A Steuben County man accused of killing a four year old boy in that county in 1993 has been denied parole for a 7th time. The NYS Division of Parole released the decision Monday morning in the case of Eric Smith.
He is 34 years old now and is being held in a prison in the Buffalo area. He was 13 years also when authorities say he lured four year old Derrick Robie into a wooded area near the boy's Savona home, brutally beating him to death.
In its decision, the parole board said that Smith's release would be "incompatible with the welfare and safety of society." The board did note Smith's "positive programming" and clean disciplinary record, but says that neither of those items diminishes the serious loss of life caused by his actions. The board referred to what it called "the deviant nature and brutality" of that murder.
Smith was convicted of second degree murder in Robie's death and sentenced to nine years to life in prison. He was housed in a juvenile facility until 2001 and then transferred to state prison.
