Man Pleads Guilty in Fayette, Ala. Death

Smith

FAYETTE, Ala. (Press Release) — Chris McCool, District Attorney for Fayette County, Ala., announced that a Fayette man was recently sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment for the murder of his brother in 2012.

On June 4, 2015, Bobby Smith, Jr., 51, of Fayette, Alabama, pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court of Fayette County to Manslaughter and Attempted Assault 1st Degree.

Circuit Judge James W. Moore, Jr., sentenced Smith to life in the state penitentiary on each count, to be served concurrently.

Smith had originally been charged in a two-count indictment with Capital Murder (During Burglary) and Attempted Murder. The charges arose over the murder of his brother, Melvin Smith, on April 6, 2012, at a trailer on County Road 91 in Fayette County, Alabama. After an argument, Bobby Smith stabbed and cut Melvin Smith with a knife, causing his death.

“This was a sad, sad case,” said McCool. “Originally we had charged Smith with capital murder, which potentially carried the death penalty. However, after much consultation with the victim’s closest family member, who was the mother of both the victim and the defendant, we decided that the life sentences were appropriate.”

McCool went on to state that his mother, who had already lost one son, did not wish to see her other son executed. “I can’t imagine the horrible position Mrs. Smith has been placed in, and I felt it would be difficult – if not impossible – to get a death penalty sentence in this case since the victim’s mother opposed the death penalty. Overall, I felt it best to agree to the life sentences.”

At the sentencing hearing, McCool said that Smith expressed remorse to the court about killing his brother.

“I don’t doubt that he was truly sorry about what he did,” McCool said. “However, there still have to be consequences to our actions, and these are particularly painful consequences. It is so painful because it takes not one, but two lives away from the same family – one brother in death, and the other brother in prison for the rest of his life,” McCool said.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office was the lead investigative agency in the case.

McCool said that Smith will be eligible for parole, but that his office plans to oppose any future requests for parole.

“I fully expect to successfully keep him in jail for the rest of his natural life,” McCool said.