own mother certainly ignored all of his actions, perhaps to preserve her marriage to his step-father. A perfect scenario for him to target women, in the future. And to know what sodomy was at the age of thirteen? Where did that come from? Psychopaths can be very convincing. Let him do his research on why children commit crimes, that he says will help other children from committing crimes,from behind bars, at least he's been caught and should stay where he's not a threat, as his crimes will surely only esculate if he is released.He's a great example of a Psychopath who hasn't yet become a Serial Killer.

[Walt]

THE SYSTEM IS STILL WORKING FOLKS !
Convicted child-killer Eric Smith has been denied parole and will spend at least two more years in state prison.
A state parole board released its decision Thursday.
“This panel remains concerned with a mindset, which, for no legitimate reason, would cause you to brutally and savagely beat and sodomize an innocent 4-year-old child,” the parole board said in its decision.“This senseless disregard for the sanctity of human life and the norms of our society continues to raise questions about your ability to lead a law-abiding life. When considered with required and relevant factors, it is concluded that your discretionary release at this time remains incompatible with the welfare of the community.”
Smith, now 28, was 13 when he murdered 4-year-old Derrick Robie in August 1993. Smith lured Robie into a wooded area as the boy walked to a youth summer camp in Savona.
Smith killed Robie by strangling him and striking him with large rocks. He then stuffed a napkin into Robie’s mouth, poured Kool-Aid on him and violated the boy’s body.
The victim’s father, Dale Robie, said the decision will provide the family relief “for about a year and a half” until Smith is eligible for parole again in May 2010.
“I appreciate anybody who sent in a letter (to the parole board) in support of us,” Robie said.“(The decision) does help. I would like to see (the time between) parole hearings go longer for some people, especially those convicted of murder. Now, we just do what we have to every two years.”
Smith is serving a nine-years-to-life sentence. He has been denied parole four times since 2002.
Smith’s attorney, Susan BetzJitomir, called the panel’s report “pretty devastating.”
“I don’t know what else he can do (to get out),” BetzJitomir said.“He gets what he did was terrible.”

[Compassion]

Goldie wrote:
Derrick Robie's mother should also be to blame. How the hell do you let a 4 year old walk ANYWHERE by himself? Eric Smith would have NEVER been able to kill Derrick if Derrick's mother hadn't been so LAZY and gotten off her butt and walked him to school. There is no excuse for letting a FOUR YEAR OLD out of your sight. That is entirely TOO YOUNG and TOO NEGLIGENT! It is absolutely true that what Eric did to that boy was horrific...but the fact STILL REMAINS...that boy would be alive today had that mother did her JOB and watched over her son.
THINK about a time (if you are a parent) that you made a choice (Big or small) concerning your child or children where later you said, "I should have done this/that instead. We have all made choices in our lives that we wished sometime or another we could take back or change. Small....SMALL town, all the kids walking on their way to summer Rec. Mom thought it would be okay if her son walked along with the rest of the kids. Sick feeling in her stomach an hour or so later and she is not sure why. Other kids his age walking to Rec too. Dont you think for a moment that she does not re-live that moment over and over and over in her head for the rest of her life. Holding his cold little hand while saying goodbye to him in his coffin. Are you people proud of yourselves for blasting and hating and judging her?? Look in the mirror. Open your closets....lets see what you have to feel guilty about!!!! Lets look at your mistakes!!! Get on your knees and thank GOD above that you don't have to carry such a memory that close in your heart and head! Leave her alone...she's been destroyed enough.