Did this man deserve a prison release?

[MrDawn]

What are your thoughts? Did Eric Smith deserve to be let out of prison? Why or why not?

On August 2, 1993, when Eric Smith was thirteen years old, he was riding his bike to summer camp in a local park day camp. Four-year-old Derrick Robie was walking alone to that same camp. Smith saw Robie[4] and lured him into a nearby wooded area. There, Smith strangled him until he passed out, then, he dropped a large rock on his head, and sodomized him with a small stick. Smith then took Kool-Aid from Robie's lunch box and poured it into Robie's open wounds. The cause of death was determined to be blunt trauma to the head with contributing asphyxia. At around 11:00 a.m., Robie's mother went to the park to pick up her son, only to find that Robie had never arrived. After four hours of investigation, Robie's body was found.

On August 8, 1993, Smith confessed to his mother that he killed Robie. The Smith family informed law enforcement later that night.

The murder case made national headlines in the United States, largely because of the ages of the killer (13) and his victim (4).

Smith was tried as an adult, making him the youngest murder defendant tried as an adult in New York state history. He was subjected to extensive medical testing from specialists on both sides. They examined brain function, hormone levels and found nothing to explain his violent behavior. According to court documents, Smith was a loner who was often tormented by bullies for his protruding low-set ears, thick glasses, red hair and freckles.

A defense psychiatrist testified to diagnosing Smith with intermittent explosive disorder, a mental condition that causes violent and unpredictable behavior. However, the prosecution's expert said the disorder was rarely seen at Smith's age.[5] He was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder instead.

Eric Smith (murderer) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Webster]

He served twenty nine years for second degree murder, a crime which, had he been an adult, would've likely gotten him life without parole.

I'm actually surprised the parole board granted him parole in this case; most parole (and early release boards, such as here in North Carolina) are normally very risk-averse as they know their decisions will be closely scrutinized, especially if the parolee violates the terms of his release. That said, its' been about 2 years or so since his release and by most accounts, he's stayed on the straight and narrow.