‘Cold-blooded’ killer got help in prison. The slain boy’s family asks: What about us?
At 16 years old, he shot and killed a 14-year-old boy who was being held down. Now 32, a Boston man has spent years in prison working to turn his life around.
The Massachusetts Parole board was impressed with the man's involvement in rehabilitative programming, getting his bachelor's degree from Boston University, being disciplinary report-free since 2012 and living at a minimum-security facility for more than 18 months. He also scores low risk on the LSCMI risk assessment tool.
But the family of 14-year-old Nicholas Fomby-Davis told the parole board on April 16 that the opportunity for their son's killer to turn his life around and get out of prison "isn't fair."
"I don't feel like that's fair because Nicholas can't leave that graveyard," said Latrina Fomby-Davis, the 14-year-old's mother.
Fernandes killed Nicholas Fomby-Davis May 30, 2010, as the 14-year-old rode his scooter around the block of his Boston neighborhood. After a conflict, Fernandes and another teen grabbed Fomby-Davis, held him down and shot him, according to the parole board.
On June 22, 2012, following a jury trial, Joshua Fernandes was convicted of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
However, a year later, a Supreme Judicial Court decision made it unconstitutional to sentence teens to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In April, Fernandes pleaded his case to the parole board for the first time. Two of the parole board members voted for release to a Long-Term Residential Program or CRJ. But he was ultimately denied parole by four other votes.
"Although Mr. Fernandes' experiences while incarcerated have been exemplary, the Board is troubled by the crimes for which he is convicted," the parole board wrote.
Gang violence
As Fernandes apologized to the boy's family, he said he shot him "to feel cool and accepted" with the hopes of joining a gang.
"I wanted to show that I was tough and fearsome," he said. "I was impulsive and selfish."
Fernandes was shot when he was 14, too.
"I ended up becoming the exact villain I had feared," he said.
Fernandes said he's glad he was caught and that prison saved his life.
"I am grateful for the priceless opportunities I was given in prison to grow up and change and receive an education," he said, acknowledging that those opportunities were not given to the teen he killed. "I'm so sorry for all the pain that I've caused. I'm so sorry for what I did. I will spend the rest of my life trying to atone for it."
Consequences
While the family forgives Fernandes, that doesn't mean they believe he should be let out of prison.
"As I learned in life, we are allowed to make any decision that we want, but we are not allowed to choose the consequences that come with them. So today you have to live with your consequence," Trinecia Fomby-Davis, the 14-year-old's sister, said.
She said the parole board hearing was "triggering and insulting." One of the issues she had was that Fernandes was able to get the support and help he needed, while she had to figure out how to move forward on her own. And because of that, she wasn't able to get the education she dreamed of.
"I wasn't able to get that because I'm still going through trauma of what you put me and my family through," she said. "We are still trying to move forward, learn how to regulate our emotions and be successful in life."
She also said it hurt listening to his family talk about how they're willing to continue to help and support him going forward.
"Where were you guys before when he shot somebody? Where was this support then," she asked the room. "And most importantly, where's me and my siblings support? What programs do you guys have for us?"
Trinecia Fomby-Davis reminded the room that Fernandes' family can still visit and talk to their loved one — even if it's behind bars. That isn't an option for her family.
"That should be enough," she told his family. "We can't get 30 minutes, we can't even get 30 seconds from our brother."
She also said he can continue helping people from inside prison. He doesn't need to leave prison to accomplish those dreams, she said.
Latrina Fomby-Davis believes in second chances. But that is reserved for people who made a mistake.
"This wasn't a mistaken identity. This wasn't a self defense. This wasn't something like that," she said. "You committed cold-blooded, premeditated murder."
That, at least for now, isn't something she can move on from.
Fernandes will be able to go in front of the parole board again in two years.
More on the Massachusetts Parole Board
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