He was 19 when robbery of $7 turned deadly. 42 years later, he's getting out of prison
After 42 years, that teen — now 61 years old — is getting a second chance at life outside prison walls.
On Nov. 3, 1982, 19-year-old Robert Benjamin, his brother, Royal Benjamin, and Steven Henderson got a taxi at the Egleston MBTA station. They had talked about doing a 'stickup' prior to getting in the car.
The driver, Monpoint Jacques, picked up the three men and Robert Benjamin sat directly behind the driver. They told the driver to go to Oldfield Road, which was a dead-end street in Dorchester.
Royal Benjamin handed his brother a gun told told him to 'get out and do somethin'' when the taxi stopped. When the car stopped, Robert Benjamin put the gun to Jacques' head. But he didn't plan to shoot it.
However, when the driver attempted to roll up the window, the gun went off, Robert Benjamin later told police.
The bullet pierced Jacques' aorta, killing him.
Robert Benjamin immediately started running, while Henderson pulled Jacques' body from the cab and took $7. The men split the money three ways with Robert Benjamin get $3.
Robert Benjamin was arrested on Nov. 7, 1982. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his first-degree murder conviction.
However, he became eligible for parole after a recent Supreme Judicial Court decision that states emerging adults between the ages of 18-20 cannot be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Due to the decision, Robert Benjamin was able to go in front of the parole board for the first time in December.
During his incarceration, the parole board stated he completed about 20 programs, including Violence Reduction. He has also been employed in the MassCor clothing shop and has his welder's license. The parole board stated that his last disciplinary report was in 1993.
Three family members came to the hearing to speak in support of parole.
On April 7, the parole board unanimously decided that Robert Benjamin 'has demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society.'
Robert Benjamin will be at Community Resources for Justice (CRJ) for at least 90 days. He will be supervised for drugs and liquor with testing and he is to have no contact with Jacques' family.
Mass man who thought he'd never leave prison finally admits his crime — and may go home
Mass. man who killed 15-year-old granted parole after legal changes to sentencing
Former Marine who stabbed Mass. woman 11 times granted parole
Mass. man once sentenced to life without parole is now granted parole
Man convicted in 2009 Valentine's Day murder granted parole, faces deportation
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
2 days ago
What to know about the Michigan sign-stealing scheme and NCAA punishments
The NCAA imposed a multimillion-dollar fine on Michigan and suspended football coach Sherrone Moore for a third game on Friday for a sign-stealing scandal that has overshadowed college football's most successful program for nearly two years. Here's what you need to know: Reports surfaced in 2023 of a scheme run by now-former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions. The scheme involved a network of Stalions' associates — dubbed the 'KGB' — attending games and recording opposing team sidelines to capture play-calling signals. The NCAA said it found '56 instances of off-campus, in-person scouting of 13 future regular-season opponents' over 52 games over three seasons (2021-23). The NCAA prohibits in-person scouting of same-season future opponents and using electronic equipment to record another team's signals. The NCAA said Stalions spearheaded the sign-stealing operation. The former Marine was accused of assembling a team of scouts which he'd send to games of upcoming opponents. Stalions' network of scouts would provide him with film of signal callers on future opponents' sidelines. The NCAA said he would then decipher the signals, giving Michigan a competitive advantage. The NCAA said the extent of the operation is not fully known as Stalions and others involved have destroyed and withheld evidence. Stalions, a Navy graduate, was suspended by the school and later resigned. He recently said he knew almost every signal opponents used in seven games over two seasons. A show-cause order effectively bans an individual from college athletics. In order to be hired for a college sports job by a school that is an NCAA member during a show-cause order, the prospective employer would have to make a strong case, or show cause, in front of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions. Former coach Jim Harbaugh, former assistant director of player personnel Denard Robinson and Stalions will be prohibited from athletic-related activities for years. Harbaugh was given the longest show-cause order, spanning 10 years after the conclusion of his current four-year order on Aug. 7, 2028. Robinson is banned for three years, and Stalions for eight years. Harbaugh, a former Michigan star quarterback, is heading into his second year as head coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers. Michigan faces financial penalties surpassing $20 million, including a $50,000 fine, a 10% fine on the football program's budget, a 10% fine on Michigan's 2025-2026 scholarships and a fine matching the projected loss of postseason revenue for 2025 and 2026. Will that hurt a school with Michigan's resources? All top programs are sharing up to $20.5 million this school year directly with their athletes and under the House decision scholarships are unlimited, though there are roster caps. That has forced schools to look for revenue sources from different places. In June, Michigan said revenues and expenses for its next fiscal year were expected to be $266.3 million. Moore had previously been issued a self-imposed two-game suspension by Michigan, which will be served this season. The NCAA levied an additional one-game suspension, which Moore will serve during next season's opener. Moore received a two-year show-cause order but unlike Stalions and Harbaugh he will be allowed to fulfill coaching commitments and other related activities.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
What to know about the Michigan sign-stealing scheme and NCAA punishments
The NCAA imposed a multimillion-dollar fine on Michigan and suspended football coach Sherrone Moore for a third game on Friday for a sign-stealing scandal that has overshadowed college football's most successful program for nearly two years. Here's what you need to know: What is the scandal about? Reports surfaced in 2023 of a scheme run by now-former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions. The scheme involved a network of Stalions' associates — dubbed the 'KGB' — attending games and recording opposing team sidelines to capture play-calling signals. The NCAA said it found '56 instances of off-campus, in-person scouting of 13 future regular-season opponents' over 52 games over three seasons (2021-23). The NCAA prohibits in-person scouting of same-season future opponents and using electronic equipment to record another team's signals. What did Connor Stalions do? The NCAA said Stalions spearheaded the sign-stealing operation. The former Marine was accused of assembling a team of scouts which he'd send to games of upcoming opponents. Stalions' network of scouts would provide him with film of signal callers on future opponents' sidelines. The NCAA said he would then decipher the signals, giving Michigan a competitive advantage. The NCAA said the extent of the operation is not fully known as Stalions and others involved have destroyed and withheld evidence. Stalions, a Navy graduate, was suspended by the school and later resigned. He recently said he knew almost every signal opponents used in seven games over two seasons. What is a show-cause order? A show-cause order effectively bans an individual from college athletics. In order to be hired for a college sports job by a school that is an NCAA member during a show-cause order, the prospective employer would have to make a strong case, or show cause, in front of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions. Former coach Jim Harbaugh, former assistant director of player personnel Denard Robinson and Stalions will be prohibited from athletic-related activities for years. Harbaugh was given the longest show-cause order, spanning 10 years after the conclusion of his current four-year order on Aug. 7, 2028. Robinson is banned for three years, and Stalions for eight years. Harbaugh, a former Michigan star quarterback, is heading into his second year as head coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers. Is the fine significant? Michigan faces financial penalties surpassing $20 million, including a $50,000 fine, a 10% fine on the football program's budget, a 10% fine on Michigan's 2025-2026 scholarships and a fine matching the projected loss of postseason revenue for 2025 and 2026. Will that hurt a school with Michigan's resources? All top programs are sharing up to $20.5 million this school year directly with their athletes and under the House decision scholarships are unlimited, though there are roster caps. That has forced schools to look for revenue sources from different places. In June, Michigan said revenues and expenses for its next fiscal year were expected to be $266.3 million. What about coach Moore? Moore had previously been issued a self-imposed two-game suspension by Michigan, which will be served this season. The NCAA levied an additional one-game suspension, which Moore will serve during next season's opener. Moore received a two-year show-cause order but unlike Stalions and Harbaugh he will be allowed to fulfill coaching commitments and other related activities.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Documents reveal new details of Austin Tice's capture and detention
For 13 years, the family of Austin Tice, a Marine veteran and freelance journalist taken hostage in Syria in 2012, has sought any information about his whereabouts and condition. Tice's mother, Debra Tice, publicly shared some details Thursday from declassified documents she and her husband, Marc Tice, were allowed to view earlier this year. Debra Tice shared images of some of the documents, many heavily redacted, at the National Press Club during an event that marked the 13th anniversary of Austin Tice's capture. The documents are part of a larger trove of information shared with the Tice family by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard earlier this year, Debra Tice said. She and her husband spent 17 hours over two days reviewing eight, four-inch binders of materials with intelligence — much of it uncorroborated — about their son. Over the years, the Tice family was told U.S. officials did not have new information regarding Austin's capture or detention. But the documents they reviewed showed previously unknown details, including about medical treatment he received while being held in Syria. 'Our government had information almost every single day of Austin Tice's detention,' Debra Tice said. Austin Tice worked as a freelance journalist covering Syria's civil war when he was taken hostage near Damascus around Aug. 13, 2012. He was 31 at the time and had previously served as a Marine captain with deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. In December 2024, when the Syrian government fell to rebel forces, there was hope that Austin Tice would be found among the many prisoners. President Joe Biden said at the time that Tice was alive, even though officials had no direct evidence of his status. In June, reports emerged that the U.S. government was investigating claims by a former Syrian official that Tice was killed in Syria in 2013 at the behest of then-President Bashar al-Assad. Ex-Syrian official claims Austin Tice was killed in 2013 Debra Tice said the documents shown to them refute this claim, which was made by Bassam al-Hassan, a strategic advisor and member of Assad's inner circle. Hassan claimed that Assad ordered Tice's killing after he briefly escaped his prison cell in 2013. But experts, including Nizar Zakka, head of Hostage Aid Worldwide, said Hassan's story is hard to believe. Zakka spoke via Zoom at the Thursday event. 'Assad will never, ever give the order to kill an American citizen,' Zakka said. 'This is out of the question.' U.S. government officials told The Washington Post that Hassan's claims are unsubstantiated. Also appearing at the Press Club event was Kieran Ramsey, a former director of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, who worked on Tice's case before he retired. Ramsey blamed bureaucracy for standing in the way of getting Austin back. 'Bureaucracy has been the ultimate agent of evil when it comes to getting Austin home,' Ramsey said. While proof of life has a high threshold, Ramsey said, so does proof of death. 'As we sit here right now, there isn't any,' Ramsey said. The Tice family hasn't wavered in believing that Austin is alive, and his parents reiterated that belief Thursday. 'My son is not dead, and we are working to get him home,' Debra Tice said.
