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[Music] You hear the 9 years to life. And I think back then everybody was focusing
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on the life side of it. We were still trying to get over our loss. Then I think we almost got settled in
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for a year or two. Then it hit us. They could decide that well, he's done his time and we're going to
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let him go. That scares the hell out of me. [Music] It upsets me the fact that we have to
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beg to keep this killer behind bars. [Music] I know my actions have caused a terrible
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loss in the Robie family and for that I'm truly sorry. [Music] I don't see Eric Smith at all as a kid
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who snapped. I see him as a kid who escalated. And he escalated from hurting animals
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starting at around age 11 and who eventually progressed to hurting a child. 2004
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was really the most frightening. This is somebody who goes into a tremendous amount of detail in terms of what he
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did. [Music] [Music] When you were doing that, was that something that gave you a good feeling?
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Answer. At the moment it did, yes. Question. Why do you think that was? Answer. Because of instead of me being
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hurt, I was hurting somebody else. Growing up, I was always picked on, disrespected, made fun of.
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Eric was tired of being the victim in his mind. And he wanted to see what it felt like to be the victimizer.
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There's a question, Mr. Smith. If you had not admitted to someone that you had done this, do you think it would have
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been a fair statement that you probably would have done it again? Answer. Yes. [Music]
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We always got a letter about three or four months prior to that. Ours always fell around Christmas.
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You know, here putting the Christmas tree up and we're reading this letter that here we go again.
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It just made me angry. [Music] The only thing that I can say to them is I'm not the same person.
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There's not a day that goes by in some way, shape or form that I'm like forced to remember what I did. I'm
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automatically thinking I killed Derrick and the pain that I caused Dale and Doreen Robie.
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The problem is how sincere is it versus how contrived or calculated it is. I certainly can't tell as I sit here. You
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can't? No. For us to have any real hope, he has to be accurate when he says, you know, I'm different, I'm self-aware,
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and I have every reason in the world to behave. [Music] You're starting to see some compassion
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from him for other people. So I'm seeing a little bit of hope from him. [Music] 2012.
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Parole denied. 2014, 2016, 2018, denied, denied, denied. [Music] Eric Smith at 13 is not the same person
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that he is at 31 or at 41. He has changed. We all change. You kind of go, what else can he do
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to prove that he is no longer a danger to society. Now we're at the point where it becomes is this about punishment or
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about rehabilitation? [Music] I understand why after so many years they decided to give him a chance.
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And that's fine. You know, for him and his family. [Music] I want to, you know, get married,
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raise a family, you know, hold down like, you know, a job, pursue the American dream.
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[Music] You know, he's been released, but in a way so have we. No more parole. I can get on with
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our lives. Now the true healing can begin.