January 31, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
Parole denied!
47-year-old Archie Lee Roberts, serving a life prison sentence in a 1993 DeKalb County murder case, will remain behind prison bars for at least four more years.
According to Dustin Krugel, Communications Director for the Tennessee Board of Parole, the Board reached a final decision Monday to deny parole to Roberts following his initial parole hearing on Wednesday January 18. Four concurring votes by parole board members were needed to reach a final decision.
“As part of the Board’s decision, they recommended Mr. Roberts complete programming as recommended by a risk and needs assessment designed to assess offenders’ needs and predict recidivism and maintain positive institutional behavior to improve his chances of receiving parole at his next parole review, which has been set for January 2027,” said Krugel.
Roberts, age 17 at the time, shot and killed 18-year-old Eric D. Graham and seriously wounded another teen, 17-year-old Shane Orlando in a knife attack on April 28, 1993 in DeKalb County. All three had been friends and were students at DeKalb County High School. The incident occurred in front of Roberts’ home on Bright Hill Road after the three had been out riding around and drinking together before an argument ensued which escalated resulting in the violent attacks.
(Click Link Below to View Parole Hearing Story from January 18 previously published by WJLE)
At the conclusion of the parole hearing Wednesday January 18, Mae Beavers, a Parole Board member who presided over the hearing, cast her vote to decline parole for Roberts due to the seriousness of the offense and recommended a parole hearing review in four years (January 2027).
Roberts has served almost 30 years for first degree murder and attempted murder and is incarcerated at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Whiteville, Tennessee. Roberts appeared at the parole hearing on Wednesday January 18, the first since his conviction, from the prison via video conference. Parole Board member Beavers was on the video conference from a different location as were Sharon George and Anna Jones, the mother and sister of Graham, and District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway who spoke in opposition to Roberts’ petition for parole. Although letters of support were in his file, no one appeared at the hearing to speak for Roberts. He told Parole Board member Beavers that members of his family lived too far away to participate. Opposition letters were also in the file. Neither Orlando nor anyone on his behalf appeared during the parole hearing.
When asked by Parole Board member Beavers why he should be granted parole, Roberts said he is a changed man today and while he showed no emotion, Roberts claimed he was sorry for taking a man’s life and seriously injuring another.