'Lawmakers want fewer parole hearings for violent criminals' ~ O'Mara, Palmesano will join colleagues, family members of murder victims including the family of Derrick Robie of Steuben County

Albany, N.Y., May 29—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,I,C-Big Flats) and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,I,C-Corning) will join legislative colleagues and family members of murder victims, including the family of Derrick Robie of Savona (Steuben County), at a news conference in Albany on Monday to call for the approval of legislation they co-sponsor to extend the time period that murderers and other violent felony offenders have to wait to apply for parole.

Monday’s news conference is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in Room 130 of the Legislative Office Building

Read more in today's Corning Leader, "Lawmakers want fewer parole hearings for violent criminals"

Robie was four years old in August 1993 when he was murdered by Eric Smith, 13, in a wooded area near Robie’s home in Savona.  Smith was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 and sentenced to nine years to life in prison. He’s currently incarcerated at the maximum-security Collins Correctional Facility outside Buffalo.  

Smith first became eligible for parole in 2002 and has been denied parole seven times, the last denial coming in April 2014. Under current law, he’s eligible for another parole hearing next April.

Under the legislation O’Mara and Palmesano are co-sponsoring (S.1483/A.1680), Smith and other violent felony offenders would be required to wait five years, instead of the current two years, between parole hearings.  Sponsors and supporters of the legislation believe this longer time frame will help spare the families of victims from having to repeatedly face the emotional difficulty of a parole hearing.  The legislation is sponsored by Senator Kenneth P. LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) and Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr (I,D,WF-Sag Harbor).