Shadowing Practice: Freckle-faced killer Eric Smith freed after 28 years behind bars | 48 Hours - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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What do you think is going to happen?
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90 sentences
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What do you think is going to happen?
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So you find a defendant guilty of murder in a second degree?
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Yes.
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Is that unanimous?
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Yes.
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Eric Smith was only 14 years old when he was given a sentence of nine years to life in prison.
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Smith had been convicted of murdering four-year-old Derek Robey.
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But before his arrest, many residents in Savona,
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New York, thought it might have been the work of an evil adult.
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Late in the afternoon, the body of Derrick Robey was found.
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It was just a brutal, brutal killing.
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When police found Derrick, they discovered that he had been lured into a wooded area not far from his home,
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strangled and beaten with rocks.
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When this terrible thing was done,
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I think everybody, including myself,
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thought I was an adult.
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How could anybody do such a terrible,
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terrible thing?" But Smith had walked into the police command center four days after the murder,
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offering to help police solve the crime.
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Smith said that he had seen Derek that day with a white t-shirt on holding a lunch bag.
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Investigators felt like Smith knew something but didn't realize the killer was sitting right in front of them.
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Then two days after Derek Roby's funeral, Smith confessed.
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Grandpa!
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Grandpa!
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I was there.
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I was there when my grandson confessed.
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It was.. it was terrible.
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Investigators and community members tried to understand why a 13 year old boy would do such a thing.
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They learned that Smith had a history of being picked on as a young child.
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His bright red hair and freckles made him a target for bullies.
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I don't know why he did it.
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I asked him why he did it.
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His words almost verbatim were,
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I don't know, I just saw this kid,
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this blonde kid, and I wanted to hurt him.
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After he was convicted and sentenced,
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Smith was sent to Brookwood Juvenile Detention Center.
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Love you, Eric.
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Love you, honey.
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When Eric Smith was sentenced,
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was there a sense, now we can get on with our lives?
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You hear the nine years to life.
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And I think back then,
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everybody was focusing on the life side of it.
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For Derek Robey's parents, Smith's prison sentence did not give them the closure they had expected.
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They were forced to deal with the harsh reality that their son's killer would be eligible for parole beginning in 2002.
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Decide that, well, now he's done his time and we're gonna let him go.
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That scares the hell out of me.
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In 2002, Smith's parole was denied.
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But every two years, Smith appeared in front of the parole board,
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hoping to prove that he had changed and was no longer a danger to society.
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The frequent hearings took a toll on Derek's parents,
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who were forced to relive the horrors of their son's killing.
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Must have felt like a weight hanging right over your head.
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Yes.
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There's all of these really happy times that are supposed to happen throughout your life,
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but there's always that.
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In 2009, as Smith approached his 30s,
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he said he had changed in an interview with WENY-TV.
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The data one was, I'm not the same person.
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There's not a day that goes by in some way,
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shape, or form that I'm like forced to remember what I did.
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I'm automatically thinking I killed Derek and the pain that I caused Dale in the door when he broke.
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In 2010, the parole board turned him down again,
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but as the years went by,
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clinical forensic psychologist Joni Johnston says he seemed to be changing from him for other people.
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So I'm seeing a little bit of hope from him.
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Years passed, and the parole board didn't budge,
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until October 2021, when his parole was granted.
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But Smith could not be released just yet.
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He still needed to find approved housing.
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Rick Smith, who gained national attention almost three decades ago for killing a four-year-old,
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has been set free.
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On February 1st, 2022, after spending 28 years behind bars,
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Eric Smith walked out of prison.
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Why?
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After so many years, they decided to give him a chance.
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And that's fine, you know,
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for him and his family.
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Smith has moved to Queens,
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New York, and says he has plans for his future.
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I want to get married,
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raise a family, hold down a job, pursue the American dream.
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Smith says he wants to counsel kids who have been bullied,
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just like he was.
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Will Eric Smith be a success story or somebody that we're pointing to and saying,
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the system blew it with that one?
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That's exactly right.
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I keep going back to my hope.
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Time will tell.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills using a real-life transcript from the YouTube video "Freckle-faced killer Eric Smith freed after 28 years behind bars." You will focus on understanding complex sentences, improving your pronunciation, and enhancing your comprehension of emotional narratives. This lesson aims to help you become more comfortable discussing sensitive topics in English, which can be challenging but beneficial for your overall language skills.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Guilty: A legal term indicating a person is responsible for a crime.
  • Sentence: The punishment assigned to someone found guilty of a crime.
  • Murder: The unlawful killing of another person with intent.
  • Strangled: To kill someone by choking them.
  • Confessed: To admit to a crime or wrongdoing.
  • Parole: The conditional release of a prisoner before the full sentence is served.
  • Brutal: Extremely cruel and violent.
  • Community: A group of people living in the same area or having similar interests.

Practice Tips

To improve your English speaking skills, consider using the shadowing technique with this video transcript. Shadowing is a powerful method that involves listening to a passage and simultaneously mimicking the speaker’s intonation, rhythm, and pronunciation. Here are some tailored tips for effectively utilizing shadow speech from this video:

  • Listen Carefully: Start by watching the video without any text. Pay attention to how the speakers articulate their words, especially emotional phrases that convey intensity.
  • Slow it Down: Use a shadowing app or audio tool to slow down the speed of the video, making it easier for you to mimic each word clearly. This will help you grasp not just the words, but also the emotional tone.
  • Repeat Sections: Focus on short sections of the transcript, repeating them multiple times. This repetition is key to reinforcing your muscle memory for pronunciation and natural speech patterns.
  • Record Yourself: After shadowing, record your own voice. Compare your pronunciation and tone with that of the original speaker to identify areas for improvement.
  • Build Emotional Awareness: When practicing, try to understand the context and emotional weight of certain phrases. This will enhance your ability to convey the same feelings when speaking.

By consistently applying these techniques, you will enhance your English speaking practice and become more fluent and expressive in conversations.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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