Robeson County man serving life for murder approved for parole in 2027

ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. (WBTW) — A Robeson County man convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 1975 has been approved for parole, North Carolina officials said on Monday.

Leroy Richardson, 71, is scheduled to be released on July 11, 2027, according to the North Carolina Post Release Supervision & Parole Commission. He is currently housed at the Dan River Prison Work Farm in Caswell County, North Carolina.

Richardson was convicted on May 19, 1975 and sentenced under guidelines that permit his parole.

“The state’s current sentencing law, Structured Sentencing, eliminated parole for crimes committed on or after October 1, 1994,” the commission said in a news release. “However, the Commission has the responsibility of paroling offenders who were sentenced under previous sentencing guidelines.”

Richardson’s parole is part of a scholastic and vocational program known as the Mutual Agreement Parole Program, also known as MAPP, and involves the commission and the state Division of Prisons.

No information was immediately available about the case in which Richardson was convicted.

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Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13 . He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook , X, formerly Twitter , and read more of his work here .

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