Eric Smith; a destined murderer

             It's always a huge shock that young innocent minds are capable of vicious behavior such as murder. How is it possible that a young thirteen year old boy received so much pain in his early life to inflict harm on a four year old boy? Eric M. Smith is an American criminal who was incarcerated for the murder of a four-year-old boy named Derrick Robie in Steuben County, New York. Eric was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 and sentenced to the maximum term available at that time for juvenile murderers which was a minimum of nine years to life in prison.

              In his early life, Eric Smith enjoyed spending time with his grandparents, Red and Edie Wilson; Red said "He'd always come in and give us hugs and kisses. He liked being a clown." However, Eric Smith had been diagnosed by a defense psychiatrist with intermittent explosive disorder, a behavioral disorder causing individuals to act out violently and unpredictably.  This disorder is characterized by extreme expressions of anger often to the point of uncontrollable rage, that are disproportionate to the situation at hand. Therefore, on August 2, 1993, Eric Smith was riding his bike to a summer day camp in a local park and 4-year-old Derrick Robie was walking alone to that same camp. Eric saw Derrick  and lured him into a nearby wooded area. There, Eric strangled him, dropped a pair of large rocks on the his head, undressed his body, and sodomized him with a tree limb. What could possibly have been going on in young Eric's mind that he would take the life of an innocent child?

              According to court documents, Eric was often tormented by bullies for his freckles, thick glasses, long red hair and one he had protruding, elongated ears. These were believed to be a side effect of medicine his mother had taken for her epilepsy when she was pregnant. Clearly, he was born looking different from the other kids in school and was constantly bullied for it. He was born with this mental disorder in which he acted out violently on a poor innocent child.  Eric Smith is now 33 years old and has been denied parole six times since 2002, most recently in May 2012. The parole board cited a concern for public safety in its decision and Robie's parents opposed his release. Eric Smith is eligible for parole again in April 2014.

             Does Eric Smith actually feel remorse and regret for his unforgivable actions?  If he has an extreme mental disorder that allows him to act out in uncontrollable rage, how can he be sorry for that? How can he feel bad about something he was born with and couldn't handle at that very moment? Is he a victim of his own crime? He apologized on television to Derrick's parents and family. He stated, "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." Finally,  at the end of this statement, Smith states that he cannot bare the thought of "walls, razor wire, and steel metal bars" for the rest of his life. Evidently, he is feeling sorry for himself that he has to pay the price of spending his life in jail for his actions. He is playing the victim and feels he is entitled to be released on parole.