Man convicted of killing sparked by argument over drug deal granted parole
A man convicted of stabbing another man during a dispute over the price of crack cocaine he was selling was granted parole this week by the Massachusetts Parole Board in a unanimous decision .
Christopher Vinton appeared before the board for the first time on April 9, after a recent Supreme Judicial Court decision made him eligible for parole. The state's high court ruled last January that sentences of life without the possibility of parole for "emerging adults" — those between 18 and 20 — were unconstitutional. Vinton, who was 20 at the time of the killing, has spent nearly three decades behind bars.
Vinton was convicted of first-degree murder in Worcester Superior Court on May 1, 1997 — less than a year after he killed 36-year-old Norman Poulin.
On Aug. 3, 1996, Vinton went to an apartment to sell crack cocaine, which he had done numerous times in the past. Poulin was inside the apartment with two other people. Vinton refused to sell crack cocaine below his normal asking price.
He and Poulin eventually went upstairs to the older man's apartment to get money to pay for the drugs. When they returned, they began arguing and the dispute became physical.
"At some point, Mr. Poulin pinned Mr. Vinton against a door or wall. Accounts varied as to what happened next, but no one disputes that Mr. Poulin died as a result of one stab wound inflicted by Mr. Vinton," the parole board wrote in its decision.
At his hearing in April, Vinton expressed remorse for his crimes and displayed empathy, the board found. Vinton invested in his self-development before becoming parole eligible — earning his bachelor's degree from Tufts University and addressing his substance use.
Vinton also serves as a graduate peer support specialist for the Department of Correction's Correctional Recovery Academy Program. Four people spoke in support of Vinton's parole at the hearing, while a Worcester County prosecutor opposed his release.
As conditions of release, Vinton must undergo six months of electronic monitoring, supervision for drugs and alcohol and have no contact with Poulin's family. He must also spend at least 90 days at Community Resources for Justice, which provides residential programming for individuals being released from prison.
More on the Massachusetts Parole Board
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